Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible
album by The Residents
Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible is a concept album released in 1998 by American art rock band the Residents. The album's purpose is to retell some of the more "curious" stories in the Bible, not to condemn the stories, but to give a greater understanding to them.
Track listing
"In the Beginning" - (2:57) is about the creation of the Earth and is entirely instrumental. (Genesis 1-3)
"Fire Fall" - (3:34) is about Lot escaping from Sodom and watching his wife turn to salt. (Genesis 19)
"They Are the Meat" - (2:40) is about Ezekiel's visions whilst he is forced to eat only bread and sleep on his side. (Ezekiel 4:4-15, 8-11)
"Melancholy Clumps" - (1:48) is about Noah building the Ark. (Genesis 6-8)
"How to Get a Head" - (4:05) tells us the tale of Salome requesting the head of John the Baptist. (Mark 6:17-29)
"Cain and Abel" - (3:34) tells us the story of the jealous Cain killing his brother Abel. (Genesis 4)
"Mr. Misery" - (2:19) is about Jeremiah and his suffering.
The public source identifies “Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible” as album by The Residents. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Wormwood, Curious and Stories.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible”, the useful work is to connect “album by The Residents” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3570049. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1998.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible primary sources, Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible archive and Wormwood research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.