Michel Montecrossa continues his underground assault on currently active oppressors, liars and cheats who simply don’t know how to live properly. I like this guy, Montecrossa. He’s hitting something that is sorely lacking these days and he keeps hitting it cheerfully and with conviction. He digs himself and what he does and that is good because it puts irony in the dumpster where it belongs. You know, of all the basic forms of humor, irony is actually the most depressingly childish. Here is Montecrossa countering the bullshit from Rupert Murdoch and keeping it simple.
Category Archives: Music
BBC New York Punk Rock Documentary
Here’s an excellent BBC documentary on the origins of punk, hip hop and disco in the New York City of the 1970s. It was a hard time in the city but it held a wild energy that kept pressing up and inventing new things. What hit me about this film is how good Patti Smith really is.
New York since then, however, seems to have signed an unlimited contract with the Gap as a retail outlet. I think anyone with a streak of punkishness in them moves out to Los Angeles.
I found this via the excellent curatorial efforts of Rob Smart on Facebook.
Talkin’ World Awakening – New Topical Song For Greece, Freedom and All People Sacked by Banka-Gangstas
German musician and filmmaker Michel Montecrossa sings a song of rage and protest aimed at banks and their governments who seek to eliminate entire populations in favor of a very small group of super-wealthy. The first decades of the 21st century are proving not to be about some ridiculous war on terror, but instead they are seeing the beginning of a conflict between large corporate interests and enormous populations. The uprisings in the Middle East have nothing to do with the dictators there. Those uprisings are against the corporations that do business with the dictators.
I like Mr. Montecrossa’s hard and direct approach. He is a wild man and he’s making some very interesting things. I posted earlier about his ‘Resurrection’ movie.
Mater Susperia Vision – Seduction of the Armageddon Witches: A Short Film by Diego Barrera
Spanish filmmaker Diego Barrera uses Christian symbolism and New Age crystals to mount a mystical vision trip the takes inspiration from the film works of Alejandro Jodorowski. I believe it is a music video for a group called ‘Mater Susperia Vision.’
Broken English: A Film by Derek Jarman Featuring Marianne Faithfull
MATURE CONTENT:
This might be the most beautiful film you will see all year. It is the full version of ‘Broken English,’ starring Marianne Faithfull. It was made by Derek Jarman. It incorporates three of Faithfull’s songs. Jarman learned a great deal from American avant-garde filmmaker, Kenneth Anger. Interestingly, Marianne Faithfull also starred in an Anger film called ‘Lucifer Rising.’ The montage and superimposition going on in this film is simply stunning. It’s full of dark pagan ritual, sex, violence, romance, adoration, and mystery. I think Jarman is one of the very few filmmakers who understood what Anger was doing in his work and tried to carry on from there.
Charlie Is My Darling: 1965 Documentary Film About The Rolling Stones
This is a 1965 film by Peter Whitehead that follows the young Rolling Stones around on a tour of Ireland. The film is ragged and jittery, catching odd moments on trains, in rehearsal rooms, in cars and on stage. There’s a fascinating bit where Brian Jones talks about wanting to make a surreal film about love. The general sense I get from watching this is of these magnificently talented young guys becoming aware of what they actually are. They are awakening to the fact of what they are doing and they are working out all the little moves. Jagger looks in every scene to be crafting in masterful detail exactly how Mick Jagger will move and talk. It’s a fascinating glimpse at artists creating the very personas they will present to the world.
Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
Mature Content
This is a 2007 documentary film by Julien Temple about legendary British punk rock musician Joe Strummer. The film conveys the messy aggressive work required if you want to really do what you really want to do.
Here’s the film’s official website where you can order the DVD.
Part 2:
Parts 3 – 11 after the jump
Justus 2: A Film by Ryan Spring Dooley
Ryan Spring Dooley (aka MarvinTiberious on YouTube) and Juppy Nash made a catchy little tune and played it on an Italian rooftop where they could enjoy the place they were in and become infected with art. Dooley’s films are a constant stream of creativity and artistic perception unlike anything else. He combines old and new and creates works so easily expressive that you wonder why anyone needs anything more than paper, paint and a camera to do anything. Watch this film and wonder at just how good it really is. Masterful.
The filmmaker is also using Kickstarter to fund a bigscreen project:
Film: Sweetheart
Here’s a music video made entirely out of illustrations, photos, and text from second-hand books! I never watch music videos all the way through. But I watched this one and admired its clever associations of images to lyrics. It’s all spelled out for you in the most charming and humorous way. Good song too! Ben Reed made this for a band called The Wave Pictures.
Animation: Hanabeam
Look at this astonishing music video from a Japanese breakbeat duo called Hifana. It explodes.
The Dead Weather
Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest rock & roll band in the world.
Film: World’s Most Boring Musician Proves It
I’ve always said that the world’s most boring musician is John Mayer and now the accommodating fellow has gone and proven my point. He’s made a film about his average day during a tour. From the looks of this film he could be attending a corporate seminar to give a PowerPoint presentation. Shiny hotel fixtures and breakfast buffets laid out in one’s room certainly must go far toward making exciting music. And look! Sneakers! He’s wearing sneakers! How charmingly boyish. And he finishes the film with ‘Fin.’ Just like the French do! Gosh! Fin! And look at that audience of his! My goodness! They look like they’re at a Bed Bath & Beyond shopping for a new duvet cover.
I think the best shot in the movie is the elevator man opening the doors and ushering Mr. Mayor out into the lobby. But John Mayer should stay in the elevator. And play there.
Every once in a while I like to post something I hate. It keeps things real.
Poetry: Azeem
It’s National Poetry Month and here is my favorite poet of the month. Azeem. We see a lot of writing about cute poets with education credentials and then someone like this brilliant Azeem fellow comes along and says a few things into a camera and reminds everybody that poets can shoot word bullets. I watch this video and my heart starts pumping and I get fidgety and I want to leave my chair and get to know words as well as this guy knows them. I noticed Azeem because he is one of the few subscribers to my YouTube film channel and so I checked him out. I’m extremely impressed. You want people to be interested in poetry? Show them this guy and they’ll be interested in about 5 seconds flat. I think what makes most poets uninteresting to the American reading public is that they all secretly have an image of a bookshelf in mind. Bookshelves are fine if you are browsing for a book, but they are death for anyone who’s making something. Azeem is also working with some hugely talented filmmakers who make fantastic imagery and do it with ease. If he comes to Los Angeles, I want to know about it and go see him play.
Set a Blaze:
Animation: Machine Gun
From Super Electric Video comes a music video for a new single, Machine Gun, by Noisia. Hands rule the world and get nasty and destroy everything.
Via Dangerous Minds
Bob Dylan’s Pink Christmas People
I love Bob Dylan’s recent album, Christmas in the Heart. Listened to it many times on Christmas day. This is his video for Little Drummer Boy. The people do seem awfully pink but maybe it’s just my eyes playing tricks on me.