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The 12 Days of Brumalia was an "internet event" hosted on The Residents' official website between December 24th, 2003, and January 5th, 2004. The event included the release of thirteen tracks through the group's news blog at residents.com.

All thirteen tracks would be compiled into an official CD release on Ralph America later in 2004. Later on, MVD Audio released a 10th-anniversary edition, featuring bonus tracks from their 1993 'Prelude To "The Teds"' EP.

History[]

Recording[]

During breaks from The Residents' Demons Dance Alone tour, the group began casual work on a new set of tracks with their touring band, which then consisted of Molly Harvey, Carla Fabrizio, Nolan Cook, Toby Dammit, and guest musician Eric Drew Feldman.

The tracks were recorded for fun, and were never intended to represent the group's follow-up to Demons Dance Alone. The Residents decided that the recordings would be perfect for an experiment in free internet downloads. They agreed that for 13 days, the tracks would be released through their website as a project titled The 12 Days of Brumalia - a holiday derived from the ancient Roman Brumalia, which lasted from November 24th to December 24th every year, and which was celebrated until the 11th century.

While most of the compositions are unique to The 12 Days of Brumalia, three of the tracks were remixed versions of older songs ("Day 8" is "Jello Jack The Boneless Boy", "Day 10" is "Betty's Body" and "Day 11" is "The Sleepwalker"), and "Day 12" reappeared as a motif on the album Tweedles! in 2006.

Release[]

The first track was released on December 24th 2003. The rest followed daily until January 5th, to celebrate 'Brumalia,' a fictionalized thirteen-day holiday beginning on Christmas Eve and ending on January 5th, was conceived by The Residents and marked with the release of a song on each day of the holiday, available for a short time only through the blog. On the final day, The Residents presented the piece "The Feast of Epiphany," concluding the event.

Each track was accompanied on the blog with an illustration and a quote, further elaborating on the holiday's history and that day's significance.

In April 2004, a further track, titled "Bride of the 12 Days of Brumalia", was released on The Residents' website; this was later re-released as part of the EYEFUL series, with the amended title "Oddo's Mood", and was included (under the latter title) on the Eyeful compilation album in 2020.

Physical release[]

Initially, The Residents seemed against the idea of re-releasing the tracks, with the album's co-producer Homer Flynn stating that "the Brumalia songs were a present for those who visited the site every day. It is not for those who didn't. It is not a gift for the world. Think about it; the Brumalia songs would still be on residents.com if we wished to have them shared. They should not be archived and shared." Despite this, The Cryptic Corporation would ultimately compile all thirteen Brumalia pieces into a CD release in June 2004, with a bonus fourteenth track, "The True Meaning of Brumalia".

The first pressing of the CD release featured a factory error, in which the manufacturers presented the inside art on the front cover, and the front cover art on the inlay; fans with affected copies were sent replacement covers and were advised to dispose of the faulty covers.[1] The error was not present in the second printing of the album.

The 12 Days of Brumalia was reissued in 2014 by MVD Audio alongside the 1993 EP Prelude To "The Teds," with a bonus track, a 2014 remix of "Boneless Boy".

Track listing[]

Original online release (Brumalia 2003-2004)[]

  1. Day 1 (December 24th 2003) (4:27)
  2. Day 2 (December 25th 2003) (2:54)
  3. Day 3 (December 26th 2003) (2:13)
  4. Day 4 (December 27th 2003) (3:01)
  5. Day 5 (December 28th 2003) (2:21)
  6. Day 6 (December 29th 2003) (1:55)
  7. Day 7 (December 30th 2003) (2:12)
  8. Day 8 (December 31st 2003) (3:39)
  9. Day 9 (January 1st 2004) (2:04)
  10. Day 10 (January 2nd 2004) (2:56)
  11. Day 11 (January 3rd 2004) (2:54)
  12. Day 12 (January 4th 2004) (2:35)
  13. The Feast of Epiphany (January 5th 2004) (5:46)

Ralph America CD release (2004)[]

  1. Partridge Pairing (1st Day of Brumalia) (3:24)
  2. Turtle Dove (2nd Day of Brumalia) (2:52)
  3. Chicken of the Oui (3rd Day of Brumalia) (2:10)
  4. Calling Bird (4th Day of Brumalia) (2:58)
  5. Golden Rings (5th Day of Brumalia) (2:19)
  6. Lying Goose (6th Day of Brumalia) (1:52)
  7. Swami Swan (7th Day of Brumalia) (2:10)
  8. Maid Being Milked (8th Day of Brumalia) (3:36)
  9. Wiggling Wahines (9th Day of Brumalia) (2:02)
  10. Leaping and Lords (10th Day of Brumalia) (2:53)
  11. Pieta's Piper (11th Day of Brumalia) (2:52)
  12. Big Hand (12th Day of Brumalia) (2:29)
  13. The Feast of the Epiphany (5:38)
  14. The True Meaning of Brumalia (1:55)

The 12 Days of Brumalia + Prelude To "The Teds" (2014)[]

