The History of Digital Music

"The History Of Digital Music" was a demonstration for a junior high school music class, performed by The Residents (under an assumed identity) at an unidentified high school in Berkeley, California, in September 1985. 
The performance featured five pieces of music designed to demonstrate the evolving capabilities and sound of digital music from the pre-MIDI era to the (then) current age. About 12 minutes of audio of the performance have been released. 
The two first parts, "Music Box Punch Card System" and "The Macintosh Computer pre-MIDI", were included in the 1990 live rarities album Liver Music, but Uncle Willie decided "to leave off two other tracks that were less interesting." Later that year, an abridged edit of the third part, "Why Didn't I Think of That? (Early MIDI)," was included on the rarities compilation Stranger Than Supper. As of 2023, the fourth part has not been released, or officially referred to since. 
The third part, "Why Didn't I Think of That?" was originally composed as the theme music to the TV program of the same name. To date little is known publicly about this show. A fourth part is known to exist, and was reference in the March 1990 UWEB newsletter, 
Abridged edits of the three tracks were included on the 1999 compilation album Land of Mystery, and an extended version of "Why Didn't I Think Of That?" was included on the 2010 rarities compilation, Chicken Scratching with The Residents. 
== Set list ==
* Part 1: "Music Box Punch Card System" (4:19)
* Part 2: "The Macintosh Computer pre-MIDI" (6:42)
* Part 3: "Why Didn't I Think of That? (Early MIDI)" (1:24)
* Part 4: "???"
== See also ==
* Liver Music
* Stranger Than Supper
* "Why Didn't I Think of That?"
== External links and references ==
* Liver Music at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
* Stranger Than Supper at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
Category:Liver Music
Category:Live shows
Category:Stranger Than Supper
Category:The History of Digital Music
Category:Secret shows