Pitchfork

The Residents have been fucking shit up for 25 years and so, in retrospect, Ryko saw fit to issue this fantastic compilation.

Trying to explain the Residents' music is a tricky task, but if it weren't for them, you probably would not enjoy the work of today's innovators who dare to go the full monty with their imagination. Weird noises, characters, sound pastiches, whiny voices, daring samples, and bastardized covers make up their universe.

Cramming two and a half decades of history onto two CDs is a tall order, and a novel approach was taken in condensing six of their albums into sonic "concentrates" that run about ten minutes or so. It works better than I thought it would, although only hearing half a minute or so of "Homeage Conversation" from Fingerprince was a bit of a tease. But on the concentrate for Eskimo, it works wonders, leaving the listener stranded for two minutes somewhere north of Juneau.

Best of all are the rare singles available on CD, including their Hank Williams covers "Jambalaya" and "Kawliga." The latter is resigned to grooving on a loop from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" that will stick in your head for days.

Trust me: If you crave something different, look no further than Huddled Masses. But don't come crying to me if it melts your brain.