  1. Day 1 (4:27)
  2. Day 2 (2:54)
  3. Day 3 (2:13)
  4. Day 4 (3:01)
  5. Day 5 (2:21)
  6. Day 6 (1:55)
  7. Day 7 (2:12)
  8. Day 8 (3:39)
  9. Day 9 (2:04)
  10. Day 10 (2:56)
  11. Day 11 (2:54)
  12. Day 12 (2:35)
  13. The Feast Of Epiphany (5:46)
  14. Teddy (4:00)
  15. I Tried To Cry (2:06)
  16. The Cry Of A Crow (3:24)
  17. Struggle (3:02)
  18. Boneless Boy (Charles Bobuck Remix 2014) (3:35)

Credits[]

Guests

Produced by: The Cryptic Corporation

Additonal Credits (From 2014 CD)

Secret Guests

  • M. Salvator
  • Pavers

Release history[]

Year Label Format Notes
2004 Ralph America CD Two variations with alternate artwork. 475 of one, 525 of the other
2014 MVD Audio Not including 'The True Meaning of Brumalia'. Five additional bonus tracks

See also[]

External links and references[]

Bog-2013-header The Residents' Official News BOG
(2003-2014)

Official News Blog and Website Wrapper (August 2003 - February 2004)
August 2003 · September 2003 · October 2003 · November 2003 · December 2003 · January 2004 · February 2004

Official News BOG (March 2004 - April 2007)
March 2004 · April 2004 · May 2004 · June 2004 · July 2004 · August 2004 · September 2004 · October 2004 · November 2004 · December 2004 · January 2005 · February 2005 · March 2005 · April 2005 · May 2005 · June 2005 · July 2005 · August 2005 · September 2005 · October 2005 · November 2005 · December 2005 · January 2006 · February 2006 · March 2006 · April 2006 · May 2006 · June 2006 · July 2006 · August 2006 · September 2006 · October 2006 · November 2006 · December 2006 · January 2007 · February 2007 · March 2007 · April 2007

Official News Blog (May 2007 - March 2008)
May 2007 · June 2007 · July 2007 · August 2007 · September 2007 · October 2007 · November 2007 · December 2007 · January 2008 · February 2008 · March 2008

The Residents Blog (April 2008 - August 2010)
April 2008 · May 2008 · June 2008 · July 2008 · August 2008 · September 2008 · October 2008 · November 2008 · December 2008 · January 2009 · February 2009 · June 2009 · July 2009 · August 2009 · September 2009 · October 2009 · January 2010 · February 2010 · March 2010 · April 2010 · July 2010 · August 2010

residents.com news (September 2010 - September 2014)
September 2010 · October 2010 · November 2010 · December 2010 · January 2011 · February 2011 · March 2011 · April 2011 · June 2011 · July 2011 · August 2011 · September 2011 · October 2011 · November 2011 · December 2011 · January 2012 · February 2012 · March 2012 · April 2012 · May 2012 · June 2012 · July 2012 · September 2012 · October 2012 · December 2012 · March 2013 · June 2013 · August 2013 · September 2013 · October 2013 · November 2013 · December 2013 · January 2014 · March 2014 · April 2014 · June 2014 · July 2014 · August 2014

Related articles
residents.com · Big Brother · BOGcast · The Residents Historical (The Last Word) · The 12 Days of Brumalia · "Santa Dog 2006" · Summer Tunes · Not-So-Secret Cruel Tunes · News Machine

Mtrlabel-transparent-sml The Residents studio albums

Ralph Records (1972 - 1987)
Meet The Residents (1974) · The Third Reich 'n Roll (1976) · Fingerprince (1977) · Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (1978)
Not Available (1978) · Eskimo (1979) · Commercial Album (1980) · Mark of the Mole (1981)
The Tunes of Two Cities (1982) · George & James (1984) · The Big Bubble (1985) · Stars & Hank Forever! (1986)

Ryko and Enigma (1988 - 1989)
God In Three Persons (1988) · The King & Eye (1989)

East Side Digital (1990 - 2002)
Freak Show (1990) · Our Finest Flowers (1992) · Gingerbread Man (1994) · Have A Bad Day (1996)
Wormwood (1998) · Demons Dance Alone (2002)

Mute Records (2004 - 2007)
Animal Lover (2005) · Tweedles! (2006) · The Voice of Midnight (2007)

MVD Audio (2008 - 2015)
The Bunny Boy (2008) · Lonely Teenager (2011) · Mush-Room (2013)

MVD Audio and Cherry Red (2016 - present)
The Ghost of Hope (2017) · Intruders (2018) · Metal, Meat & Bone (2020)

Fan club / off-label albums
Buckaroo Blues (1989) · The 12 Days of Brumalia (2004) · Night of the Hunters (2007)
Hades (2009) · Dollar General (2010) · Night Train To Nowhere! (2012)

Soundtrack albums
Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? (1984) · The Census Taker (1985) · Hunters (1995) · Icky Flix (2001)
I Murdered Mommy! (2004) · Postcards From Patmos (2008) · Strange Culture/Haeckel's Tale (2010)
Chuck's Ghost Music (2011) · Theory of Obscurity Soundtrack (2014) · Sculpt (2016) · Music to Eat Bricks By (2019) · Triple Trouble (2022)

Collaborative albums
Title In Limbo with Renaldo & The Loaf (1983) · I Am A Resident! with You? (2018)

Live in the studio
Assorted Secrets (1984) · Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions (2000) · Talking Light Live In Rehearsal, Santa Cruz, California (2010)
Mole Dance 82 (2021) · Duck Stab! Alive! (2021)

Related articles
The Residents discography (W.E.I.R.D., 1979) · Ralph Records discography

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