Aircraft Damage

"**Aircraft Damage**" (informally known as **"Kick A Cat"**) is a song by Arf & Omega with The Singing Lawn Chairs, produced by Residents, Uninc. for inclusion in their later-abandoned feature film *Vileness Fats*, and released on the *Santa Dog* double 7" EP in December 1972.

## History

"Aircraft Damage" was composed by Residents, Uninc. in 1972 for inclusion in the introductory sequence of their (ultimately unfinished) feature film *Vileness Fats*.

Intended as the film's opening musical number, it is a chant performed by Arf and Omega Berry (portrayed by Palmer Eiland and George Ewart respectively), conjoined twins and tag team wrestlers, who are invoking Weescoosa (an immortal native American princess) to appear and rescue the village of Vileness Flats from an invasion by a villainous gang of Bell Boys.

The song (the only musical number from the film which is known to have been recorded to completion by the group) was first released on their debut double 7" EP *Santa Dog* in December 1972, where it featured as the closing track.

On the EP, the song is credited to Arf & Omega with The Singing Lawn Chairs; The Singing Lawn Chairs were a group of female vocalists led by Pamela Zeibak, a singer who would go on to perform with the group throughout the 1970s.

### Later renditions

"Aircraft Damage" was performed live during The Residents' first official live performance at Rather Ripped Records in Berkeley, California in 1976, with Palmer Eiland and George Ewart both appearing and reprising their roles as Arf and Omega for the performance.

For the group (and song's) 20th anniversary in 1992, it was mixed with Snakefinger's "Picnic In The Jungle" to produce "Kick A Picnic" for the album *Our Finest Flowers*.

In 1999 the song was re-recorded for the *Refused* album, this version was retitled 'Pestilence". The song was partially re-recorded again in 2001, as part of the *Vileness Fats* segment of the *Icky Flix* retrospective DVD, in a mash-up with "The Knife Fight".

## Legacy

"Aircraft Damage" has been reissued a number of times since its initial release on the *Santa Dog* EP. It first appeared on the 1977 promotional release *The Residents Radio Special* alongside the other tracks from the EP.

Short samples of the track are heard in the 1984 VHS featurette *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?*, where it is heard alongside the footage from the sequence the song was originally intended for.

It has since been included on expanded CD reissues of the group's debut album *Meet The Residents* in 1988 and 2018, as well as compilations centered specifically around the group's early recordings such as *ERA B474* in 2012 and *The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss* in 2013.

## Lyrics

```
**Arf & Omega**: Weescoosa! Weescoosa!
**Arf**: New Mexico delivers --
**Arf & Omega**: Weescoosa!
**Omega**: But the message must be anyway;
**Arf**: Adenauer's gilded flower's towered over me for years,
**Omega**: But now I need a new excuse;
**Arf & Omega**: Weescoosa! Weescoosa! Weescoosa!
**Omega**: Knows the way.

```

```
**Arf**: She'll free that tree strewn river gravy --
**Omega**: Rushin' down the animal death knoll stream;
**Arf & Omega**: Feeding mouths with wings of trouts and wheeling trays of peppered snouts
**Arf**: To inside civil eyed horny totin' baking pies;
**Omega**: Eyes are big for what they wait.
**Arf**: They stand on backs TOO WEAK for stakes!
**Omega**: The game will have to change before the effervescence is real.
**Arf**: And I don't even CARE!!!
**Omega**: Ah boy! Hamburgers... Mayonnaise... Mustard... Kicking cats and Vileness Fats
for caviar --
**Arf**: Do you ever?
**Omega**: Do you ever --
**Arf & Omega**: Wonder who you are?
**Omega**: Well, kick a cat --
**Arf**: Kick a cat --
**Arf & Omega**: Kick a cat today!
**Omega**: Fish are dumb --
**Arf**: Pluck an eye from one!
**Arf & Omega**: Kick a cat, kick a cat, kick a cat today; fish are dumb, pluck an eye
from one!

```

```
**The Singing Lawn Chairs**:
Kick a cat
Kick a cat today
Kick a cat
Kick a cat today
Weescoosa Knows The Way...

```

## Credits

* Performed by: Arf And Omega featuring The Singing Lawn Chairs
* Written by: B. Barnes and C. America

## List of releases

* *Santa Dog* (1972)
* *The Residents Radio Special* (1977)
* *Mole Show / Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?* VHS (1984)
* *Meet The Residents* Classic Series edition (1988)
* *Liver Music* (1990)
* *Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses* (1997)
* *Refused* (1999)
* *Icky Flix* DVD (2001)
* *Eat Exuding Oinks! Ralph Records' 1977 Radio Special* (1977)
* *Live! ...On The Outskirts* DVD (2002)
* *Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town* (2003)
* *Oh, Mummy! Oh, Daddy! Can't You See That It's True; What The Beatles Did To Me, I Love Lucy Did To You* (2010)
* *ERA B474* (2012)
* *The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss* (2013)
* *The Residents Present The Delta Nudes* (2017)
* *Meet The Residents* pREServed edition (2018)
* *The Third Reich 'n Roll* pREServed edition (2018)

### List of versions

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 El Ralpho mono studio recording, 1972 (3:53)
2. ↑ El Ralpho mono studio recording, 1972 (edited version, 3:45)
3. ↑ El Ralpho mono studio recording, 1972 (excerpt, 0:21)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! live recording, Longbranch Saloon, Berkeley, California, June 7th 1976 (edited version, 2:18)
5. ↑ *Icky Flix* studio recording, 2001 (4:28)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! live recording, Longbranch Saloon, Berkeley, California, June 7th 1976 (5:09)
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! live recording, Longbranch Saloon, Berkeley, California, June 7th 1976 (reprise, 1:30)
8. ↑ Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! instrumental backing tape, 1976 (3:55)

