Film, media and related arts - subjective contemplation and commentary with consideration of the intrinsic duality, interminable relevance and evolution of each.
Exhibition of original and contributed film, art, music and writings.
With occasional reflection on the perpetual absurdity/intrigue of life and society in general.
Cullen's recent Optical Files #12 post inspired me to revisit an album that was pinnacle to my youthful musical evolution. Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik isn't just one of the coolest album titles of all time. The debut album by the Outkast, as well as the follow up, ATLiens, were the most significant albums to me personally in opening the doors of hip hip. They remain my most listened to hip hop duo, and Andre 3000 perhaps my favorite MC. Enjoy the video and song for the day, from a very youthful Outkast (1994). It still blows my mind how young they were to release such an intensely innovative album.
"Don't ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they're crazy enough."
Note from biab: Sometimes it takes a Goliath to bring down Goliath. The world we created is more complex and unjust than i typically care to imagine. Strange times bring strange allies.
First the video for "This is America," and now this... Looks like we may have one of those rare savvy but honest artist types that realizes the medium of music and video can be so much more than a promotional ad or MTV rag (i think that channel still exists?). Bravo, Mr. Glover. I hope you keep going with it - challenging the status quo.
And, of course, he is a legit A-town artist. I have to show some special love for the artists of Atlanta, one of the most formidable stomping grounds of my young adulthood.
Directed and Edited by: Tod Gorman (boy in a box productions) Shot by: Arthur Crafaik & Tod Gorman Starring: Joe Roberts, Harli Saxon, Bernard Hankins, Michael Monroe, Tracy Saxon, Mike White, Louis Hampton, Phil Green, Jon Fields, Dillon Koon, Ohmar, Addison Dodds and Fellowman. Budget: $0 - $100 Locations: Charlottesville, VA
Fellowman - Raw Data Vol. 1 mixtape available now at http://fellowmanrap.bandcamp.com/ Facebook: Spititout Inc Instagram: fellowman_spititout Twitter: Spititout_inc
Special thanks to Joseph Roberts (introducing and starring), Arthur Crafaik (camera, production and all around go-to), Tracy, Bernard, Mike, Mike, Lou, Jon, Ohmar, Addison, Dillon, Harli, D Johnson, Ed and all of the many extras and friends that assisted generously with their time and talents, and, of course, Cullen - for driving the creative process and project, and for offering us some real hip-hop with soul.
For further info and music by Fellowman, I highly encourage you to visit the following links.
Trailer for White God (2014), a Hungarian film directed by Kornel Mundruczo, and recipient of the prizeUn Certain Regard 2014 at Cannes. I am thoroughly intrigued by the concept and visuals, and in bewilderment that they were successful in wrangling so many dogs for the film. Nearly none of the animal shots were CG, and it seems as if great care was taken to assure ethical conditions for the furrier performers - very aspiring accomplishment. I look forward to screening it soon, hoping for a big screen opportunity.
Jeff Nichols is a rising independent filmmaker (something we don't hear enough of in recent years) based out of Austin, TX - our home town. His first feature film, Shotgun Stories, was shot in the true paradigm of early 90's independent cinema, sweat and tears and penniless scraping with a lot of gumption, and it is a truly impressive accomplishment as well as a thoughtful, cinematically intelligent, and all around excellent first feature. Take Shelter, Nichols' second feature (budgeted at quite a bit more than his first but still relatively minimal) has received accolades and awards throughout its festival run, including quite a bit of notoriety at Cannes. It is now set for an American release and it is receiving predominately rave reviews and positive response. This is certainly one of my top films of interest set for release, and not just for local loyalty - the possibility of honest, interesting storytelling with high cinematic awareness is very promising. I encourage all to look up the release dates in your city or area (September 30 in many places) and check this one out - I'm pretty sure it will be worth it. Below is a review by David Edelsten for NPR Movies.
Dark Skies: Jeff Nichols' haunting Take Shelter centers on an Ohio man (Michael Shannon, with Tova Stewart) plagued with nightmares about a coming apocalypse.
It's easy to giggle at the hero of Jeff Nichols' second feature, Take Shelter. Michael Shannon is Curtis, a crew chief for an Ohio sand-mining company who's ravaged by apocalyptic visions and nightmares. He's wiggy to start with and increasingly more unhinged, on a switchback track to madness that threatens to devastate his family. Curtis sees funnel clouds, locusts, even people staggering through the night like zombies. He knows it might all be in his head: His mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia at about the same age he is now. But in the end, he follows his dreams. He devotes his hours — and the family's little money — to enlarging the storm shelter in his backyard to prepare for whatever's coming.
Curtis is losing it big time — yet his anxieties mirror things in the air right now, from fear of unemployment and tenuous medical coverage to ever more floods and hurricanes. It's a movie for an era in which the Book of Revelation has made a comeback.
