Hello Skinny

Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen Side B label art, 1978

"**Hello Skinny**" (working title **"Skinny"**) is a song by The Residents, recorded for their planned 1978 EP *Buster & Glen*, which was ultimately released as the second side of the album *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* on Ralph Records in November of that year.

A music video for the song by Graeme Whifler and The Residents was released in 1980. The video starred Bridgit Terris.

## History

The Residents' 7" EP *Duck Stab!* (released on Ralph Records in February 1978) had proven to be an unprecedented success for the group, and with their next studio album, *Eskimo*, then estimated to be a year away from completion, the group's management company The Cryptic Corporation urged the group to record a second EP as a follow up to *Duck Stab!*.

The group recorded seven tracks for the second EP (including "Hello Skinny") in the eight months following the release of *Duck Stab!*. The planned EP was to be titled *Buster & Glen* after its cover photograph, which had been retrieved from the house of a Resident's deceased family member. Ultimately, *Buster & Glen* was never issued as a stand-alone release, with Cryptic opting instead to issue the seven tracks as the second side of an LP also containing *Duck Stab!*, now titled *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen*.

The song's second verse was originally its first (and vice versa); the order of the verses was changed during the writing process. The lyrics refer to the song "Never Known Questions", from The Residents' (unreleased at the time of recording) second album *Not Available*, and namecheck the 1964 musical *Hello, Dolly!*.

### Later versions

"Hello Skinny" was first performed by The Residents live in a minimalist arrangement featured on their 13th Anniversary Show international tour, between 1985 and 1987.

In 1996, it was performed with Primus at The Residents' first live appearance following a five year hiatus. The following year it featured as the encore to The Residents' Disfigured Night live show.

In 2001 a new studio version was recorded for The Residents' retrospective DVD *Icky Flix*; this arrangement was subsequently performed on the supporting tour, and in the Way We Were retrospective live show in Australia in 2005.

In 2012 The Residents recorded a newly "re-imagined" version of "Hello Skinny", which was ultimately released on the Robot Selling Device compilation *D\*ck S\*ab*. In 2016 Charles Bobuck, re-recorded the track for his Residents cover album *Bobuck Plays The Residents*.

In 2018, a previously unheard remix of the song was featured on the Klanggalerie reissue of *RMX*, and was covered by Ovalematic for inclusion on the tribute/cover album *I Am A Resident!*.

Most recently, the song has been re-arranged for the 2021 streaming TV special *Duck Stab! Alive!*, and the much-delayed Dog Stab! 50th Anniversary live tour.

## Music video

Shortly after the release of *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* in November 1978, The Residents and collaborator Graeme Whifler began conceiving a series of short films designed to promote the album. The planned series of shorts eventually grew to become a proposed musical feature film; this concept would have starred Bridgit Terris (a disabled man discovered by Whifler) as the film's protagonist "Skinny".

These plans stalled (with little filming completed) when The Cryptic Corporation decided they did not want to attempt to market a feature film; around the same time, Terris suddenly left San Francisco, seemingly never to return. Whifler used a small amount of the footage shot for the abandoned film, alongside a montage of images derived from pictures of Terris taken by Whifler as the former was preparing to leave the city, to create a single music video for "Hello Skinny", which premiered in 1980.

The video (later included on the *Video Voodoo* VHS in 1987, the *Twenty Twisted Questions* laserdisc in 1992, and *Icky Flix* DVD in 2001) is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art alongside The Residents' other early promotional films. A new HD restoration of the video was created from the original film elements by Peter Conheim for the Cinema Preservation Alliance in 2019.

## Lyrics

```
Skinny was born in a bathtub
And grew so incredibly thin,
That even the end of an eye dropper
Sucked him in;

```

```
Now Skinny never knew any questions
And Skinny never looked at lights,
But Skinny sold something
Every single night.

```

```
Skinny sold a soldier to me,
Skinny sold a wife,
Skinny sold a suction cup
And a knife.
Skinny found a *Hello, Dolly!* record
In the hall.
He sold it to a truck driver
In the fall.

