brain stuff

I think my brain is trying to tell me something. Ever experienced that? I never remember dreams except for these occasional awful nightmares in which I suffer this extreme emotion that I never have felt before. I won’t go into detail (you’d have to be pretty special for me to do that for you; or just standing with me at the right time under a dreary sun) but I have often thought about certain scenarios which would push my mind to its threshold. I’ve lived a comparatively simple and worry-free life to those of others, and have had times where I’ve thought ostracized and even limited in thought because these areas of extremity have been under-developed. It makes me think terrible things but also fascinating things, putting my brain in these deep waters, and trying to understand the sciences of my behavior.

Even still, I cannot help but feel that psychology and philosophy, while important and interesting, seem to frequently lose out to circumstance. We try to map things out and understand them, but all too often we find ourselves dancing in the unknown. Life is only predictable at a certain level. My instincts are very weak, though, because of my habitual thinking over every action I take. I do wish I had more creative instincts. But then, perhaps thought IS the instinct.

Perhaps my brain desires strength in this areas.

And perhaps, on a deeper note, I desire somebody to talk to these things about.

Man With A Movie Camera (Vertov, 1929)

Dziga Vertov, after watching his incredible Man With A Movie Camera, seems to be somebody who I need to look into more. I’d read about MWAMC a while back and had always had the mental note in the back of my head to see it.

The film is silent but modern versions of it have been put to various kinda of musical soundtracks. While I thought the particular soundtrack ours had was pretty engaging some of the time, we all felt that we wanted to view the film how it was originally intended, and hit the mute button for the final forty minutes.

Reading of Vertov’s fascinating philosophical and artistic intentions made the context of this film come to life. He was a “cinematic theorist” and the beginning of his film notes to the viewer of its experiment: to create a universal language of film, bringing together all persons in its state of non-characters and focus on the camera and the viewer. Vertov often described human beings as “seeing machines.”

The most common running theme in this film is the comparison of humans to machines. We see, through everyday shots of Odessa and other Soviet cities, people working in factories and using transportation and riddling the streets with crowded footsteps. Some of the most impressive shots and uses of editing in the movie involve the human eye interspersed with images of blinds and machines at work, really punching the point while still maintaining an extremely pleasing aesthetic instillation. This is the major reason for my love of Vertov’s film. It feels important in so many different ways and can be enjoyed on several different levels of profundity. It has, on the simplest plane, a historical and social context of everyday Soviet life. It’s simply fascinating to get direct feeds of this. However, as mentioned before, it also employs Vertov’s personal philosophies and experiments, with comparative shots of the human condition and our motoric and newly-industrialized lifestyles. Still yet, I was absolutely in awe of the sheer amount of versatile camera tricks. This feels like an important film in cinema history. Incredible hyper-editing, split-screen shots, slow motion, fast motion, stop motion… it all seems to be far ahead of its time but it also seems so natural for Vertov. It feels like this is an experiment on many different levels, and it works beautifully.

Overall, the images and the shots are tasteful and often times emotional (I can think of one off the top of my head of a man getting run over by a train). I’ve read that this is the first real avant-garde film, and I love that it’s not gimmicky, and that it seems so passionate and evolutionary. When you watch older movies, that seems to be the case. I love watching a natural progression in ideas, and this seems to be a very bold step for Vertov to have taken with his artistic integrity.

It’s beautiful to watch and enjoy and think about, and it makes for two amazing movies (see my M review below) in two nights.

Purchases!

Now that my money situation is not as bad, I’ve gone and spent almost fifty dollars on these two things. Both, I’m excited for.

The first is an 8-cup “unbreakable” French press. This thing is cheap, but it’s pretty heavy-duty and apparently lasts very long. It also acts as a microwaveable cup so you can reheat your coffee hassle-free. My current French press is terribly-constructed and falling apart, so I’ll be happy to have something more reliable to use. This is worthwhile for me because I have French-pressed coffee two or three times per day.

I also bought The Seventh Seal Criterion Collection Blu-Ray. Those of you who know enough about me are aware that I LOVE The Seventh Seal, and that it’s my favorite-shot black-and-white film ever. I’ve heard good things about the restoration and can’t wait to see the film in high-definition.

A totally different subject: I’ve been noticing more the angles at which people position their bodies, including myself. I think it’s pretty interesting to determine body language; I, unfortunately, am bad at doing so. I’m even worse at reading people’s facial expressions. Call me clueless!

Off work today, my sister is coming in to make me homemade mac and cheese, which can’t possibly be a bad thing, can it?

drum

So, we’ve done a good enough job sound-proofing our basement door, but we still have work to do on the outside hatch and the windows. I’m also just starting to earn money with my tax refund finally in effect. I’m gonna buy pretty solid drum mics when I can afford it, and we’re going to start recording a lot of jam sessions, which is what we set out to do once we got back from tour. Of course, our financial situation has been pretty drab, so this was difficult to do.

