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GOD-O: Music for a Gallery Opening

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GOD-O: Music for a Gallery Opening (later reissued as GOD O: Music for a Gallery Opening) is the first solo album by Charles Bobuck, long-time keyboardist and composer for The Residents, featuring a forty minute suite recorded in 2011 for the opening night of an exhibition of artwork by Homer Flynn at Johansson Projects in Oakland, California.

It was released via The Residents' online music platform Robot Selling Device on March 14th 2012, and later as an expanded CD release by The Cryptic Corporation.

On May 20th 2025, GOD O was reissued by Klanggalerie in a deluxe two CD package featuring a previously unheard thirty minute version of "God Damn Chickens", as well as reworked versions of the songs, which had previously been released on the 2012 digital EP Gosh Darn Chickens.

Background

For their 2010 performance piece Talking Light, The Residents adopted the personas of Randy, Chuck and Bob; reflections and satirisation of their anonymous players, the roles allowed The Residents to pursue projects as individuals whilst still being recognised as members of the group. Singer Randy Rose was the first to publicly do so, performing a one man show at The Cabaret at The Marsh in Berkeley, California between October 20th and November 26th 2011; Randy Rose's Sam's Enchanted Evening. The names also began to appear on the credits of their then-current releases; Lonely Teenager, Talking Light Bimbo's and Coochie Brake; the latter of which notably was absent of singer Randy, opening the door for 'Chuck's' solo albums.

Composition

GOD-O had been recorded for Homer Flynn's Johansson Projects art gallery exhibition in Oakland, CA. Flynn, a longtime associate with The Residents, had previously commissioned Hardy Fox to create music for his 2008 exhibit Chaos is Not Just a Theory, with the music being released as the 2009 Residents album Hades. Pleased with the music, Flynn re-commissioned Fox for his 2011 exhibit. Premiering on April 29th, Fox had little time, and compared the process to creating Gado Gado (hence the title) using "noodles and peanut sauce and all the leftovers in the fridge." He did not intend the music to be actively listened to, as it was just there to set mood. When the material was released through The Residents' digital store on March 14th 2012, it was credited to Charles Bobcuk, which promotional material specified was Chuck's real name. [1] This was the first solo release of any member of The Residents, and the first of many for 'Bobuck'

Following the release of his debut solo CD Codgers On The Moon and his 2002 recording Maxine digitally, God-O itself received a CD release on June 23rd through The Cryptic Corporation's eBay page, with 10 minutes of new material recorded in the Spring of 2012.[2] In July of 2012, Bobuck released the bonus tracks as the Gosh Darn Chickens - Three Bobuck Contraptions EP, in alternative mixes.

Legacy

GOD-O established the Chalres Bobuck pseudonym for Hardy Fox, and he would go on to release dozens of albums and other digital releases under it.

The CD bonus track "Goddamn Chickens" featured on the 2016 compilation album THIS. A 2xCD deluxe edition of the album was released in 2025 through Klanggalerie, with the second disc containing alternative mixes of the original bonus tracks, as well as an unreleased 2017 demo recording titled "GDC."

Track listing

Robot Selling Device version

  1. GOD-O: Music For A Gallery Opening (41:09)

CD edition

  1. God Damn Chickens (3:24)
  2. Nada Dago's Eye (3:32)
  3. Spring Song (4:23)
  4. GOD O (41:05)

Klanggalerie deluxe reissue

Disc One

  1. God Damn Chickens (3:26)
  2. Nada Dago's Eye (3:35)
  3. Spring Song (4:25)
  4. GOD O (41:05)

Disc Two

  1. GDC (28:18)
  2. Goshdern Checkens (3:26)
  3. Nada Dago (3:35)
  4. Spring Song (4:26)

Release notes

Artist Homer Flynn had very much liked the music, Chaos is not just a theory, that Charles "Chuck" Bobuck had done for his art show in New York a few years back. So when his new exhibition in Oakland was announced he immediately thought of asking his friend to add some abstract sonic experimentation to the gallery opening.

Chuck was excited to have an excuse to make more noise but time was short.

He did what his mother always did when she needed to clean out the refrigerator. She would make Gado Gado, basically an Indonesian dish made with noodles and peanut sauce and all the leftovers in the fridge. Chuck mixed up a batch of God-o for Homer's opening. He figured his job was to set a mood and that no one would actually listen to the music since art openings are all about wine and chit chat.

Here to prove him wrong is the RSD release of GOD-O, Music for a Gallery Opening.

Previously unreleased. About 40 minutes. Intended for playing in a loop as abstract background ambience

Credits

See also


Hardy Fox Solo Album Discography


Charles Bobuck
 "GOD-O" (2012) · "Codgers on the Moon" (2012) · "Lying Horse Rock" (2012) · "CB Suite" (2013) · "The Highway" (2014) · "Roman de la Rose" (2014)

"As A Child I Sold The News, Now I Sell The Olds" (2015) · "What Was Left of Grandpa" (2015) · "The Swords of Slidell" (2016) · "Bobuck Plays The Residents" (2016)

"Nineteen-Sixty-Seven" (2017)


Hardy Fox
 "Hardy Fox" (2018) · "Rilla Contemplates Love" (2018)


Archival Releases
 "Maxine" (2002 / 2012) · "Life Is My Only Sunshine" (2012 / 2013) · "Missing Soldiers" (2001 / 2015)

"Killing Time" (2018 / 2020) · "Oddities" (2015 / 2021) · "Ibbur" (2018 / 2022)

  1. ↑ The Residents - GOD-O: Music For Gallery Opening released to... | Facebook
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120608010937/http://www.residents.com/home/
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