Animal Lover

Animal Lover
Studio album by The Residents
Released	April 5, 2005
Recorded	2005
Genre	Experimental rock
Length	58:46
Label	Mute
The Residents chronology
Demons Dance Alone (2002) Animal Lover (2005) River Of Crime (2006)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
PopMatters	(6/10) [2]

Animal Lover is an album, released in 2005 by The Residents.

It portrays human life through the eyes of different animals. In the CD booklet, the lyrics to a song are preceded by a story from an animal's point of view. For example, "On the way (To Oklahoma)" begins with a story, from the animal's viewpoint, about a man obsessed with tigers. On the next page, the lyrics are shown, giving the listener the details behind the story. On this particular track, the man goes insane, thinks he's a tiger, and kills a dog. The story precedes the song itself, but also tells us what happened to the man.

However, not all tracks contain stories. "Dreaming of an Anthill (Teeming)", "Ingrid's Oily Tongue", and "Mr. Bee's Bumble" are instrumental tracks. There aren't any stories to these songs in the booklet, perhaps to allow the listener to discern the story him/herself.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"On the Way (to Oklahoma)"	4:06
2.	"Olive and Gray"	4:07
3.	"What Have My Chickens Done Now"	4:24
4.	"Two Lips"	2:43
5.	"Mr. Bee's Bumble"	3:28
6.	"Inner Space"	4:15
7.	"Dead Men"	3:25
8.	"My Window"	5:20
9.	"Ingrid's Oily Tongue"	1:55
10.	"Mother No More"	3:19
11.	"Dreaming of an Anthill (Teeming)"	2:23
12.	"Elmer's Song"	4:34
13.	"The Monkey Man"	4:01
14.	"The Whispering Boys"	4:27
15.	"Burn My Bones"	6:19
Total length:		58:46

Bonus CD

The album also contains a bonus CD, generally called "...Imaginary Jack". According to the Cryptic Corporation, it really is one long track, divided to six parts to the enjoyment of the listener. The full title is actually the entire text written on the disc:

"I stood at my window staring at an arcing streetlight.
A sudden wind made me pull my shoulders to my ears.
I pissed into the dark.
It smelled like canned tuna.
My swollen lip throbbed.
I could still taste the blood.
My eyes rolled back looking for memories.
I stopped.

I was changing details in my mind, remembering only what I wanted it to be, not what it was.
I had only a short time to do what had to be done, after that it would all be forever absorbed by my imaginary Jack."

The tracks on the bonus CD combine elements from tracks from the original CD with elements from then-unreleased material. For example, the instrumental versions of "My Window" and "The Monkey Man" were sampled on track 2, as well as lyrics from unreleased material and modulated lyrics from "Burn My Bones" and "The Monkey Man".

Track listing

1. "Part 1" - 2:55
2. "Part 2" - 6:52
3. "Part 3" - 1:38
4. "Part 4" - 1:22
5. "Part 5" - 6:28
6. "Part 6" - 10:10

Animal Lover Instrumental

A CD containing a series of lush instrumental organizations was released in January 2008. It was limited to 1000 copies and sold very quickly.

Track listing

1. "Low Rain" - 2:11
2. "Dead Men" - 3:28
3. "On the Way (to Oklahoma)" - 2:12
4. "Olive and Gray" - 2:30
5. "What Have My Chickens Done Now?" - 2:48
6. "Two Lips" - 3:33
7. "Jack’s Lament" - 2:18
8. "Inner Space" - 3:08
9. "My Window" - 2:07
10. "Ingrid’s Oily Tongue" - 3:25
11. "Mother No More" - 3:00
12. "Aura Flex" - 3:31
13. "Elmer’s Song" - 6:00
14. "Monkey Man" - 5:01
15. "The Whispering Boy" - 3:09
16. "Burn My Bones" - 5:04

Trivia

The unusual noises with which "Burn My Bones" open are a sample from the instrumental version of "Two Lips", albeit a thoroughly dismantled version.

The song 'My Window' was used as the encore song for The Resident's 'The Bunny Boy' tour.

References

1. Westergaard, Sean. Animal Lover at AllMusic
2. PopMatters review

External links

• Concerning the speed of Animal Lover Instrumental sales
• Concerning the track listing of Animal Lover and its instrumental counterpart.