quarantine days: Lust & Sound in west-berlin

if you can remember the 80’s, you probably weren’t there!

music, art and chaos in the wild west-berlin of the 1980’s

sex

politics

and a fuckin good time – a film by jörg a.hoppe, klaus maeck & heiko lange

see the LF preview above

nick cave and the naughty seeds ; )

the walled-in city became the creative melting pot for sub- and pop-culture. before the iron curtain fell, everything and anything seemed possible. this documentary film is a fast-paced collage of mostly unreleased film and tv footage from a frenzied but creative decade, starting with punk and ending with the love parade, in a city where the days are short and the nights are endless. where it was not about long-term success, but about living for the moment – the here and now. we need another city like berlin! a must see film if you can get your hands on it.     by dd

film sound and film editor walter murch: the sound of cinema from kubrick to coppola

the talented mister ripley: with matt damon as tom ripley, jude law as dickie greenleaf, gwyneth paltrow as marge sherwood, cate blanchett as meredith logue, and philip seymour hoffman as freddie miles

stanley kubrick’s 2001 space odyssey

sight & sound: the cinema of walter murch – a good film directed by jon lefkovitz for anyone interested in cinema, film editing and sound editing

the godfather with al pacino

given your ass will be positioned at home and under quarantine, here’s something worthy to watch. all the great films are somehow mentioned in here from carl deyer to michelangelo antonioni… watch it here (see clip above) or see it on vimeo – approved by dd but suggested    by rb

quarantine watch list #3: an iranian vampire cult film “a girl walks home alone at night”

saw this years ago but was just talking about it tonight

its def worth a 2nd watch – trailer: “a girl walks home alone”

directed by ana lily amirpour

the dealer

produced for just under $57K and filmed, not in iran, but rather in the town of taft in s. california. if you haven’t seen it, do give it a try… “a girl walks home alone” was directed by ana lily amirpour, 2nd generation iranian, born in margate england, and grew up in california.  the film professed as “the first iranian vampire western” by its director is quite dark and funny… it premiered back in 2014 at the sundance film festival and it is quite a trip… especially the floating scenes of the vampire on her skateboard.  by pr

rüfüs du sol – live from joshua tree

could we have a more perfect combination? if you ever catch me daydreaming this is where i am, a live concert by rüfüs du sol in the midst of one of the worlds most dramatic landscapes known for its astronomy and stargazing – the joshua tree national park.

as day welcomes night, you can’t help but being mesmerized by the the aussie trio surrounded by red rock and icy blue LED lights.

Through the juxtaposition of natural vs man-made, silence vs sound there lives a certain harmony…….and pure solace.    by lb

and so you think you have friends?

“when the day is done”

my friend was crying to me to the other day, she was let down because the friends she thought she had, turned out not to be such friends. in trying to console her i said “you know what? i don’t have many true friends either, but that’s ok.” my father told me when i was a kid that “if, by the end of your life, you can count your friends on one hand, you should consider yourself a lucky man.” i couldn’t quite understand it at age 12… i thought i already had 20+ odd friends, but i so understand now what he meant. not sure if that helped her that night. but i was up till 5am drinking and talking to an artist who was visiting new york and what he said to me was even more profound… i’ll tell you…

we joked how today, people have thousands of followers but zero friends. i was trying to name a few of my good friends that i have acquired through the years. some had dropped off my list but came back into my life and redeemed themselves. i was able to roll off a few, three, four… and we then laughed, as neither of us named the other. you know, its not easy to become a friend – that’s no easy task…

he said when he was in art school and before he left for prague, he was longing for a new chapter. he was assessing the people he had spent his time with and sorting out in his head who they really were and why they had even come together. people travel not just physically but mentally and intellectually. when he told his teacher about this vacancy of souls the teacher said this:

 

“… don’t worry and don’t fret that you have so few friends now… you will surely find your friends in history one day.”

 

oh my beautiful jesus – whom i so don’t believe in – i think this was really one of the most beautiful of truths i have heard in so many years. i just stared at him for some time, and a warm smile just lite up my face. it all dawned on me, and crashed onto me… it connected all my dots… i just loved that… and i wanted to share it with you all – but more importantly i wanted to put it up here so i will never forget it. now, i can come here whenever i need, and remember the wealth of friends i have! and these are just the few i am able to roll off… there are many more!

tell me about love

tell me about dignity

tell me about sacrifice

tell me about range

tell me everything

tell me about single mindedness

tell me about fairness

… you can smile now.

ok now go to bed… and remember… you may have friends that you have never met, but in the end your true friends are those who inspire you and change you for the better. thank you to HT for our late night chats, and all of this, we miss you… my new friend!   by dd

CALLING ALL MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI FANS

“the antonioni adventure”, by george porcari (published by delancy press) is a must have for any antonioni fan. this 248 page book covers the career of the italian film director, and is accompanied by historic and rare images from his films… we got a copy in hand and had to share it.

production still from red desert

if you appreciate italian cinema and the genius that is michelangelo antonioni, you will love this book. george porcari, a professor, artist, and historian in his own right, who also happens to be one of antonioni’s biggest fans, meanders through antonioni’s films with grace and wit, putting new light on this master of cinema. the book was beautifully put together and designed by new york based design studio ceft and company. the limited edition book (300 copies), has an embossed, soft touch cover, and off-white matte paper interior pages. they are elegantly printed with dark grey text on an , which is easy on the eyes.

