Tag: video

Song of the Worrywart

Posted by Alison – November 11, 2010

As a complete basket case (what, you didn’t know?), I’m quite familiar with contemplating the worst case scenario for just about every instance of my life. “But what if…” seems to be a constant refrain in my head, whether it’s a phantom pain in my back (“my spleen is bursting!”) or fear of sweating too much in public (“bring a second shirt, just in case”). Bad Things That Could Happen is the latest from London collective This is It. This absurd collection of shorts makes me think twice about my fear of maggoty cottage cheese — as only the novelty of oversize, Claes Oldenburg-style mouse traps and dancing bacteria can.

[Via]

“That’s all for now, boys.”

Posted by Alison – June 1, 2010

Oooh la la! This fan dance is pretty G-rated, really. (She’s wearing a body stocking! So George Costanza.) However, I’m sure it was the height of cheesecake in its day.

Love the ending line. “That’s all for now, boys. Maybe her fans will slip tomorrow…”

The Prelinger Archives are such a treasure trove of early film. Thanks for the tip, Bobster.

Mothlight

Posted by Alison – May 25, 2010

“Mothlight” by Stan Brakhage, 1963

How beautiful is this abstraction? It’s like a slideshow of moths fluttering against my eyes. Technically it’s a “found foliage” film composed of insects, leaves, and other detritus sandwiched between two strips of perforated tape by experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. I definitely need to see more of his work.

[Via This is a Zombie Shelter]

Gwine Dig a Hole to Put the Devil In

Posted by Alison – February 3, 2010

I recently unearthed my copy of the Harry Smith’s* Anthology of American Folk Music, a compilation of eighty-four American folk, blues and country music recordings that were originally issued from 1927 to 1932. (Harry Smith compiled the music from his personal collection of 78 rpm records. Pretty cool.)

Though I love everything on the album, I’m really digging Lead Belly (seen above with his wife — they are so cute!). I had no idea that so many of the popular songs I’ve taken for granted are covers of the folk songs he made famous! Musicologists and folklorists John and Alan Lomax are credited with “discovering” Huddie Ledbetter while he was still serving time in prison in 1933. They recorded hundreds of his songs for the Library of Congress and brought his work the mainstream (and plenty of other obscure music as well). I can’t wait to do more research and start buying into the Library of Congress music library! Here are some Lead Belly videos that have been tiding me over for the time being.

*More on Harry Smith later. Quite an eccentric bird!

Le Cochon Danseur

Posted by Alison – January 31, 2010

Jeff sent me this video a few days ago and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. It is so ridiculously bizarre! (Like, the kind of bizarre you watch over and over again, not the kind that haunts your dreams….yet.) A life-size, overweight pig in a suit coat seeks a strumpet’s affections; she spurns him, only to make him strip to dance with her? He seems to enjoy getting down in the buff, they synchronize their feet and a good time is had by all while the piano player does his thing.

Entitled “Le Cochon Danseur,” this short film was based on a popular Vaudeville act in the early 20th century. It’s kind of crazy to realize how much humor and theater has changed in a mere one hundred years. (I can’t help but connect this to clowns and the circus. Does anyone sincerely adore clowns anymore? No one that I know of…and if they do, they haven’t seen It yet, a.k.a. the movie that instilled my childhood fear of toilets, sewers and the aforementioned clowns. Ack.)

Also, when he shows his teeth and sticks out his tongue at the end: I may take back what I said about nightmares. Slightly traumatizing.

Invocation of My Demon Brother

Posted by Alison – January 18, 2010

I’ve been getting real into Kenneth Anger lately. It’s a shame I never picked up on this in college — I’d always intensely frown and nod when talking about his work in a social setting (“Oh, Anger! Yes, of course. What a didactic…discussion…of Satan….?”), but actually knew nothing about him. Pity!

In this video Anger gives a point-by-point contextual analysis of Invocation of My Demon Brother, and I gotta say, it’s pretty damn fascinating. (Twitching albino eyes, Anton Levey and shrunken cat heads…definitely not a snoozefest.) San Francisco, I wish I could have known you in 1969.

I’m also trying to parse at which point Anger and the Rolling Stones became so tight. (Mick Jagger did the soundtrack for this piece…lots of Moog messin’ around.) Anyone know the historical context?

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