Moving To Tumblr

My bad, Blogspot. I'm taking the jump to Tumblr. Basically 'cause I lost my webspace for hosting MP3s and Tumblr lets you stream yr own audio in their posts.

So, check it out. http://strangelightradio.tumblr.com. Weekly playlists and cassette downloads, f'real.

Thoughts on Danny Perez and Animal Collective - ODDSAC

Just got back from a screening of ODDSAC, the new "visual album" by Animal Collective and director Danny Perez. You already know Animal Collective, I'm sure. Danny Perez has directed two of the group's music videos, "Who Could Win A Rabbit" and "Summertime Clothes." He's also done stuff for rad bands like Blood on the Wall and Black Dice - check more video work over at his website.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from the film in terms of... well, anything. Are we talking narrative film here? How about length? Would the name "Geologist" appear on the 2011 Oscar ballot for Best Supporting Actor? Basically I didn't read up on it at all beforehand, I just watched this dinky teaser trailer.



Turns out "visual album" really is the best way to describe ODDSAC. It's about 50 minutes long and, while there's no cohesive plot, there are recurring themes and characters throughout the video's 5-10 minute-long vignettes. Like, a canoeing vampire who reminded me of this guy (Star Wars Extended Universe, y'all) and a crochet-headed monster who just wants to go to a sleepover. There's very occasional dialogue, mostly just music/sounds that correspond with what you're seeing.

The film has a nice mix of humor and creep factor, with special effects that are about half convincing of the otherworldly phenomena taking place, half obviously fake. In this regard, as my buddy Gabe (of MYNDBLYNDRZ fame) pointed out, it's a lot like The Boxer's Omen, which one of the Animal Collective dudes mentions in an interview on the Fader. The visual components of ODDSAC, as Perez discussed after the film, are basically an amalgamation of various filmic tropes and recurring pop culture images, engulfed in a current of psychedelic effects. Pretty entertaining but, ultimately, lacking in depth.

The audio component, however, was great. I was left largely unmoved by the relentlessly anthemic pop of Merriweather Post Pavilion and, while the ODDSAC music has moments of unabashed joyful choruses, it also contains the most challenging sounds the group has produced since the wonderful weirdness of Here Comes The Indian. The people sitting in front of me jumped several time when sudden bursts of harsh noise erupted from the speakers, interrupting until-then quiet scenes. In the film's most out-there portion, looping electronic clangs and buzz accompany minutes and minutes of slowly-morphing rainbow static, some sort of hyper-intelligent iTunes visualizer (though these more abstract visual patterns were, according to Perez, all created by hand). As a whole, the music strikes an appealing balance between Animal Collective's experimental and pop-leaning sonic halves.



It's sort of a shame, then, that there won't be a soundtrack release for the film. Josh Dibb (Deakin), Brian Weltz (Geologist) and Perez were on hand to answer questions afterwards, and Dibb said the project will only be released as a DVD. While I enjoyed the film as a whole, I don't see myself watching it enough to warrant purchase. An edited soundtrack with a thick booklet of lush stills, though, I'd definitely consider buying.

All in all, an evening well spent. If they're rolling through your town and you've got the night to spare, go for it. I thought it was worth the price of admission to experience it on a decent screen and through nice, loud speakers. More screening dates are viewable here. The DVD is out this summer.

Face Plant - Get High And Listen (c30)

Face Plant is the solo alias of Peaking Lights' Aaron Coyes. VBS.TV just put out a great feature on the process behind Coyes' sound-making, basically a frankensteining of old electronics from second-hand shops. The results are industrially psychedelic, the sound of boards bent beyond recognition and recreated as overdriven, circuit-powered noise briefcases. With Peaking Lights, Coyes' noise is tamed into relatively pop-leaning intentions. The haze is thick but the vibes are good. Face Plant corrupts it all, dropping a nasty virus into Coyes' CPU. The haze is crystallizing, knobs are melting, control is there but only just.

Below is a selection from the untitled side B of the Get High And Listen cassette, released last year on Catholic Tapes. I'm almost getting a Terry Riley vibe here, some nicely ornamented one-hand keyboard (?) explorations over a thick fuzz and some occasional low fat tones.

Face Plant, untitled side B selection


You can download the entire tape right here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?kng5u2zkvmg

And apparently it's still up for purchase over at Mimaroglu. The packaging is super nice, trippy satellite photos in an oversize cassette case. Only fifty of these beauties were made. Go buy it.

Flower Man - Another Ozone Hex (c30)

Flower Man is great. There, flat out. It's Chris Bush of Caboladies and he's put out, what, seven or so gems thus far. Bush takes the Caboladies sound of fuzzed-out alien radios and turns the dial just a few degrees, so the reception is clearer and crisper. A little more direct, a little simpler, and many times more charming. "Keenland" smears blatantly fake brass over a shimmering pointillist aurora. I played it on the show a few weeks ago right after some Leo Smith and it fit in nicely.

Flower Man, "Keenland"

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The cassette is out of print from Catholic Tapes. But it's also still for sale over at Mimaroglu and Animal Psi so you should buy it. Download the whole thing here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?mytdzwevw42

Find more jams at the myspace, and, for the record, Caboladies rules, too.

Pocket Mix: Freezing Rain

Well, I'm back. Again. I'm awful at keeping up blogs. Sorry.

In the past I've posted entire radio shows. Too much work and too much to listen to. Also sometimes I totally fuck up on air and it's embarrassing and generally not good. I'll now be posting shows' best bits as short mixes.

Here's a segment from last week's show. The weather around here's been miserable lately, lots of gloomy precipitation, just enough cold rain to ruin the day. This is for those days.



Intro // Edgar Froese, "Maroubra Bay," Epsilon in Malaysian Pale (Caroline)
00:15 // Zelionople, "Can't Stop," Give It Up (Type)
09:10 // David Morneau, "Hesitation," A/Break Machinations (5of4.com)
13:17 // The Golden Palominos, "Cookout," A History: Vol. 1 (1982-1985) (Restless)
17:53 // Gas, untitled track 1, Pop (Mille Plateaux)
22:04 // The Focus Group, "Reflected Message," Let Loose Your Love (Ghost Box)
24:48 // Robert Fripp and Brian Eno, "Wind on Water," Evening Star (Antilles)


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