I am a remix junky, there is nothing that tickles my fancy more
than being able to call out a reference or sample that’s been re-contextualized
and re-packaged for public consumption. Some people truly make an art form out
of it, surpassing the inspiration and flipping it on its head for something altogether
unique and exciting.
Kirby Ferguson celebrates the remix as much as I do and has
made his well-known series “Everything is a Remix” available for the first time
ever as one long play video. Although some
of this content has been around for 5 years now, everything has been given a
polish and new transitions to make it all work even better in celebration of
the series anniversary.
Grab some popcorn and a drink, get comfortable and enjoy the
40 minute clip, it might even surprise some
and change your outlook on what makes something original and why we are attracted
to the things that we are in the first place.
The weekend is upon us and it’s supposed to be pretty cold
and snowy here in NY so why not grab some popcorn and a beverage and curl up to
your computer screen and enjoy the 1990 Robert McGinley “classic” Shredder Orpheus. For
the uninitiated the film centers around a skateboarder named Orpheus who
travels to Hell to stop television signals that are brainwashing America with
the help of a kickass super-powered guitar designed by Jimi Hendrix. The
soundtrack features members of Ministry and
includes a lead performance by legendary Seattle poet, Jesse
Bernstein.
Thanks to my buddy Anthony for throwing this my
way.
You may recall a post we did a year ago about a Kickstarter
campaign that made me do a double take.“Obey the Giant,” a 25-minute, lightly
fictionalized film by RISD student Julian Marshall on the origin story of Shepard Fairey and
his Obey campaign. Giving it some authenticity the project had the street art
great's official seal of approval as well.
You can now view the film in its entirety below, and my
opinion on it is still that of “this is so strange.” I will say it is well shot
and at 20 minutes won’t take much effort or commitment so grab some popcorn and
click play.
Replaceface has released a series of prints of popular celebrities
posing as dapper soldiers that are pretty darn fun. The series takes George Dawe portrait’s and incorporates
celebrities into the paintings using photoshop. The designs come on matte
white, 100% cotton rag, and have a 1" border for framing. Sizes range from
Mini (8" x 9"; $24.95) to X-Large (28" x 32"; $55.95). The
portraits are also available as stretched canvases, iPhone/iPod cases and
skins, and throw pillows and include such people as Bill Murray, David Bowie,
Bruce Lee, The Rock, Brad Pitt, Frank Zappa and many more. Purchase them HERE.
Dirty Projectors’ frontman David Longstreth puts on his
takes writing and directing hats in the band’s latest creative project, a short
film entitled Hi Custodian. The piece has been in the works for quite some time
so it’s great to finally see a finished product. Longstreth describes the themes of the film as
being “made out of a dream” and it of course features tunes from the Dirty
Projectors, including alternative mixes and unreleased jams from the Swing Lo Magellan sessions. The whole thing clocks in at about 20 minutes and
is pretty out there but nothing unexpected to those who follow the band, check
it out below…..
Written & Directed by David Longstreth
All Music by David Longstreth
Performed by Dirty Projectors
For years Lloyd Kaufman, a filmmaker, has funded and helped
low budget directors create movies under his Troma brand. Troma has released a
ton of films over the years from the cult classics like The Toxic Avenger and
Class Of Nuke’em High to Trey Parker and Matt Stone‘s musical, Cannibal.
This weekend Lloyd unleashed over 150 of their movies on YouTube for absolutely
free! They even posted some vintage, films from the 1930s that they own the
rights to, like the Bela Lugosi classic White Zombie. You can enjoy it all
HERE.
Swiss creative team Ramon & Pedro have produced the
short film, ‘Le Miroir’. It tells the story of a man, as time passes from
childhood to senior citizen participating in a very relatable daily routine.
Clever stuff.
Erlend Lavik, the
Norwegian academic, posted a 36-minute video essay called "Style in The
Wire," which carefully and thoroughly analyzes the various visual
techniques used by the show's directors over the course of its five seasons.
As Lavik notes, the visual style of The Wire is much less
discussed than its multifaceted narrative, its wide range of complicated
characters, and its social critique. But he makes a compelling case that the
look of The Wire also contributes to the show's power, and that the series'
directors established a visual approach that suited the show's aims.
Not just for film geeks, there are some interesting points made in the video and anyone with an interest in story telling, The Wire, Film techniques and more will find this enjoyable.
Here's a Kickstarter campaign that made me do a double take.
“Obey the Giant,” is a 25-minute, lightly fictionalized film by RISD student Julian Marshall that
acts as an origin story for the artist known worldwide for his Obey campaign. The
project has the street art great's official seal of approval as well, Shepard
gave Julian the rights to make a dramatic film on the beginnings of the whole
OBEY GIANT phenomenon. The film is at a state where Kickstarter is being
used to generate the remaining funds needed to complete the film. To
learn more about the project and contribute to its funding, click HERE which
includes some rewards for donations from a DVD edition of the film to signed
Shepard Fairey works (donated by the artist himself) and pieces of the set,
including the fake Cianci billboard. Watch the video below to get preview of the project.
“Until The Light Takes Us tells the story of black metal. Part music scene and part cultural uprising, black metal rose to worldwide notoriety in the mid-nineties when a rash of suicides, murders, and church burnings accompanied the explosive artistic growth and output of a music scene that would forever redefine what heavy metal is and what it stands for to other musicians, artists and music fans world-wide. Until The Light Takes Us goes behind the highly sensationalized media reports of "Satanists running amok in Europe" to examine the complex and largely misunderstood principles and beliefs that led to this rebellion against both Christianity and modern culture”
“To capture this on film, directors Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell moved to Norway and lived with the musicians for several years, building relationships that allowed them to create a surprisingly intimate portrait of this violent, but ultimately misunderstood, movement. The result is a poignant, moving story that’s as much about the idea that reality is composed of whatever the most people believe, regardless of what’s actually true, as it is about a music scene that blazed a path of murder and arson across the northern sky.”
