Two Kubrick Films

I’d wanted to see more Stanley Kubrick movies after being enthralled with A Clockwork Orange and horrified by distant memories of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Not to mention Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, which not only opened my eyes to Kubrick, but introduced me to Peter Sellers, one of my favorite all time actors.

The Shining was the kind of movie that scares you more after you watch it, and besides, it was more about the atmosphere and how it made the viewer feel. But as far as the horror factor goes, Nicholson was the only one who could’ve played the Jack character, he made the film what it is. None of this is really new though, this movie’s been around forever. My only thought was that it’d be a completely different movie if the music were to be changed.

Next, a classic New York film noir. The Killing, made in 1956 (the “classic” era for film noirs), is astonishing. I think of all movies from that long ago as more akin to books than a movie by today’s standards. I say this because you get dropped right into the action, not knowing who people are or what role they play until you figure it out for yourself. This movie builds suspense like none other, not nervous suspense, but of the anxious kind. The end is not what you think it’ll be, but I haven’t seen enough film noir to determine whether this is normal.

Werner Herzog Double Feature 3/23/07 at the Aero

Yesterday was the second of four days devoted to Werner Herzog at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Showing was a new 35mm print of The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser (aka Every Man for Himself and God Against All) (1974) and a 16 mm print of Heart of Glass (Herz Aus Glas) (1976). But the films weren’t the main attraction, it was Werner Herzog’s appearance in between them in which he discussed the both films as well as answered questions from the audience.

Kaspar Houser is a charming film about a foundling in 19th century Germany. It’s compelling, sweet, and the acting is brilliant. The story is based on the actual events which happened to Kaspar Houser during this same time period.

Heart of Glass, on the other hand, I was completely unprepared for. Herzog did discuss the process he went through when hypnotizing his entire cast to create a unique effect and dream-like quality of acting, but I felt that it was way too artsy. The main character, who was the only one not hypnotized during production, could see into the future. He could see the demise of this small village which relied on selling a special type of “ruby glass” to survive. The message of this film was clear, but it was not done in a way that I was prepared to sit through. I only had 5 hours of sleep the night before, this movie started at 10:30 and didn’t end until midnight, and I had just finished watching another movie just before it; I was in no mood to fully concentrate on this mind-trip. To be fair, I’m going to rent this movie and watch it again when I have the time and am fully awake.

Highlight of the night: Werner Herzog chuckling to himself while recalling the time he was shot during an interview.

Deerhoof, Spinto Band

Listening to Deerhoof at certain times with certain people in certain places can be completely surreal. I felt like I was in a Dali painting.

The Art Brut/We Are Scientists show this saturday night is going to have the Spinto Band opening for them. Is it strange that I’m beginning to like the opener more than the headliners? Not that I don’t love Art Brut or We Are Scientists, but I just can’t get enough of the Spinto Band. Go out and listen to some of their CD, Nice and Nicely Done, they might just be your new favorite band.

I’ve also come up with a few designs for the LP Club. Check ‘em out.

Life is Troubling

I’m beginning to find life troubling. I look at the fake smiles and the wanted words, but all I can hear or see is disappointment because we can’t speak scripted lines that are perfect for each and every moment.

Maybe this is why we admire movies and music and books so much. Everything in them is exactly how we want them to be. There are no unintentional stumbles, no looks of disappointment when the realization hits that there was something infinitely better to say in that moment of time.

Maybe that’s my real attraction to music. I listen to the rhythms and the lyrics and am mystified by how profoundly they affect me. How they can convey such a deep sense of meaning? I want nothing more than to bask in its perfection. I could never duplicate my favorite song; it may sound exactly the same in every way, but it wouldn’t be the original. Or, at least, this is how I used to view much of the entertainment I enjoy.

Looking at more of the independent or alternative entertainments allow me to experience something that is clearly original, but is definitive because it can be reproduced. There is no mysticism about it, it feels natural and can be connected to.

But at the same time I look back and think to how I could still never duplicate, let alone attempt to sound like, some of the musicians I’ve heard in my life.

I’m stuck at a point where I can’t exactly tell what I’m supposed to follow. I don’t know exactly where my life will take me. I have some vague idea that I’ll be somewhere still alive, but it is neither here nor there.

Artists create masterpieces. But where does the inspiration come from? How does one sit down and create without stopping themselves and worrying that others will ruin the feeling that it evokes in the creator? All of my art has been wiped away because I was scared. Who knows who might have liked it, who knows whether I can even remember what it was. But it’s something I need to overcome because I know it will play an enormous role in my life.

I speak of this because my generation has become divided, much like generations before. There are the psuedo-thinkers and the outside-the-box thinkers. The pseudo-thinkers genuinely feel like they have something going on in their head, but nothing of any sense comes out. They stick together and feed off of each other’s knowledge, refusing to find out anything new for themselves. They alienate intentionally. They have their own… unique… tastes.

The outside-the-box thinkers are the revolution. They are the ones who look in between the cracks and discover something to keep for themselves. If their discovery gets out in the open, they leave it high and dry. They create, they move on. Nothing lasts for them. The little known ones are the ones to keep. “Weird for the sake of being weird” rather than “Weird for the sake of fashion.”

The dichotomy is not quite as clear until after the fact; maybe in a decade or so. But the side which draws to you is obvious. Why? Because you’re reading this blog.

I’m with you.

Update: I realize how this sounds, and yes, it was written at 3 am in a painkiller induced stupor.

Holly Williams

An amazing artist and friend of mine just created a new website for her paintings. Check it out.