I promise you all, though, that recordings will be a major habit within a few weeks!

Until then, please look forward to our shows in the area; July 9th at Daniel Street in Milford, and July 16th at Cafe Nine in New Haven. We’re looking to bring out all the stops!

It got personal

When I was younger, the attempts of quantifying the feeling of non-existence kept me up at night. It frightened me to be nothing. These same thoughts, as my stance on death has grown, have transformed from fear into curiosity.

I feel that people tend to view existence one-dimensionally. Today seems a time where everyone is just upset or disappointed or sad. Everyone’s busy, nobody has any money, and there’s far less time to be social and luxurious. But what are we upset about?

I tend to balance out my depressing thoughts quite well these days. It tends to galvanize me to think about what it means to be alive. This level of being, this level of consciousness is unmatched. This is a phenomenal gift. Stepping outside of ourselves can be a great medicine. It allows us to take in our surroundings. It all just seems so crazy to me. I never hear it mentioned that things are the way they are in this world because humans created them. Before we got here, there was nothing. But think of the abstract accomplishments we’ve brought! I remember sitting at a diner with a friend, watching everything go by, and thinking about how we designed a system like this. We built the diner, hired employees and chefs, and people go to the diner to eat and pay for food, and there are certain behavioral rules that must be followed, and it’s all so understood and mechanical.

Looking at the way things are about humanity as phenomenal abstractions of the universe allows me to do two things. The first is to appreciate, on not simply a conscious level but a metaphysical level, my existence. The second is to recognize the miraculous advancements and value the current state of humanity as well as recognizing and valuing the abstract energies underneath as being a more natural and desired state of affairs at the same time.

Some of you may consider me distant, but it’s really just the way I approach things. I value everything around me more than you know, but ultimately live for myself; not out of selfishness, but because it’s the only sure thing I can live for and feel right about one hundred percent of the time. I step and breathe and smile and jump, shivering with energy, rolling like thunder through fractions of space and time, living and dying energetically with each step. I don’t fear death because it’s the death of the human body and not the death of me. Existence is occurring all around us in many different ways; through memories and methods, through sound and light. Beings of the cosmos, we were, are, and will be until the disciples of the black hole sweep through us.

The next time you’re feeling down, think of yourself as the highest messenger of the complexes of creation. We are BEINGS. Do not overlook our connections to the humble world around us. Walk with the fires of the human soul.

I–it got too personal there, didn’t it?

M (Lang, 1931)

Fritz Lang is another director long of intrigue for me, and I finally got around to seeing M last night. What a terrific movie! I was glued to it.

I must mention that I was really taken aback by how stylized M is. Perhaps due to my limited scope of 1930’s filmmaking, or maybe still because it was a film that facilitated Lang’s reputation as a master. Perhaps both, which would explain it’s elevated impact on me. It feels so much more modern than it is. From the first scene, a mother worrying about her daughters being taken by the child murderer running loose in the city, Lang gives discomfort through the camera. Jarring and claustrophobic shots that linger are seemingly never out of commission. Whether it’s a curved wall blocking off the top of the screen, a staircase or a post going face-to-face with you to make a wide shot completely asymmetrical, or the fences, cages, jail cells, rows of beds and balloons and trees in every shot, or a plain old uncomfortable angle, the camera is the most important narrative tool utilized. Lang creates this world of paranoia and discomfort beautifully. I remain extremely impressed with the cinematography in the film and the tricks Lang implements with the camera, especially given the time period. Often times, there is a highly-orchestrated crowd shot, with jumpy and wired bodies, bumping into each other and shouting, as the camera moves back in the crowd, as if the viewer were right there, blocked by a group of outlandish people. There was a time in the film when the camera starts shooting outside of a window, and slowly advances to it and going through the window into the house. I thought Orson Welles had been the first to do this, in Citizen Kane, but sat with friends and coffee to see Lang do it ten years beforehand. Without getting boring, I would consider M to be one of the most finely-characterized-by-camera films I’ve seen, and is worth seeing for this alone. It’s one of the few of movies I’ve seen (The Seventh Seal, Persona, Punch-Drunk Love included) where I’ve let out exasperated sighs because of how wonderful certain shots are.

But, oh, how the cast and story are right there with the shooting! This is not merely a story about showcasing the horrors of crime (especially one to the level of child murdering). It’s an enticing contrast between the way cops and criminals think. To be brief about this, once the criminals decide to find the murderer to keep the cops at arm’s length once again, the story really gets fun to watch. While the cops decide to sacrifice the well-being of the innocent public to ramp up the search, the criminals decide to use the beggars to keep a constant watch on children throughout the streets. So, while the cops decide to put everything they have into finding the murderer, the criminals believe that putting that same energy into protecting the children is the better option. Both are good decisions, and this does ask a subtle question of how the viewer would handle the situation.

