Diskomo / Goosebump

* Original artwork
* 1990 CD

***Diskomo / Goosebump*** is an EP by The Residents released on April 11th, 1980, containing a disco parody of their own 1979 LP '*Eskimo,*' and avant-garde reinterpretations of several 'mother goose' children's songs created using instruments purchased from Toys R Us. Both sides feature contributions from Snakefinger, although it is only on Side B where he is created as co-lead artist.

The EP has since been reissued numerous times, both in its original format and in altered editions, such as a 1990 CD EP released by Torso which replaces "Goosebump" with "Whoopy Snorp", "Saint Nix" and a 1987 live version of "Diskomo", and the 2000 compilation *Diskomo 2000*.

## Background

### Recording

Following the release of *Eskimo* in 1979, The Residents responded to the praise it generated by creating "Diskomo" - a disco track using elements from *Eskimo* set to a danceable beat; "jamming it up" while remaining true to the original concept. Seemingly concurrently, they created a suite of tracks intended to be a children's record, which The Residents had long planned to produce. They teamed up with their long-time collaborator Snakefinger to record '*Goosebump*', a collection of nursery rhymes set to music "with the original sinister overtones left intact".

The four songs, "Disaster", "Plants", "Farmers" and "Twinkle", were recorded using a large number of musical instruments which the group had bought at Toys-R-Us; Snakefinger recalled the studio being "about two feet under [with] children's toys... everywhere you walked. You could not move." Although toy instruments were used to produce the music, The Residents' "grown-up toys" were later used to process the recordings.

Snakefinger recalled that the "Goosebump" project "might've been the most fun" he'd had recording with The Residents at that time; his participation was so enthusiastic that The Residents credited him as a primary "co-conspirator" on the cover art.

## Release

*Diskomo / Goosebump* was released in April 1980 as a 12" EP in quantity of 15,000. The Residents took over San Francisco's largest disco hall to celebrate the release; the release party also featured a dance party set to various "weird" and "new" music.

### Legacy

When The Residents began working on their proposed 10th Anniversary Tour in 1982, they created an abridged re-working of Diskomo, incorporating the song's main themes and general mood. This version was left unheard until the 2000 Assorted Secrets CD. The full version of this re-arrangement was later featured on Eskimo pREServed. The following year an abridged edit of the original Diskomo recording was included on the 'Residue' rarities collection. This same edit was later featured on the '*Ralph Before 84*' and '*Memorial Hits*' best of compilations, as well as the 1988 Commercial Album CD and 80 Aching Orphans best of set.

In 1985, the EP was released in Germany by the label 'Wishbone Records' in a limited editon of 5,000. Shortly after this, the group began performing a medley of Diskomo and The Festival of Death (from Eskimo) live as the encore for their 13th Anniversary Show. That same year, two tracks from the Goosebumps suite were featured on the '*Heaven?*' and '*Hell!*' best of albums, with '*Twinkle*' on 'Heaven?' and '*Plants*' on 'Hell!'

At the final performance of The 13th Anniversary Show, the group recorded a live version of Diskomo, which would be released on a flexi disc the following year, and later, on Liver Music. Also in 1987, the 'Goosebumps' tracks were included on CD issues of the Duck Stab album,. This was followed by a re-issue of Diskomo on green vinyl in 1988.

Just as the *Duck Stab* EP became the *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* LP, an attempt was been made to expand the *Diskomo* EP into an album in 2000 with the release of *Diskomo 2000*, which an additional 10 minutes of unreleased material, including re-recordings of Diskomo from 1992 and 2000, as well as a re-working of 'Twinkle,' from Goosebump. A music video for the 2000 re-working of Diskomo was included on the Eskimo DVD.

A re-ordered version of *Diskomo 2000* was issued as a vinyl LP in 2017, simply titled *Diskomo*.

Tracks from Diskomo have been occasionally included on CD issues of Eskimo, starting with the 2010 Birdsong / Hayabusa Landings CD, which included the original recording of Diskomo plus Diskomo 2000 and Diskomo 1992. The full Diskomo EP, plus the 1987 live recording, were included on the 2019 Eskimo pREServed set.

