bob (05/14/82)
YES, Ralph Records really exists. They're at 444 Grove St., San Francisco (I don't know the zip offhand). If you are at all interested in innovative music, you should definitely be familiar with the folks from Ralph. In fact, this year is Ralph's and the Residents' 10th anniversary, and they plan to release a decade's best sampler sometime near September. I strongly recommend that you write to them for a catalog -- they do a hefty mail-order business since most of their stuff doesn't get to your local record store. As far as I can tell, Ralph started when the Residents started back in 72 with a record called "Meet the Residents" (see my request for a copy on net.records). I don't know the exact chronology of who joined up when, but Snakefinger came along in around 75 and has been a collaborator with the Residents on every record since. By the way, Ralph is *not* a fly-by-night bootleg company; while the early stuff is a bit inferior, most of their recordings are of fine quality. The cover artwork, always done by Pore-No-Graphics (the spelling of the name changes every so often; on the latest Snakefinger it's "Poor No Graphics"), is superb. Another feature of the Ralph disks is the "Official Buy or Die Innersleeve" in which all of the latest stuff gets pushed. Anyway, you have to experience it for yourself. The Ralph folks are generally sarcastic, and often very funny in various ways. They're a lot of fun. Here's a brief synopsis of the Ralph artists: o The Residents What can I say? The most innovative, uncompromising, amusing, and lovable "band" I have ever known. No one knows who they are, despite rare live appearances and a recent "tour" in California. o Snakefinger The 5th Resident, a British guitar player with a refreshingly unique playing style and lyrical perspective. o Tuxedomoon I suppose you'd call them minimalists, in some sense. Music tends to be dark but not gloomy. o Yello One of the more recent Ralph's, electronic pop from Switzerland, sometimes compared with Kraftwerk. Some good stuff, some boring. o Renaldo and the Loaf The latest Ralph doing some of the most intriguing stuff since the early Residents. Very much on the "weird" side, but once you get past that you'll find it quite good listening. o MX-80 Sound SanFrancisco rock band, somewhat atypical among the Ralphs. Good lyrics, very active drumming, fast beat, good vocals. o Art Bears Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, and Dagmar Krause. Frith may be known to some of you for his Eno collaborations (e.g. Before and After Science). I don't have any of their stuff. o Fred Frith See Art Bears. If you're interested in listening to some of this stuff, I strongly recommend that you get a copy of "Frank Johnson's Favorites", a collection released last fall. It's a great introduction, features some of the best stuff by all concerned. Also, you might be able to get "Subterranean Modern", which features Chrome (no longer on Ralph but worth a look), The Residents, MX-80 Sound, and Tuxedomoon. Special feature -- they all do a version of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". Lastly there's "Nybbles", a collection of Residents stuff; this was my intro to them. If you're interested in more, or otherwise want to flame about music, mail me (cornell!bob). Opinions welcome. Bob Harper