VISUAL HEAD MUSIC MEETS MUSICAL HEAD VISUALS

Human Resources is a guy who makes really good music, and Eyebodega are two dudes who have their hands in a whole bunch of different creative pots. The two camps recently got together and scrounged up a lot of weird, sampled media, on purpose and frequently at random, then mutated it until something beautiful happened. The result is a 20-minute VHS tape called Saving Lady/Pauline, with Human Resources providing the sounds and Eyebodega conjuring the visuals. I talked to them about this project over at Vice Magazine. eyebodega03

Read VISUALS HEAD MUSIC MEETS MUSICAL HEAD VISUALS at Vice Magazine

BAMcinématek Presents: Brian De Palma Suspense

A consideration of the suspense films of Brian De Palma, for Vol. 1 Brooklyn IMG_8002web

Brian De Palma’s films are about either amateur detectives or monsters. Without conducting a poll or consulting the grosses, my gut tells me that the monster movies have been more successful at imprinting themselves on the culture and enriching their investors. Among these, Scarface and Carrie have surely left the deepest impressions, for they are films in which every single character manages to take a turn at being a violent grotesque. Tony Montana isn’t simply a guy who sold and snorted too much coke before getting his head blown off, he’s a folk hero who gets to hang out at the top for a minutes, while Carrie White presents the ultimate sad-sack teenager who gets to off her mom and the kids at school in a great big fireball of justified pyrohormonal rage. Like all great monsters, they destroy all they they encounter until they self-destruct.

Read the rest at Vol.1 Brooklyn

LIFE ON EASY STREET

I wrote about a mysterious VHS tape and a Total Slacker music video for VICE slaphappyvice

I have this VHS tape labeled “Slap Happy” that was given to me by a friend who works as a porn actress. She doesn’t remember where it came from. The first hour of the tape is this weird old lady doing some kind of calisthenics routine for seniors around the edge of her bed. It involves a lot of clapping. There is no soundtrack and she does not talk at any point. I’m not sure whether it’s actually a workout video or performance art or what, but it is one of the most hypnotic and creepy things I’ve ever seen.

About a year ago I brought it over to Tucker’s house so we could watch it on the roof along with Nightmare on Elm Street 3 while drinking beer with our shirts off. At some point I got drunk and left without the tape, which gave Tucker the opportunity to steal its contents and make a music video for his band. The song is called “Life On Easy Street (uCouldDieInBedstuy)” and it’s about how life is pretty easy but the video kind of suggests that you could die in Bed-Stuy. I predict that if Tucker dies in Bed-Stuy it will be from falling off of his roof while making videos.

Read at Vice Magazine: LIFE ON EASY STREET - Viceland Today