Quite possibly one of the most ingenius D.I.Y companies of our time.

And a guy is writing a book on The Cryptic Corporation. It's run by a guy named Ralph. Remember "Yello"? That was one of the few acts he signed.
This book is going to kick major ass.
And that's why I decided to post this article to give everyone a heads up


http://blogcritics.org/ar...104014.php


So if you were a music nerd — which many of you are — and you heard about a record label that was years ahead of its time in the Do It Yourself (DIY) indie-rock aesthetic, music video, punk iconoclasm, controversial publicity displays, idiosyncratic promotion, overarching label identity, and oh yes, some of the most cutting-edge experimental music in the pantheon... well, you'd want to know more about that label, right?

I'm pleased to tell you about Ralph Records.

If you are familiar with The Residents, chances are you have already heard about Ralph. The anonymous San Francisco quartet started the record label in 1972 for the sole purpose of releasing their own product: first and foremost, their debut double-single, Santa Dog. It remained their label until 1987, when they headed off to Rykodisc and left Ralph in the hands of their former sales manager. They regained possession of it in the early '90s and converted it to their mail-order company, RalphAmerica, which it remains to this day.

That's FAR from the whole story of Ralph - although, funny enough, that's enough. A band starting their own label, which they run all by themselves on all fronts from accounting to cover art to manufacturing and distribution, all the way back in 1972? That's innovation, baby! That's DIY before there was DIY! Even the Beatles hired people to run the business and design the sleeves when they started Apple, and Ian MacKaye's Dischord wouldn't come around for almost a decade.

The thing that made the Residents and Ralph Records different was that they didn't start it as an investment, like the Beatles, or as part of an overall ethical-musical statement. They started the label because it was the only way to get their music out.

After releasing three more albums, two singles (including one by another artist, Schwump) and Third Reich 'N' Roll, one of the very first important music videos, The Residents transferred Ralph Records to their management company, The Cryptic Corporation, in 1976 (Fearless Leader Eric Olsen has interviewed Homer Flynn, one of the members of Cryptic, on this very site). And that's when the label really hit its stride.

Remaining in San Francisco, they marketed the Residents as a real commodity, behaving like a kind of concept-art company (complete with bizarre promo items, 'zine-like catalogues, and a series of sampler EPs entitled Buy Or Die!) and bringing their faceless charges to international acclaim and success--including their masterpiece, Eskimo, released after a gigantic fiasco at Ralph.

When all that went down, Ralph started signing other bands--many of which went on to become either cult favorites or avant-garde titans. Snakefinger, the Residents' longtime session guitarist and visionary in his own right, came first. His successes were followed up when Ralph enlisted Art Bears, Chrome, MX-80 Sound, Tuxedomoon, Renaldo & the Loaf, and Nash the Slash, among others; all obscure names, but all well known as brilliant and original musical experimenters. The big names (in the ivory-tower sense of the term) were Fred Frith, Eugene Chadbourne, and Yello, whom you know from that damned ubiquitous "Oh Yeah" song from Ferris Bueller but who are actually highly respected names in the electronic-music scene.

It was a weird roster — and it showed in the music they put out — but it was among the most consistent, original, and groundbreaking work of its era. Unfortunately, it came at just the wrong time. Ralph began signing new acts at the moment of the new wave's peak: when it looked like the underground was going to rise up and become the new mainstream.

So they jumped on what they thought was the future, and the future promptly exploded in their faces: after a series of disasters, MTV destroyed the new wave movement via assimilation, and Ralph got crushed in the tidal wave. Cryptic fell apart, the Residents were creatively drained, and the label had to let its roster go and rebuild from the ground up with new artists and different approaches.

Nevertheless, it remained relentlessly creative and subversive, no longer a key underground player but a self-contained world of fantastic music on the vanguard of every subsequent movement. Industrial, ambient, dance club, J-rock, even math-rock all had roots in the late-period aegis of Ralph Records.

All of the above is true. Now don't some of you rock geeks want to know more about this stuff? Interesting tidbits, anecdotes, descriptions of the music and the artists that made it?

