The Hawk

Another Picture by me PMS! Anyway to ease the pain of a unused sex drive.

Did you hear the GOSSIP about KENNETH ANGER?

So Check this out! I found this video for the Gossip song "Heavy Cross." This is not the official video that I was going to put up, but this one is a little more fun. It is a collage of clips from old experimental films, mainly from Kenneth Anger's work(s). I will let Max figure out the rest of the films and directors. Kudos to the creator of this peice. So enjoy this video. Also, the New Gossip album "Music for Men" is definitely right down my alley...I am a man and I do enjoy this music. Thank you Gossip!
-PMS

The Age of Ademi

While searching for intellectual pornography (you know, looking up filmmakers, authors, artists, and the like that make you squirm six inches under your belly button) I stumbled upon this little gem I had no idea about. In continuing the NFB theme (see below), here is, without further ado, Guy Maddin's latest piece, NIGHT MAYOR (say it quick...). In a nutshell, the film is a portrait of Ademi Nihad, a Bosnian immigrant living in Winnipeg with his children. He created an organic television to transcribe the Aurora Borealis into sound and images, but it's not enough. He devises a plan to spread this transmission via telephones across the country with his Telemelodium. Of course, there's a conflict...

Maddin is a director I greatly admire above all others, but it's not just his absurdist, comical, silent and experimental cinema throwback style that gets me hot, but the fact that he continues to make short works when the rest of the world seems to be dealing with the pressure to create feature-lengths. When will people realize they can say a lot more in 10 minutes than dragging our dollars out for three hours in a megaplex swallowing our own demented drool over the latest piece of Hollywood's anal drivel? Check out any short by the Kuchars, Anger, or even Maddin, for that matter, and I'll bet there is enough material in just one of those films for Hollywood to make 3 films out of. Anyway, enough ranting. I just want more short "features" (even 45 - 60mins would be awesome). Enjoy.

--m--

The Real Begone Dull Care

This is in response to Patrick's previous post about the Junior Boys and their album, "Begone Dull Care," which I had no idea about. Thought I'd go ahead and post the inspiration (I assume...) for that album.
Presented by the NFB of Canada, here is Norman McLaren's groundbreaking cameraless film, animated to a groovy soundtrack by Oscar Peterson. As a practitioner of found footage and cameraless filmmaking, all I can say is that this is what we dream of making, and Mr. McLaren pulled it off (I'll bet it took a few years...). Speaking of dreams, and making, I think it was Len Lye who said something along the lines of: making a film with a camera - the images come from without, but making a film without a camera - the images come from within. Pretty neat, huh?

--/\/\--

Currently my sex drive is begging for synths and soft industrial-esque beats. "Work" is off of the album "Begone Dull Care" by Junior Boys. This is not new and fresh, but still great. I visualize sexy people lit by an array of colors in a dark room while being rotated on pedestal so we can worship their beautiful bodies. Junior Boys is a great artist to listen to while in the lovemaking mood ...if you want your love making to feel like it is taking place in the 80's (which I for sure prefer).

Coming soon to a dumpster near you!

Ok, so this... this could literally drive someone's sex drive utterly insane. If you're in the Minneapolis area, Uptown Theatre will be showing this TWICE at midnight on Friday and Saturday, 7/2 & 7/3. I don't know what else to say other than I hate trailers, but given this is a little over a minute AND a Harmony Korine video, I don't see it giving too much away... Not that Mister Lonely was super successful (at least financially), but methinks Korine is pulling a Van Sant and using larger budget productions to propel smaller ones. But then again, Korine's smaller projects are altogether in a different ballpark than Van Sant's. Hope you enjoy, I know I will.

--M--

Montana is known as the Treasure State. Does it make sense to you?

This should really get people's sex drives goin'. Especially if you're into that electro-acoustic stuff... Recently, we saw Matmos & So Percussion perform at the Cedar Cultural Center. It'd been about 4 years since they last played Minnesota at the Walker, and all I can say is that it was definitely worth the wait. As compared to last outings, So Percussion add the needed umph (if ya know what I mean) to Matmos's live set, lending their expert rhythm to such objects as beer cans, chains, and a cactus (see above) to name just a few of the less obvious rhythm makers... Playing for over an hour and a half, the group began with a long improvisation that ended in Steve Reich's music for woodblocks piece (So Percussion are particularly known for their renditions of these...). They then entered into the hysterically epic territory that is, The Treasure State. Each song, accompanied by a video, gave the feeling of a road trip, a concept I feel they captured rather professionally on their latest outing here --buy it on 7/13!!! or if you see them, grab a copy.

The new material is quite possibly the most beautiful I've heard Matmos do since some of the Civil War tracks and disposes of the sinister feeling I hear in a lot of their darker, more industrial tracks (such as: most of Chance to Cut, Tract for Valerie, and so on). It still has a keen sense of humor, and is very fun, but greatly contrasts Supreme Balloon (which is probably due mostly to So Percussion, and the fact that a lot of Matmos's previous albums contrast Supreme Balloon - that was the point, right?). On an aside, the only tracks I recognized other than new material were Rainbow Flag and Polychords (yes, the whole thing!!!) and they were fantastic! I'd normally have reservations about hearing Supreme Balloon songs live (at least over other favorites I have), but they completely melted my face off. ANYWAY- Unfortunately, the recorded version is toned down and less improvised (like always...) as compared to the epic proportions they conquer, or set free, live, but still, they captured their concept well here. As stated before, every track feels like another landscape in a road trip and DON'T FORGET ABOUT THAT CACTUS with a microphone inside... Jawesome tunage.

--M--