NOT AVAILABLE
CD Liner Notes
While there are a million stories about The Residents, one
of the more intriguing concerns the recording of their
second LP, Not Available. Early in the career of the band,
the "theory of obscurity" was introduced to them by the
German avant-guardist, N. Senada. The plan called for
the creation of complete projects that were literally not
intended to be heard by anyone other than its creators. The
Residents realized the truth in this ideal: that music
really was difficult to record without considering the
audience. They thought the experience gained by completing
such a project would prove worthwhile toward achieving an
independent attitude toward music. N. Senada had also
been quick to point out that such a project reduces the
amount of artistic clutter that is quickly swallowing the
planet.
Not Available was completed in 1974 and stored. Several
years later, in 1978, The Residents were severely over
schedule on their opus, Eskimo. The final release deadline
set by the record company arrived only to find that The
Residents had fled to Europe and taken Eskimo with them. In
desperation, the record company pulled Not Available from
the masters room and released it. Surprisingly, The
Residents were not upset by this fact since it in no way
violated their original intent. Eventually Eskimo was
retrieved from the bank vault in London but, ...well...
that's another story.