## See also

* *Vileness Fats*
	+ Scene 1 and Scene 2
* Arf and Omega Berry
* Weescoosa
* *Santa Dog*

## External links and references

1. ↑ Ima Buddy, *Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS*, 1992

**Side A:** "Fire" by Ivory and the Brain Eaters · **Side B:** "Explosion" by The Delta Nudes
**Side C:** "Lightning" by The College Walkers · **Side D:** "**Aircraft Damage**" by Arf and Omega feat. The Singing Lawn Chairs
**Personnel**
Residents, Uninc. · Arf and Omega Berry (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · The Singing Lawn Chairs (Pamela Zeibak)
**Related works**
*Vileness Fats* ·"Santa Dog '78" · "Santa Dog '84" · "Santa Dog 88" · "Santa Dog '92" · *Refused* · "Santa Dog 17" · *Santa Dog 50th Anniversary Collection* · "Santa Dog 2022"
**Related articles**
Western Kennel World · The Ventures ("Peter Gunn" · *Play Guitar With The Ventures Volume 7*) · Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · Porno/Graphics · Richard Nixon · Frank Zappa · *Meet The Residents*

**Scene by scene**
1: Arf and Omega · 2: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 1 · 3: Town 1 · 4: Mother's House 1 · 5: Weescoosa & Ninnie 1 · 6: Cave 1 · 7: Weescoosa & Ninnie 2 · 8: Weescoosa's Flashback · 9: Weescoosa & Ninnie 3 · 10: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 2 · 11: Town 2 · 12: Desert 2 · 13: Lonesome Jack & Peggy · 14: Desert 1 · 15: Mother's House 2 · 16: Town 3 · 17: Banquet Hall · 18: Cave 2 · 19: Bridge 1 · 20: The Master Plan · 21: Cave 3 · 22: Desert 3 · 23: Night Club 1 · 24: Desert 4 · 25: Night Club 2 · 26: Desert 5 · 27: Cave 4 · 28: Night Club 3 · 29: Desert 6 · 30: Night Club 4 · 31: Cave 5 · 32: Night Club 5 · 33: Mother's House 3 · 34: Night Club 6 · 35: The Window of Never
**Cast and characters**
Saint Steven / Lonesome Jack (Jay Clem) · Weescoosa (Sally Lewis) · Arf and Omega Berry (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · Ninnie (Danny Williams) · Steve's Mother (Marge Howard) · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Smyk) · Weenie (Danny Williams) · Uncle Willy (Hardy Fox)
with
Irene Dogmatic · J. Raoul Brody · Barry "Schwump" Schwam · Hugo Olson · Bill Dewalt · Diane Flynn · Homer Flynn · Tony Logan · Dennis Sealy · The Mysterious N. Senada as himself

**Crew**
The Residents: direction, screenplay, music, sets, costumes · Graeme Whifler: lighting, sets, second unit direction · Diane Flynn: costumes · John Kennedy: editing
**Settings**
Vileness Flats (Mother's House · Ninnie's House · Banquet Hall · Willy's Hot Spot) · Motel · The Cave · The Desert · The Window of Never
**Soundtrack music**
"**Aircraft Damage**" · "The Importance of Evergreen" · "Eloise" · "Kamikaze Lady" · "Lonely At The Top" · "Fever" · "Russian Love Song" · *X Is For Xtra* ("Theme From X" · "Slow Texture" · "Asonarose" · "Soundtrack Music Piece 17")
**Related works**
The Boarding House performance · *Santa Dog* · *Meet The Residents* · *Not Available* (*X Is For Xtra*) · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* (video) · "March de la Winni" · Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! performance · *Fingerprince* · *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?* (soundtrack · *PAL TV LP*) · *Video Voodoo* · *Twenty Twisted Questions* · *Icky Flix* (soundtrack · "The Knife Fight" · *RZ VF*) · *Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents* · *Double Trouble* ("Junior's Double Trouble Nightmare" · trailer) · *Triple Trouble* (soundtrack)
**Related articles**
Atomic Shopping Carts · The Bell Boys · Residents, Uninc. · "My Mammy"· Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · The Ugly Grey Theater

**Major works**
*Rusty Coathangers for the Doctor* (1970) · *The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger* (1970) · *The W\*\*\*\*\* B\*\*\* Album* (1971) · *B.S.* (1971) · *Santa Dog* (1972)
**Other recordings**
"I Hear Ya Got Religion" / "Moonman" (1969) · *1-10 (With A Touch of 11)* (1972)
**Compilation albums**
*ERA B474* (2012) · *The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss* (2013) · *The Residents Present The Delta Nudes* (2016) · *A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big* (2019) · *Warning: Uninc.* (2022)
**Live shows**
The Boarding House, October 18th 1971 · Philip's Wedding, October 31st 1971 · Chris' Party, February 12th 1972
**Collaborators**
Randy Rose · Charles Bobuck · Hardy Fox · Homer Flynn · Palmer Eiland · Roger "Bunny" Hartley · Jay Clem · John Kennedy · Roland Sheehan · Bob Tangney · Jim Whitaker · N. Senada · Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Swaton) · The Singing Lawn Chairs (Pamela Zeibak)
**Related articles**
San Mateo apartment · Hal Halverstadt · Porno Graphics · Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Residents · *Vileness Fats* · *Meet The Residents* · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* · "Satisfaction" · "Aphids In The Hall" · The Cryptic Corporation · *WB:RMX*‎‎‏‏‎