Product Description

THEORY OF OBSCURITY tells the story of the iconic renegade cult band The Residents. From the group's formation in Shreveport to their success in the burgeoning San Francisco avant-garde music scene of the 60s and 70s, The Residents redefined what a rock band could be. With the advent of music videos in the 1980s, these masked musicians gained global fame as MTV darlings and serious art world figures. Features interviews with many famous musicians, actors, and filmmakers who were inspired by The Residents, including: Jerry Harrison (The Talking Heads), Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons), Gerald Casale (Devo), Josh Freese (Guns N' Roses, Weezer), Penn Jillette, Homer Flynn, and others. Bonus features include: Footage of The Residents first EVER performance at The Boarding House in San Francisco; footage and outtakes from their uncompleted film Vileness Fat; three remastered classic short films by The Residents; new short film created from never-before-seen footage from The Residents' Hello Skinny sessions for their song Mellon Collie Lassie; animated short film from an unfinished feature called Freak Show; pioneering found footage short film called The Walking Woman; short film of the delivery of one of only two existing copies of the Ultimate Box Set to the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Additional Blu Ray bonus features include extended interviews with notable fans that appeared in the films, such as: Matt Groening, the founders of Cryptic Corporation, Les Claypool, Dean Ween, Gary Panter, Jerry Harrison, and others.