Rating: 
Summary: AMERICA'S FAVORITE SINGING EYEBALLS CONQUER DVD!!
Review: I have been a huge fan of the Residents for years and every release never fails to surprise me. Their music is unlike any I have heard before. Thier identities always masked, this strange group of musicians/graphic artists never fail to dumfound audiences worldwide through their spectacular performances. They not only pre-date punk rock/new wave by five to seven years (depending on how you count), but also (unknown to many) envisioned the concept of music video. They were among the first (if not THE first) musicians to fully immerse themselves in the CD-ROM medium and have now upgraded themselves for the DVD era. In doing so, they far surpass their mainstream musical competitors in utilizing the vast potential of this burgeoning technical medium. As noted in previous reviews, this is not a CD. It is a DVD, and what a DVD it is!! There are two separate audio tracks (Dolby Stereo and 5.1 Surround) which both sound great and the visuals more than live up to the high standards that DVD technology demands. Even the older pieces - Vileness Fats, Hello Skinny, Third Reich and Roll - though grainy, have a cleaned-up feel to them without losing the gritty ambiance of the original film stock. Audio tracks can be switched at any time during playback to reflect the viewer's tastes. However, the thing that I love most about this DVD are the bonus features. Instead of storing all bonus footage in a designated "bonus" section, like most DVD producers, the Residents elected to hide special "easter eggs" all throughout the disc. These extras include: material from Pee Wee's Playhouse, a special performance with Conway Twitty (!), various concert footage including appearances with the famous Snakefinger, a French ballet company's interpretive dance to a well-known favorite Rez tune (I won't tell you which!), and a slew of more fun stuff. You can find them everywhere in the menus of the interactive "Flix Cube" navigation system. Here's a hint: "Keep your EYES peeled for them in the MORE INFO sections." In addition to the "Flix Cube" navigation, the viewer can choose to watch the videos in sequence. There are hidden treats here as well. In between each video are randomized assortments of gleefully gross Rez shorts created just for this DVD that tickle the funny bone as much as they do the retina. All of this (and more) on a single-layered DVD! Truly amazing! As far as the content is concerned, this is nothing short of an astounding compilation of legendary Residents video. Old and new fans alike will delight in the marvellous collection of surreal black comedy contained herein. Among my favorites are the Gingerbread Man Concentrate, Hello Skinny, One Minute Movies, Bad Day, and Constantinople. I would recommend this DVD to 1) any fan of the Residents (casual or obsessive), 2) anyone who appreciates the surreal, horrific and ridiculous, 3) anyone who loves watching cutting edge performance art, 4) any tech-head audiophile DVD geek, 5) anyone who enjoys innovative computer animation . . . oh, hell. I recommend it for everyone!
Rating: 
Summary: Why did they wreck the old songs?
Review: I love this CD and would have given it a 4 if the residents hadnt been forced to go back and redo the old songs. They're butchering of the Third Reich and Roll, Hello Skinny and the 1 minute videos with the new music is horrible. The new material for the Renaldo and Loaf video's is awful as well. I couldnt bear to listen to the new music on these videos all the way through, the new music doesnt even seem to go hand in hand with the videos and that female voice doesnt go well on these at all. On the bright side though the new music on the Residents latest videos was actually better in some cases I thought then the original versions and the new music to the Monkey video was hilarious. I have been following the residents since the late 1970's and have always been a big fan even getting a chance to hang out with Snakefinger (great guy! I miss him a lot). Besides the new music wrecking the old videos this DVD is excellent and I would heartily recommend it to even non residents fans. The Bad Day on the Midway footage was fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: Prolific Pop Surrealists
Review: I must have been the only person in my teen years who bought record albums by the Residents. Most of my friends considered themselves punkers or new wavers but the Residents were simply beyond even those fringe categories. Why did I like them so much? Basically I was a sucker for anything conceptual or anything that had a gimmick. The Residents are masters of concept. It just isn't about their music. It is about the concept behind the music. The Residents, in my opinion, are actually performance artists. It has been years since I started listening to them again. I was a big fan of their 70s and mid 80s work and then I guess you could say I out grew it. Thanks to the release of the DVD however I feel like I am paying a visit to my old friends and seeing what they have developed in the last few years while I was away. Now that I look at the Residents once more, I revisit their look and sounds with a more critical eye. Were they really that ugly and juvenile? At their worst the Residents are childlike, abrasive, and grotesque in their approach to art. This is also their strength as they can alternately be described as playful, challenging, and dark. Fifteen years later they seem a bit too juvenile for my current tastes but I still stand in awe of their pop art surrealism. Their recent videos still cannot compare to their classic work, especially those directed by Graeme Whifler. Nevertheless, Gingerbread Man is probably the most inspired of their more recent work. The Residents still fascinate me. I would love to read a thoughtful interpretation of their work (e.g. why do they focus so much on freaks?). The Residents are the only true surrealists and performance artists of the recording industry still producing today. I also love the way they have embraced developing media technology although I tend to prefer the old Resident videos for their creative sets and absurd costumes (e.g. reminiscent of work by Sid and Marty Krofft such as Lidsville and HR Puffinstuf), and moody photographic stills (e.g. Hello Skinny). This is a perfect gift for Resident fans old and new. I would not recommend this DVD to just anyone and would only recommend to newbies who enjoy performance art, video art, avant garde rock/music, surrealism, and dada.
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: I thought this might be the residents dvd to end all music dvds. unfortnately, this is not the case. the new music videos (made in 2000) are, for the most part, pretty dumb. The older ones are good and essential, though, however, the four short ones appear on "The Commerical DVD."
Of interest is the short film "Vileness Fats," which feels like a silent films scored by resident-esque music. While it's a bit scattered... and confusing... and dated, it's a decidedly major part of the residents' history, and that makes it essential.
