Customer Reviews

Residents - Is Anybody Out There?

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The latest project by avant-guard San Francisco musicians The Residents is a massive
undertaking that has magnificently outdone their past works.
To fully understand the whole scope of the project, you have to look at the mini videos
that were put on You Tube and their website Residents.com. of THE BUNNY BOY in 2008.
The story played out each week in small two minute episodes where a bearded confused man
pleads with his audience to help him find his lost brother Harvey.
As the episodes progress the man as well as the audience see that he is losing his sanity.
You as a viewer are left to question the real fate of Harvey as the poor old man tries to
grasp for reality.
At times the episodes are funny to suddenly becoming dark and disturbing.
The full episodes are up to 64 and are continuing in a second part to the saga called "Arkansas"
which started in Feburary 2009.
The whole story then connects to the CD-THE BUNNY BOY which is the musical companion to the story.
The songs relate to various chapters in the story and show insight to the thinking of the bunny boy looking for his lost brother.
The songs then connect to the live show that "bunny" hosts and sings with The Residents.
In the videos The Bunny Boy asks his viewers if he should go on tour with them or not.
Viewers then could e-mail in and give the comments to him as well as help with sightings of
Harvey.
IS ANYBODY OUT THERE? is a more organized version of the short films, all put together in a
more cohesive film.
There are two live performances of THE BUNNY BOY show intertwined into the story so that we can see "bunny" sing.
The real magic of the whole project is the story that The Residents really do have a friend called "bunny" who sent them a rough b/w video pleading for help.
They then were inspired to recreate the videos,make a cd and tour with a show all in the hopes that their friend "bunny" would contact them again.
All due to concern for his safety and his need of psychological treatment.
The DVD also includes this "real bunny video".
This Mystery/Docudrama as The Residents call it,is the best of all their visions to push the boundaries of music.
The Residents have experimented before with the interactive medium of CD ROMS, short films, short
internet videos, radio mystery dramas and theatrical theater.
But never have they done such a beautiful bend of mixing so many of these concepts into one concept.
With the addition of the "is bunny real?" idea to the already secretive nature of The Residents (they never show their faces) and their music organization THE CRYPTIC CORPORATION.
THE BUNNY BOY becomes a real masterpiece showcasing what The Residents do like no other.
In the end you do want to believe that "bunny" is real.

I've loved the Residents for a while now, and while I love some of their material more than others, as a whole they are one of my favorite bands/artists. I followed the Bunny Boy shorts as they were released and was drawn into the bizarreness of it. So I couldn't wait to watch the dvd and see it all as one piece. So I was pretty upset that the entire final act, with Bunny in Arkansas, was cut from the dvd. Why would they do that? And why have I not noticed anyone else mentioning this? I'm starting to wonder if I got a faulty dvd..

I have in my DVD collection some disks that I can put on and play in the background and some disks that if I put them on will cause everyone in the room to leave abruptly. `Is Anybody Out There?' falls into the latter category. On their website, The Residents posted a series of short clips documenting Roger's search for his missing brother, Harvey. Mildly amusing but often annoying, Roger's frantic rantings were never convincing in their sincerity. Still, it is interesting from this diehard fan's perspective, if only because I can sit down and watch them all strung together in one 90 minute piece. But the low resolution clips were recorded with a webcam and worked better as a YouTube post then as a home theater experience. The music when it appears is taken from their 2008 CD, `The Bunny Boy' but it isn't really featured and there are only two short live videos that are clumsily worked into the story.
Over the last 33 years, I have indoctrinated many friends to The Residents but those unfamiliar with The Residents are only annoyed by `Is Anybody Out There?'. The Residents could have included some new videos for `The Bunny Boy' or footage of a complete concert, or something else to round out the disc but they not only missed that opportunity to attract new fans but also they have instead alienated the fans who were barely hanging on.