There are so many memorable scenes in this movie. There is one where a blind balloon salesman hears the familiar “In the Hall of the Mountain King” whistling of the murderer go by, and alerts a police officer, who proceeds to mark the man with an M. As he walks a marked man, he becomes surrounded, and it’s a very tense moment. There’s another great part where the cops and criminals are, on separate ends, of course, discussing how to handle the murderer situation (as I touched on above). Lang’s editing is quite seamless as we flow back and forth between the two meetings. The cops’ room is filled with cigar smoke and the feeling that their worries are leading them to work hurriedly instead of logically, while the criminals find a route of using the beggar’s union to never let a child in the street out of sight… without looking for the murderer. Both sides of pros and cons to them, and they are laid out in one impact scene.

The most memorable scene, though, is the very end, which I will get into. Before I do, I also want to say how much the acting impressed me. Peter Lorre’s role as the child murderer is very highly-regarded, and rightly so. Until said ending scene, he rarely speaks. He acts in his mannerisms, whether he’s bugging his eyes out in a panic, or constantly using his hands to peruse the side of his lips in what is obviously an oral fixation, or his creepy whistling everywhere he goes, Lorre embodies the nervous and disgusting behavior you might imagine a killer possessing. I was, however, just as impressed at the smaller characters, and how individual they all seemed. From Inspector Lohmann to “Safecracker” to Franz’s animated and delightful character to the people of judging underground in the last scene, the acting really is top-notch, and the final scene certainly puts any doubt to rest, as Lorre and the prosecuting criminal have at it in a series of amazing monologues. Lorre comes to terms with himself when he is facing judgment in total madness, as he admits he did it but cannot help it, and that when he does it… his fears and his memories just disappear. It’s remarkable and disturbing, and Lorre’s performance in this scene is astounding. It’s one of my favorite monologues.

M is a phenomenal film in my eyes. Shot with intense flavor and flair with an entertaining story and superb acting, I’d recommend this to just about anybody.

Death to pink

I have just been told that I look good in pink.

Is my life over?

Or is this just the beginning?

…Stay tuned.

Morning ritual

Sometimes when I wake, my eyes do this thing where they become heavy and blink slowly, yet feel as if they’re capable of rolling right out of their sockets at any time. I think it may be normal.

My mornings are changing. I used to need to eat within thirty minutes of getting up or my stomach would start being difficult. Over the last few days, though, I’ve been able to wake up for several hours and have a big lunch before driving off to work. I even went without coffee the other day!

As I write this, my back is angled against the living room couch. My body is still strengthening for the day (Kenya blend coming up), and my neck’s got a pain in its side that seems to be chronic, or something. Should I get it checked it out? Hah, NO! Who’s next! Jessie woke me up playing guitar. I thought it was Derek at first. Sounds really nice.

So, we’ve got Netflix at the house and have a bunch of movies to see that I’m looking forward to as well as whole mess of cool albums to listen to. I’ll keep you posted with some reviews when I get a chance.

These tri-state flood warnings aren’t making things any better for you, are they?

Let’s enjoy our leisure

Holy muffins!

How’re you all? I was hoping to take some time this pre-afternoon (made that up) to make some sort of point. Most of the people I know have deeply-rooted hobbies, whether it be in art, travel, or reading, among other things. There’s a dark side to this, in that we live lives free enough from strife that allow us to spend our free time in luxury. Many people exist who cannot practice self-expression because they are so mired in work or unfortunate expenses or devastated environments.

So, as you read the frolicks of my brain, perhaps be thankful you have the time to waste doing so. This is all a subjective abstraction, anyway. Intellectual pride isn’t in my interest.

A quick note: Jessie’s favorite director is Luis Bunuel. I know of Bunuel, but the only film I’ve seen involving him is the famous Un Chien Andalou, an avant-garde short he did with Salvador Dali. I finally got around to see my first full-length Bunuel last night, called Phantom of Liberty. It’s known as one of his funniest movies, and it succeeds with its absurdist humor. The film doesn’t involve emotional attachment; the way it’s shot, with its distant and jarring camera angles, shows that this is a film meant to disrupt and discomfort. Bunuel presents vignettes of backwards situations, that trick the viewer quite a bit before reaching strange conclusions. I began to feel like the screen was the natural audience, peering out into my falsehoods, but never in too serious a manner. With Bunuel, I’ve learned, comes context, and while this clearly isn’t his most surreal film nor his most allegorical or image-laden from what I’ve heard about him, I’ve decided to not fully review the film; as is, I’ve described what it felt like, but nothing about what Bunuel was factually doing with specific scenes and images. I’ve become a bit interested in his films, although I’m far more interested in getting to know directors with more emotional impact, such as Tarkovsky and Kurosawa.

I’ve work at four and could stand for a cup of coffee.

Back

I ran short of time, and left this thing to the internet to deal with.

Now that I’m back from tour and I’m working and have some free time on my hands, I’ve decided to try reviving this. I’ll talk about movies I see, music I listen to, and general things that are on my mind. Who knows who’s reading!

— Brent