Eloy Morales

At first glance these appear to be photographs of a man whose face is covered in paint.  In actuality they are hyperrealistic oil paintings by the Spanish painter Eloy Morales.  The artist paints himself covered in paint.  Amazing!

Resolution

Last January I posted that I had made to a resolution to blog more regularly on here.  Well, in the ensuing year I’ve managed to write one measly blog post.  So much for resolutions.  So instead of making another resolution, I’ll just share a resolution I read made by Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket).

“I made a New Year’s resolution never to run for a bus again.  When you run for a bus and miss it, you’re humiliated.  When you run for a bus and catch it, you’re on a bus.”

Of Oz the Wizard

I love that someone came up with this idea, and I REALLY love that he actually saw it through to completion.  Cinematographer Matt Bucy alphabetized the entire 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.  Yep, he took every single word of the movie and re-edited them alphabetically and chronologically—even the credits.  From “a” to “zipper,” it’s a bizarre but impressive achievement.

Watching this reminded me that I grew up as a child watching the annual presentation of The Wizard of Oz on our small black and white television.  I can’t remember exactly when I first saw the film in color, but it was shocking to discover that the movie switched from black and white to color when Dorothy enters the Land of Oz.  I had no idea!

Well, I’ve now had another new Oz experience watching Of Oz the Wizard.  And no, I haven’t watched the entire thing.  Matt Bucy said that language kind of started to fall apart for him while working on this project.  I can see why.  He provides the warning:  “This film contains extremely fast editing, flashes of light, abrupt changes in image and sound.”  So watch if you dare.  You’ve been warned.

as·phyx·i·a

as·phyx·i·a is a collaborative effort and experimental film created by Maria Takeuchi with Frederico Phillips and performed by Shiho Tanaka.  It was made using Xbox One Kinect for motion data capture (whatever that means).  I really have no understanding of how this was created, but I like it.

“Isaac” by Bear’s Den

It’s been over a year since I posted anything on this blog.  Maybe I can get started again here—sort of a new year’s resolution (since all my other resolutions aren’t going that well).  I’ll start with a music video of a song I heard just this week and liked a lot.  The band is Bear’s Den, an alternative folk group from Britain.  I checked out their CD Islands from my local library and am really enjoying it.  I’m not sure what the song is about exactly, but it seems to be referencing the biblical story of the sacrifice of Isaac (a story I frankly never liked and have always found disturbing).  At one point the lyrics say:

Isaac I have never seen you look so afraid
With your head pressed so hard against the stone
You look so alone

But love seems to win in the end with the repeating chorus:

I’m going to give all my love to you

Whatever this song means, I think it’s quite beautiful.  I’m always a sucker for moody banjo.

Sholim Animations

I love these bizarre animated gifs by young Serbian artist Milos Rajkovic a.k.a. Sholim.  Part Rube Goldberg, part Rene Magritte, part Monty Python animation—they are funny and disturbing and wonderful.

 

 

New Sam Amidon

I just found out that Sam Amidon, one of my very favorite musicians, has a new record (CD?) coming out soon.  Bright Sunny South will be released on Nonesuch Records on May 14.  It will contain a variety of traditional and contemporary songs.  Below is one of the songs, a cover of Tim McGraw’s “My Old Friend.”  (For the record, I only know this because I read it.  I couldn’t name a Tim McGraw song if my life depended on it.)  I also read there will be a cover of a Mariah Carey song which has me curious.

Probably my favorite song off of Amidon’s last record was his rendition of the old Sacred Harp hymn “Kedron.”  The new CD will include a version of the shape-note tune “Weeping Mary.”  I think my first exposure to shape-note singing was the wonderful record Rivers of Delight by the Vermont-based Word of Mouth Chorus.  I read that Sam Amidon’s parents, Peter and Mary Alice, both sang on that 1978 recording. That was an interesting bit of trivia and insight into Sam’s interest in Sacred Harp music.  Below you can listen to the Word of Mouth Chorus singing “Weeping Mary.”  I can’t wait to hear Sam’s version.

Weeping Mary  

Hi, Your Head’s on Fire

I’m a big fan of the ever quirky band They Might Be Giants.  Last month they released their 16th album, Nanobots, and it’s a good one. One of my favorite songs is the opener “You’re on Fire.”  Below is an unofficial, fan-created video for this song consisting of archival footage.  Nicely done.  The creepy monkey kids rule!

Just a piece of Kansas trivia:  The large pink face that appears around the 1:45 mark and again at the very end of the video is none other than renowned Emporia newspaper journalist William Allen White. They Might Be Giants have long had a thing for William Allen White whose face also appears in their 1986 videos for “Don’t Let’s Start” and “Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head.”  I love this strange connection between They Might Be Giants and the man for whom the top children’s book award in Kansas is named.

“Combustible heads—I read an article all about them.”

 

“I Can’t Stand the Quiet!”

I watched the clip below the other day, and it reminded me how much I loved the early films of director Hal Hartley:  The Unbelievable Truth (1989), Trust (1990), and my personal favorite, Simple Men (1992). These films were so distinctively quirky with their deadpan humor;
the stilted, sometimes repetitious dialogue; the philosophical meanderings; the stylized acting.  He often worked with the same group of actors in different films, including early work by Martin Donovan, Parker Posey, Edie Falco, Robert Burke, Bill Sage, and Adrienne Shelly.  Hartley also often composed great soundtracks to his films using the pseudonym Ned Rifle.   Hal Hartley was an early figure in independent film whose movies were truly unique. Unfortunately, I have to say for me his later films lost much of the charm of his early work.

One of my favorite scenes from Simple Men is this little impromptu dance sequence in an empty bar.  Slowly the entire cast joins in dancing to the song “Kool Thing” by Sonic Youth.  Every time I watch it, I just want to get up and dance with them.  I think I need to go dig out my Simple Men DVD and watch it once again.

Jan Terri’s Comeback

Back in 2010 I blogged about the incomparable Jan Terri.  The Chicago-based songstress recorded a couple of CDs in 1993 and 1994 but since then has been virtually absent from the world of music.  This has left her scores of fans to repeatedly watch her videos on YouTube and wonder if she’d ever record again.  Well, good news!  I was thrilled to recently discover that after a 19 year hiatus, Ms. Terri is back performing and planning the release of a new CD, The Wild One.  I read that it was going to be released in 2012, but I can find no evidence of this yet.  There has been one single released, complete with video:  “Excuse My Christmas.”  If this is any sign of what’s to come, it will be worth waiting for.

If you aren’t familiar with Jan Terri, check out her 1994 video “Journey to Mars” below.  It features early 90’s techno effects with girls in silver jumpsuits and big hair walking through a psychedelic O’Hare International Airport—all to the accompaniment of the musical stylings of Jan Terri.  I love in the closing credits that two of the “silver girls” did hair and makeup.  It’s awesome!  Beam me up, Scotty!