The danger in casting Shannon, with his haunted eyes and history playing demented characters in such films as Bug and Revolutionary Road, is that his latest unraveling might seem like déjà vu. But the actor is a truly anguished presence, and director Nichols makes sure what's eating Curtis is eating you, too. He breaks down scenes into images of destruction — not just obvious ones, like funnel clouds and spiderwebs of lightning across the Ohio fields, but chains and valves and shovels scoring the earth. In many scenes, Nichols and his cinematographer, Adam Stone, evoke the feeling of being inside a house staring out at a deluge — the kind of will-it-never-stop rain that makes even home sweet home seem like an emergency shelter.
Take Shelter would seem as obvious as its title if the early scenes weren't so tenderly directed. Curtis' tireless wife, Samantha, who sells homemade crafts at flea markets, is played by Jessica Chastain, a vivid actress who made a huge impression in Jolene, and who does marvelous work inThe Debt and even The Tree of Life, where's she playing a symbol. The couple have a deaf little girl, Hannah, played by Tova Stewart, who's in a lonely world of her own and has a quietly beseeching presence. When Curtis pens the family dog, Red, in the back after a bad dream and puts the money for his daughter's cochlear implant at risk by enlarging that shelter, Samantha finally turns on him.
"Explain that to me," she rages. "Please. Tell me something that helps me understand why you're being like this."
"There's nothing to explain," he says.
Take Shelter didn't come from nowhere. Jeff Nichols' doomsday view was on display in his 2007 movie, Shotgun Stories, which few people saw but I put on my 10-best list. That film, which also starred Shannon, took place in the South and centered on a tragic feud between two sets of half-brothers. It captured the connection between fatherlessness and the impulse to wreak vengeance like no American film I've seen.
Nichols' feelers are supernaturally acute, but I'm ambivalent about the end of Take Shelter. I found the movie scarier when it was vague, amorphous — a horror film without a literal monster. But this is still a terrific piece of work. Nichols has composed nothing less than a symphony of modern American bad vibes. (Recommended)
For more info and to listen to the story, follow the Link:NPR Movies
I do not join in the applause for the children of congress that supposedly came together to accomplish something, nor any other major participants. Shame, sadness, and disillusionment is what i have come away from the recent political (not legislative) debacle with - as we have observed from oh so far away.
This is a documentary/live performance footage of Bill Hicks. Numerous individuals from the industry, the comedy circuit, and Bill's personal life offer interviews and insight intercut with various bits from Bill's stage act. I wish the video quality was better, but just for your viewing, comedic, and mental pleasure -Bill Hicks, It's Just a Ride.
It's Just a Ride (41 mins.)
I also encourage everyone to see American: The Bill Hick's Story - an extraordinary, more recent documentary of Bill's life, professionally and personally (really one in the same). The filmmakers utilize and interweave multiple filmmaking techniques including animation, still image manipulation, and other experimental modes as well as plenty of traditional interview footage and, of course, live stage footage of Bill. It received endless interest and acclaim on its film festival run, was picked up for a limited release, and is now being distributed on dvd. It can currently be viewed on Netflix Instant Play. I will be posting more about the film and the particularly interesting screening that I had the privilege of attending here in Austin with the filmmakers in attendance as well as an extra treat for the audience. I highly recommend the film to all.
Oklahoma psychedelic rockers the Flaming Lips have unveiled their latest madhatter scheme: gummy fetuses that contain USB drives preloaded with three new tunes. We're all familiar with gummy bears? Yeah, well these are gummy fetuses and, presumably, they are quite a bit more disconcerting to eat. Though the band has been known to play shows under giant spaceships, and Wayne Coyne often sings from an orb suspended above the crowd, these somewhat disturbing confections might be crossing several decorum lines. This comes on the heels of releasing four songs in a life-size gummy brain last April, which itself was encased in agummy skull. The band has either fallen head over heels with edible gummy treats or is riding a massive sugar high. That and they have literalized the role of “music consumer.” No information yet on where the gummies can be found, though frontman Wayne Coyne recently tweeted"Just dropped off 6 gummy fetuses at GuestRoom Records" in Oklahoma City. Take a listen to the songs online via @FutureHeartDay, if you feel uncomfortable eating the packaging. Link:HuffPost Culture
The Flaming Lips: "Enthusiasm for Life Defeats Existential Fear Part 2": The Flaming Lips: "Steven's Moonbow": The Flaming Lips: "Squishy Glass":
by Matt Cherette — If there's one big advantage that Barack Obama has over his Republican counterparts, it's the youth vote. Which is why Kenneth del Vecchio, a former New Jersey judge, created apro-life horror movie called The Life Zone in an attempt to attract younger, conservative voters. On tonight's Report, Stephen Colbert took del Vecchio's idea and explained how other Republicans could take advantage of it.
Thanks to my brother's slightly unhealthy fascination with Gawker (understood, honestly) for this video and quite a few other hilarious posts.