The film is not just something for people who listen to black metal as it goes far beyond the musical aspects of what was happening in Norway at the time and examines the social political and artistic aspects as well and how they have come to influence today's art, music and culture in Norway and beyond. One of my favorite parts of the film is when the viewer is treated to an art exhibit of work influenced by the black metal scene and how something quite serious and extreme has been turned into another piece of consumable pop culture.
Featuring appearances from Gylve “Fenriz” Nagell, Varg “Count Grishnackh” Vikernes, Jan Axel “Hellhammer” Blomberg, Kjetil “Frost” Haraldstad, Olve “Abbath” Eikemo, Harald “Demonaz” Nævdal, Bjarne Melgaard, Harmony Korine.
Featuring music from Darkthrone, Mayhem, Burzum, Ulver, Thorns, Gorgoroth, Enslaved, Boards of Canada, Black Dice, Sunn 0))), Múm, Lesser
“On April 2nd 2011, LCD Soundsystem played its final show at Madison Square Garden. LCD frontman James Murphy had made the conscious decision to disband one of the most celebrated and influential bands of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensuring that the band would go out on top with the biggest and most ambitious concert of its career. The instantly sold out, near four-hour extravaganza did just that, moving the thousands in attendance to tears of joy and grief, with NEW YORK magazine calling the event "a marvel of pure craft" and TIME magazine lamenting "we may never dance again." SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS is both a narrative film documenting this once in a life time performance and an intimate portrait of James Murphy as he navigates the lead-up to the show, the day after, and the personal and professional ramifications of his decision.”
You’ve heard the stories, especially if you’re a stoner or know someone who is, now to put it to the test…. For your enjoyment that synched up Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon / Wizard of Oz mashup you’ve been looking for all your life!
Last week I attended the premiere of Stephen Espo Power’s new film “A Love Letter” the short film opened alongside "Flights Of Genius", a series of new murals on display in the stairwells of Ogilvy’s Manhattan officescommissioned by Ogilvy & Mather. The murals reinterpret the words and quotes of agency founder David Ogilvy, one of the most influential and important figures in modern advertising. With Power’s bold graphic style Ogilvy’s famous sayings are transformed into actionable words designed to inspire the viewer as they walk from floor to floor. The event was first class taking place on the roof of Ogilvy & Mather’s Manhattan offices overlooking the New York Skyline and with an open bar and DJ providing some choice tunes the crowed came in droves. Enjoy the photo stream of the event below….
Tonight I will be attending the premiere of “A Love Letter” a new film from art giant and 80's hip hop hair enthusiast Stephen ESPO Powers in conjunction with Ogilvy & MatherNew York and Joshua Liner Gallery. The short film is part documentary part fiction and focus’s on a large scale mural project that ESPO undertook in his home town of Philly. Along side the screening is the opening of “Flights of Genius” a series of commissioned murals on display by the celebrated artist that reinterpret the words and quotes of agency founder David Ogilvy, one of the most influential and important figures in modern advertising. Power’s bold graphic style, reminiscent of vintage advertising illustrations puts a unique emphasis on famous Ogilvy sayings and transforms them into actionable words designed to inspire the viewer.Check out the short clip below and stay tuned for more exclusive coverage of tonight’s event later this week.
Looks like Dirty Hands will finaly see a dvd release. Dirty Hands chronicles the life and career of David Choe, from 2000 to 2007, as documented by his close friend and director Harry Kim. The documentary reveals the highs and lows involved in David’s career using the same “no holds barred” style that makes his artwork so unique. Ultimately, the film unveils a personal story of the trials of a succeeding talent, inspirational to any artist. Dirty Hands premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival to multiple sold-out screenings and went on to win the Best Documentary award at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. It was also featured as the closing film at the MoMA’s All the Wrong Art: Juxtapoz Magazine on Film documentary series which I attended. It is now available on DVD for the first time ever through Upper Playground via pre-sale, with an official release date on July 18. 121 of David Choe’s ‘Munko’ vinyl figures will be given away randomly to anybody who purchases a DVD during the pre-sale. The double-disc DVD-set features over 3 hours of bonus footage not included in the film. The film is also streaming in it's entirety right now exclusively at Upper Playground’s website. Check the preview below to get a small tatse.
After rave reviews at Sundance and Tribeca, Michael Rapaport’s Beats, Rhymes And Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest opens with lilimited release today July 8. Here’s the first official trailer. Good stuff.
Last month you may recall we had a little preview for a fun looking documentary called “T-Shirt Stories.” It appears the film is now available on dvd at Colette. I’m excited to see this myself.
Aesop Rock has been to working on the score for the upcoming short film by Ace Norton called "Dewana's Bridal" starring Jamie King, Selma Blair and Kick Gurry. Late last year we got our first taste of the score "Take A Titty Out”. Now, Aesop drops another joint from the upcoming film on his site 900Bats titled "Party Time Mix 3.0".
Aesop is also set to appear on Kimya Dawson's upcoming album Thunder Thighs this fall, as well as release a collabortive album with Dawson in the Fall and hopefully, drop a new solo album by year's end.
The Alamo Drafthouse will release this stunning poster of Guillermo Del Toro's The Devil’s Backbone by two of my absolute favorite artists Vania Zouravliov and Aaron Horkey today. It’s a 24″ x 36″ screenprint, has an edition of 350, and will cost $60. The variants have editions of 90 and will cost $90 each. These go up today (Friday, June 17th) at a random time. Visit Mondotees.com.