I do. And I actually do know it. I've spent three years researching, listening to the records, studying their creations, visiting San Francisco, and interviewing nearly all of the participants and eyewitnesses of Ralph's odyssey. This puts me ten chapters into a book about the label. I'm about to write a book proposal and start sending out queries. But before I did, I just wanted to put the word out that such a thing is in progress. I know there's an audience out there, so if you're interested, here's hoping a Ralph Records biography will be in your hands soon!

i'll be buying the book if it ever happens - i've been a residents fan ever since i was a kid and i stumbled across a "buy or die" sampler my mom ordered from rolling stone! it had excerpts from "eskimo" on it, and i thought it was one of the weirdest, most fun things i'd ever heard.

i swear by all the albums they made in the '70s. they started to fall off in the '80s, it's true, and in the '90s they seemed more interested in technology than the music, but their "demons dance alone" album from a couple of years ago is one of the most fantastic albums they've ever done. it was easily one of my favorite albums of that year.

and to think, they've existed this long ANONYMOUSLY. i think the residents are amazing.

Anx said:

It will be awhile before a publisher picks this book up. Er I can't imagine the press junkits would be revealing. This is what they call in the bizness:a hard sell. Maybe Ralph will publish it via Cryptic Corporation

Trickology said:

there have already been a couple of books out on the residents, including the excellent "Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide to The Residents", which also included a CD sampler of residents music for beginners.

i hope the book happens, but in the meantime i'm LOVING the newest wave of reissues that have been packaged in digibook form - i just picked up a used copy of "tunes of two cities"/"the big bubble" yesterday at my local wrecka stow. i had no idea they were doing a deluxe edition of the mole trilogy...i never bought those albums until now because i never knew quite where to start. now i can enjoy these albums and know what i'm supposed to be listening to!

Anx said:

Have you got the Wormwood DVD?


And then there is this. The new Residents project "River of Crime"


CORDLESS RECORDINGS TO RELEASE THE RESIDENTS’
GROUNDBREAKING RIVER OF CRIME SUBSCRIPTION CD-R PACKAGE

New York, May 16th, 2006 – Cordless Recordings artists The Residents, the legendary multi-media art-punk terrorists, announced today they will "release" a new set of recordings, entitled River Of Crime, on June 13th, 2006. This multimedia series of recordings will be available exclusively at Virgin Megastore locations, cordless.com and at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The Residents are widely regarded as pioneers of music-based electronic and digital media and have also established a reputation for creating innovative product packaging. River of Crime combines both attributes to produce a groundbreaking new experience.

River Of Crime begins with five bi-weekly episodes (referred to as "Crimecasts"), that are inspired by the "True Crime" radio broadcasts of yore, but infused with a thoroughly modern twist. The episodes will be available through a limited-edition digital subscription, unlocked by the purchase of a unique package of blank CD-R discs, produced by RecordPressing.com and designed by The Residents. New Crimecasts (five in total) will be added every other week, between June 13th and August 8th, 2006.

Using the unique code included in the CD-R package, consumers will be directed to the riverofcrime.com web site and instructed to download that week's “Crimecast.” Each episode comes complete with an original Residents-composed musical score and a variety of digital “extras,” such as ringtones and mobile wallpaper, as well as materials that can be burned onto the blank CD-Rs, including alternate versions of the River of Crime artwork, Crimecast scripts, elements of the instrumental soundtrack and much more. As with anything created by The Residents, expect the unexpected!

Cordless Recordings President Jason Fiber said, "Our aim is to create a multi-media consumer experience that stays true to the Cordless eLabel ideal by matching digital downloads with physical product. We carefully selected each element of this project to touch on brick-and-mortar retail, digital distribution, mobile technology and CD burning."

Virgin Megastores Product Manager Stephanie Ford commented, "We are very excited to be part of this unique release from one of the most original artists known in music today, The Residents. The nature of this release aligns Virgin with the forward-thinking team at Cordless Recordings in a partnership, challenging the industry to find the best way for the physical and the digital worlds of music to work together. This release also fits in with Virgin Megastore's commitment to support independent music."

RecordPressing.com President, Oliver Goss, said "We are proud to partner with Cordless Recordings, as they are on the cutting edge of the independent music scene and work with some of the most unique artists in the business today."


River of Crime Release Dates:
Crimecast #1: "The Kid Who Collected Crimes!" June 13th, 2006
Crimecast #2: "Gator Hater!" June 27th, 2006
Crimecast #3: "Misdelivered Mummy!" July 11th, 2006
Crimecast #4: "The Beards!" July 25th, 2006
Crimecast #5: "Termites From Formosa!" August 8th, 2006



http://www.residents.com/

the residents can be so high-maintenance sometimes.

i'll try to check out 'river of crime' this summer...it sounds cool. hopefully better than "animal lover", which i thought was a big disappointment after "demons dance alone".