### Original EP (1980)

#### Side B: *Goosebump* (14:27)

1. Disaster (3:48)
2. Plants (3:14)
3. Farmers (5:27)
4. Twinkle (1:58)

### Torso reissue (1990)

1. Diskomo (8:00)
2. Whoopy Snorp (3:40)
3. Saint Nix (2:28)
4. Diskomo Live (3:20)

### LP reissue (2017)

1. Diskomo (8:00)
2. Diskomo 2000 (4:50)
3. Diskomo 1992 (3:30)
4. Twinkle 2000 (2:35)
5. Disaster (3:48)
6. Plants (3:14)
7. Farmers (5:27)
8. Twinkle (1:58)

## Credits

* Snakefinger: Performance on Goosebump
* Drawing of The Residents by Jad Fair of Half Japanese
* Art Direction by Pore Know Graphics

## See also

* *Eskimo*
* *Diskomo 2000*
* *Subterranean Modern*

## Buy Or Die!

* *Eskimo* pREServed edition at MVDShop (US)
* *Eskimo* pREServed edition at Cherry Red Records (UK)

## External links and references

* *Diskomo/Goosebump* on The Residents Historical
* *Diskomo/Goosebump* on RZWeb

1. ↑ The Cryptic Guide to The Residents
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Cryptic Guide to The Residents
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *Residue of The Residents* liner notes, 1983
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "They were taking pieces out of each of the recognizable parts of *Eskimo*, remaining true to *Eskimo* and jamming it up, man. Sticking with *Eskimo*, you can recognize all those things from the album, and they're changed into acceptable Western-style musical form. Although it's not acceptable anymore." Snakefinger, KPFA radio interview, 1980
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "On [side two] is a number entitled "Goosebump". What it is, is a medley of children's songs which are played entirely 100% on children's instruments, I mean, on toy instruments purchased from a toy store... It's more typically Residential [than "Diskomo"]. Jay Clem, KPFA Radio Interview, 1980
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "In my recording experience with The Residents, which has been a long and happy one, that might've been the most fun, recording "Goosebumps". The studio was literally about two feet under children's toys, everywhere you walked. You could not move. There was every kind of children's toy imaginable - every kind of children's musical instrument. So we decided to do it in sections. We got all together the children's nursery rhymes and things that we could think of. We selected the best-known ones and ones that we liked best and put them all into different sections, trying to put together all the songs about farms, Indians, mice, so that would be one section. Then all the pleasant ones about stars would go in another section, then the ones about flowers, plants, we had a plants section. We're very fond of plants. But anyway, the farmer's section almost managed to become more paranoid than the actual paranoid section. [...] It's one of the themes of modern-day to day living. One of the very major themes, so I guess it does come into the music a lot." Snakefinger, KPFA radio interview, 1980
7. ↑ "All but about two or three pieces [of *Eskimo*] are used." Snakefinger, KPFA radio interview, 1980
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 *Duck Stab* Classic Series CD reissue liner notes, 1987

**Side A:**
"The Walrus Hunt" · "Birth" · "Arctic Hysteria" · "The Angry Angakok"
**Side B:**
"A Spirit Steals A Child" · "The Festival Of Death"
**Personnel**
The Residents · Snakefinger · Chris Cutler · Don Preston
**Related works**
"Kenya" · "Middle East Dance" · "Scottish Rhapsody" · "The Sleeper" · Collectors' Box series · *Subterranean Modern* ("The Replacement") · ***Diskomo/Goosebump*** · Eskimo Live ("Eskimo Opera Proposal") · *Assorted Secrets* · *Diskomo 2000* · *Eskimo DVD* · *Eskimo Deconstructed* · "Eskimo - Renaldo & The Loaf Re-Construction"
**Related articles**
Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Poor No Graphics ·  Dinosaur Productions · N. Senada · Polar Eskimo (Angakok) ·  *Not Available* · *Chewing Hides The Sound* · *Eskimo De/Re-constructed*‏‏‎