```

```
(Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly!
Hello!)

```

## List of releases

* *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* (1978)
* *Ralph Before '84* (1984)
* *Hell!* (1986)
* *Live In The USA! 13th Anniversary Tour* (1986)
* *Video Voodoo Volume I* VHS (1987)
* *13th Anniversary Show - Live In Holland* (1987)
* *Twenty Twisted Questions* laserdisc (1992)
* *Louisiana's Lick* (1995)
* *Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses* (1997)
* *Live At The Fillmore* (1998)
* *13th Anniversary Show - Live In Tokyo* (1999)
* *Icky Flix* DVD (2001)
* *Petting Zoo* (2002)
* *Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town* ‎(2003)
* *The Way We Were* (2005)
* *Icky Flix Live* DVD (2009)
* *D\*ck S\*ab 35th Anniversary (2012)*
* *Theory Of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents* (2016)
* *Bobuck Plays The Residents* by Charles Bobuck (2016)
* *80 Aching Orphans* (2017)
* *RMX* Klanggalerie reissue (2018)
* *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* pREServed edition (2018)
* *I Am A Resident!* vinyl edition (2018)
* *Icky Flix - The Original Soundtrack Recording* (2020)
* *Duck Stab! Alive!* (2021)

### List of versions

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Grove Street studio recording, March - August 1978 (2:41)
2. ↑ The 13th Anniversary Show live recording, The First Avenue Club, Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 10th 1986 (3:32)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The 13th Anniversary Show live recording, The Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 25th 1986 (3:04)
4. ↑ Fillmore '98 live recording, The Fillmore, San Francisco, California, October 31st 1997 (3:44)
5. ↑ The Eyeball Show live recording, Parco Space, Tokyo, Japan, October 30th 1985 (medley with "Constaninople", 5:12)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 *Icky Flix* studio recording, August 1998 - August 2000 (3:06)
7. ↑ The Way We Were live recording, Forum Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, March 2005 (3:10)
8. ↑ Icky Flix live recording, The Experience Music Project, Seattle, Washington, March 30th 2001 (3:26)
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 *Duck Stab Re-Imagined* studio recording, 2012 (4:01)
10. ↑ The Way We Were live recording, Forum Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, March 2005 (medley with "Lizard Lady", 5:10)
11. ↑ Charles Bobuck studio recording, 2016 (2:07)
12. ↑ Grove Street studio recording, March - August 1978 ("RMX" version, 2:41)
13. ↑ Ovalematic studio recording, 2018 (3:00)
14. ↑ 25th Street Recording live studio recording, May 2021 (2:38)

## See also

* "Hello Skinny" (video)
* Bridgit Terris
* *Duck Stab!* (film)

## External links and references

* *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* at The Residents Historical

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Residents (ed. Aaron Tanner), *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen Notebook*, Melodic Virtue, January 7th 2022
2. ↑ Ima Buddy, *Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS*, 1992

**Side A:** **Duck Stab!**
"Constantinople" · "Sinister Exaggerator" · "The Booker Tease" · "Blue Rosebuds" · "Laughing Song" · "Bach Is Dead" · "Elvis And His Boss"
**Side B:** **Buster & Glen**
"Lizard Lady" · "Semolina" · "Birthday Boy" · "Weight-Lifting Lulu" · "Krafty Cheese" · "**Hello Skinny**" · "The Electrocutioner"
**Personnel**
The Residents · Snakefinger · Ruby
**Related works**
*Duck Stab!* EP · "Soulful Sax" · "Ow Boutthat" · "When Johnny Comes Marching" · "Unlisted" · "Santa Dog '78" · "Guylum Bardot '78" · *Duck Stab!* film · "**Hello Skinny**" video · *D\*ck S\*ab - 35th Anniversary* · Dog Stab! · *Duck Stab! Alive!* · *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen Notebook* · "Duck Kosmische"
**Related articles**
Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Pore No Graphics · Graeme Whifler · Bridgit Terris · The Rick & Ruby Show · "Satisfaction" · *Not Available* · *Eskimo*‏‏‎