The Third Reich 'N' Roll
UNCLE WILLIE'S HIGHLY OPINIONATED GUIDE TO THE RESIDENTS
Pop meets Dada on The Third Reich ‘N’ Roll. Has rock ‘n’
roll been distracting us from (or lying to us about) the
ugliness of the real world, seducing us with the music’s
inherent mad little power fantasies? In 1975 The Residents
released their first great parody album. It consisted of
two LP-side-long suites, constructed out of almost
unrecognizably ugly cover versions of rock classics of the
1960’s. The first suite was called “Swastikas on Parade”,
the second was “Hitler was a Vegetarian.”
The album kicks off with a Resident imitating Adolph Hitler
imitating Chubby Checker singing “Let’s Twist Again, Like
We Did Last Summer.” There’s a rendition of “Papa’s Got a
Brand New Bag,” sung in German, and recognizable only for
its short blasts from a horn section. There’s a wistful
“Judy in Disguise,” a tribute to their fellow Louisianian,
John Fred.
There’s a Kabuki rendition of “Gloria,” a comatose version
of “Good Lovin’,” and an ugly “Double Shot of My Baby’s
Love” (a song which would take on major importance in their
music many years later) among dozens of others.
This is certainly an album from their early, primitive
period. Most of the songs’ segues seem to have been created
through tape editing. However the album culminates in a
very sophisticated medley, musically combining
“Inna-Godda-Divida,” “Hey Jude” and “Sympathy for the
Devil” into a seamless whole.
Releasing cover versions of other people’s hits quickly
became a major part of The Resident's repertoire. On their
early interpretations, whether the songs are innocuous
(”Flying,” “The Hanky Panky,” “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry
if I Want To”) or anti-social (”The Ballad of the Green
Berets,” “Psychotic Reaction,” “Talk Talk,” “Sympathy for
the Devil”) the lyrics are unintelligible or non
existent–suggesting that it is not the lyrics, but the
mindlessness of rock culture which is tipping us on the
brink of fascist apocalypse.
In the Eighties, The Residents would take the opposite
approach. They would make the lyrics very clear–proving
that pop songs always have blatantly manipulative lyrics,
but we never notice because we’re too distracted by a
bitchin’ beat, and the good looks of groovy-guitar playing
guys.
The Third Reich ‘N’ Roll’s somewhat controversial cover art
depicts Dick Clark dressed as a Nazi, clutching a
tantalizing carrot. He dangles the carrot before the youth
of America, just as Snuffy Smith had dangled a carrot
before the nose of Barney Google’s horse while leading him
to the glue factory.
- Sinister Scratcher