spread from chapter 4 on blow up

production stills from the eclipse

chris kraus, author of i love dick, torpor, and where art belongs, has this to say about the book:

“more than half a century after they were made, antonioni’s films remain singular and charged with mystery, existing both in and outside of their time. a photographer and filmmaker himself, george porcari’s critical understanding of antonioni is also a spiritual understanding of art and how it is made. porcari positions antonioni’s films within a larger cultural history without diminishing their singularity. this book makes antonioni’s work newly alive.”

pages 96 & 97 off-white matte paper elegantly printed with dark grey text

collage spread from chapter 5 on zabriskie point

 

… here’s what artist julia scher had to say upon her read… “the antonioni adventure offers a fascinating look at the disturbing eye of antonioni – in their time the films were about really seeing anew. dissuaded by alienation george porcari rocks thru what might have been called, in an earlier day, pure adventure.”julia scher, artist, author of tell me when you’re ready – works from 1990-1995

page 110 neorealist roots

the artist, and author of the book, george porcari

available at dashwood books in NYC $35

and ironically at the gucci wooster bookstore in soho!!

this is a great book to take on a trip and just get lost in a world of emotional turmoil and fascinating mystery. if you missed the book launch and the book signing, you can still pick up a signed, limited edition copy at dashwood books in new york city (33 bond street) or at the gucci bookstore in soho nyc (63 wooster street) for $35, or buy it online here.   by vk

jarvis cocker talk about music and donald trump but with out meaning to…

another man: jarvis cocker was always good at scaring us… wasn’t he?

well finding this jarvis cocker interview on the BBC with him just reconfirms how cool documentary film maker adam curtis actually was and still is…

saw this years ago, but how relevant and true this holds today with president donald trump and the disappearance of truth and the normalization of injustice and falsehoods. definitely worth a watch again if you have already seen this. And a must if you have never seen it.

“we have become lost in a fake world”

if you can play it here, here is a << DIRECT LINK TO YOUTUBE >>

russia, donald trump, patty smith and a damn good documentary. grab a glass of your oat milk, get-off Instagram and sit your money maker down. the flash sales can wait.   by dd

genius of fashion…

it takes wits, guts, arrogance, lack of management and a good dose of stupidity to pull this off. but don’t worry, we have the talent, and the means. few things come to mind here, i recall when hedi slimane took out the yves from saint laurent. ego? perhaps? after all balenciaga did not have its founders first name in the brand, so why should saint laurent? not like fashion has to follow any precedents now… but to change that beautiful and iconic logo to such a lame, ubiquitous, poorly spaced, infantile typography was surely hard to digest. not that the rest of the fashion crowd just followed hedi right? fashion never repeats, “we don’t look back darling, we don’t follow… we lead the world into the future”. well here they are, following hedi right off the edge of the cliff into the grand stupid canyon.    by cl

and now for some Ndagga Rhythm Force

the story of basic channel reads like a tall tale of underground dance music. they invented dub techno. through hard wax, cofounder mark ernestus brought detroit and chicago records to berlin. their near-flawless body of work, encompassing a universe of labels including chain reaction, m-series, burial mix, main street records and rhythm & sound, speaks for itself. and yet, ernestus and moritz von oswald don’t talk much about the label they founded 25 years ago, so their legacy remains tantalizingly obscure. ernestus’ recent mania is Mbalax music. as usual, he’s gone deeper than most, following a youtube trail to senegal, forming the ndagga rhythm force, reducing the music to its polyrhythmic essence, and overseeing the mixing desk for live shows. ernestus also drives the band around on tours of europe, a role he took on for underground resistance on their first tour… here’s a clip of theirs from earlier in the year. were obsessed.   by moody

Chrome Extension Lets You Block Out All Kanye News…

i know, we say a lot of crap about ye… its not like we specifically hate kanye, we hate most people, we just hate kanye a bit more… now, we were wondering why kanye kept changing his name… now we know! the developers created an extension for google chrome browser that will block out all kanye “news” or more like ignorant rants. the extension does give the option to call kanye’s bluff and check out until he finally drops his new album. the plugin is entirely free, but they are also selling snoozye pins to benefit the ACLU. Check it all out hereby ta

Bohemian Rhapsody by Kanye West.. vs Freddie Mercury : )

freddie mercury’s reaction to kanye west (direct link) hilarious

and the trailer for the film Bohemian Rhapsody – great mix on the audio

and the notorious bicycle race making of video shot at wimbledon

queen, much like kanye, definitely had their embarrassing moments and songs but unlike kanye, they did also have some incredible masterpieces. a man with a golden voice and intriguing lyrics. cant wait to see it. by dd

renault alpine rally: the renault you didn’t think existed

beautiful low profile and those lovely multi headlights

a beautiful finish on the tail… something rarely seen in modern cars thanks to practicality of the boot space, and the convince of carrying your groceries for all the new breed of human hippos… pork out people! see what that did to us all…

in action at the rally…

here’s a little history on a car from a manufacturer that COULD, but didn’t. not unlike citroen, renault made some fantastic cars… but the french lost their groove looking at america and the mass market for cues, not doing either one very well, they ended up bringing us the ugly ducklings of today.  well, we have some history atleast to admire. vive la “old” france. by xy