I was excited to see that "Constantinople" was made into a music video... then sorely disappointed at the quality of the video. It might have been a bit better if the falling man was wearing something... anything! I had no desire to see his privates.
My favorite video of the lot was probably the Gingerbread Man concetrate. That cd was always one of my favorites of the 90's material. That simple melody is so haunting, especially when done by a band like the residents... "run run run as fast as you can... you can't catch me i'm the gingerbread man"
I haven't found the eggs yet, however, i rarely calculate eggs into my final star count, anyway. However, hopefully they will offer something a bit better than the disappointment of the regular features. This is really only worth buying if you are a major Residents fan... just don't pay too much for it.
Rating: 
Summary: INSANE
Review: If you like being scared/confused out of your mind, this is the DVD for you. If you don't like the band the Residents, and enjoy things that are "normal" to you, do not buy this DVD. I found it entertaining, yet extremely scary. It is the craziest thing I have ever seen, I can say that.
Rating:
Summary: INSANE
Review: If you like being scared/confused out of your mind, this is the DVD for you. If you don't like the band the Residents, and enjoy things that are "normal" to you, do not buy this DVD. I found it entertaining, yet extremely scary. It is the craziest thing I have ever seen, I can say that.
Rating:
Summary: LARD SCABS
Review: In addition to their groundbreaking musical output, the Residents are famous (and infamous) for their equally bizarre and innovative experimental film work. ICKY FLIX collects almost all of these films, providing new soundtracks for every piece as well. There are some real surprises here: "Vileness Fats", the abandoned Residents epic; a new video for DUCK STAB's "Constantinople"; the "GINGERBREAD MAN Concentrate"; and a wealth of really great hidden videos, ranging from an Australian TV show appearance to a piece of live "From the Plains to Mexico". "Freak Show" and "Bad Day on the Midway" are represented here as well, in "concentrate" form (how I wish Amazon carried the Roms!).
Of course, their most famous works are here: "Third Reich and Roll" (which tells the story of the rise of rock music beutifully and with humor); "Hello Skinny"; "One Minute Movies" (four songs from THE COMMERCIAL ALBUM); and "Songs for Swinging Larvae" (by incredibly weird British band and Residents pals Renaldo and the Loaf).
Some of these are interesting mostly for Res fans: "Where is She?" is as disturbing as it is funny. This goes double for "Just for You", the last movement of a piece called "Disfigured Night" (a clever play on Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night"), which was conceived for a German television show. Even funnier than the Residents' weird stage presence are the facial reactions of some of the audience members (one girl has her eyes closed tightly, her hands clasped together as if in prayer... that reaction never fails to make me laugh out loud).
So, my overall verdict: if you're not a Residents fan, don't buy it. If you're not, though, I wouldn't imagine you'd even consider spending the money on it. So if you are, it's a good investment. God knows how much music there is here: original songs, plus remakes, plus the hidden bits... it's a dream come true! And don't miss the "commercials" between songs; they're great!
Rating:
Summary: Don't listen to these fuddy-dudy clives
Review: Like a lot of aging people, Residents' fans associate particular music with an embellished part of their past and fault the band for not always sounding like it. Thus, the continual harping about how the new soundtrack can't compare to the old one, how the new videos can't compare to the old ones, etc.
Well, they're wrong. The new soundtrack is, like *Intermission*, the Residents at their most primitive. Percussion is heavy, and the Singing Resident (Homer Flynn, in case you didn't know) often gets his gruffest here. The wide range of sounds, over just the contemporaneously recorded new stuff, shows what an amazingly versatile band this is. (In fact, the number of permeations of sounds/lyrics/images is, to my knowledge, without equal. Take "Kick a Picnic"--the song originally appeared on *Our Finest Flowers* and is actually the assemblage of [at least] two previous songs. The Residents then recorded a *new* version of the pastiche and created a video for it as well. No project is ever truly finished for the Residents, and their ability to break a piece into its elements and then build it into something quite different is only one of the reasons they're so important and fascinating.)
And the new videos showcase the Residents' still extant visual prowess--beautiful, strange and haunting images. My favorite is "Constantinople". And if you're such a prude you get bothered by some fat dude's junk, just do yourself a favor and never get God in 3 Persons. And "Kick a Picnic" is another new, great one made with very little money.
Some of the videos DO suck, though, and are obviously slapdash creations designed to bloat the DVD. Specifically, Burn Baby Burn and He Also Serves would be barely servicable as screen savers.
But who cares? There's tons of great footage here that will consistently astound and delight. And the music is great. (The easter egg for Firefall live, so very superior to the version that ended up on Kettles of Fish, must be sought out.) *Icky*'s essential for anyone who wants to understand the band who never wanted to be merely a band.
PS As I write this, the DVD is out of print and some sellers are trying to charge almost $40. Don't buy or die. Mute will rerelease soon (go to their website for details).
Rating:
Summary: The eyeballs are visionaries.
Review: Some of the most fascinating/disturbing images ever committed to film/video/pixel. They've even cleaned up the music with new performances, or you can hear the classic recordings if you choose -- it's your call. Tremendous job of creatively exploiting the potential of the DVD medium. Not for everybody, but off the scale for those it *is* for.
Rating:
Summary: Art in its most sincere form
Review: The residents' DVD Icky Flix is a must for Residents Fans; but that is a given. If you have never heard of the Residents, this DVD offers a wonderful introduction to a world of unique visuals and music. The Residents have been around for 30 years and this is a document of part of their long career so far. I have shown this DVD to a number of friends and artists who after viewing this have changed their approach to art in general. This may not be for the weak at heart, but if you truly love art, and/or music, Buy this DVD. Plus it is just fun to watch, I garuntee you will laugh or you just don't have a sense of humor.
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