Beginning in the mid-to-late 1970′s through the mid 1980′s in New York City, an art & cultural movement exploded on the Lower East Side in the wake of the city’s, and the country’s, socio-economic turmoil. Spawning a myriad of new musical styles, bands, visual artists, nightclubs and cutting-edge filmmakers, the volatility and desperation gave us works which recorded and clearly marked the period before gentrification, Reaganomics and MTV began to commoditize the scene. In French director Céline Danhier’s exceptional documentary film, BLANK CITY, she takes us on an in-depth chronicle of the rise & fall of the era’s fertile downtown art scene & creative class through the eyes of the filmmakers who, generally with little or no money, captured the essence of the era with their 8 and 16mm cameras, leaving a profound impact on future generations of independent artists, musicians & cinema.

[NAMEDROP] BLANK CITY features acclaimed directors Jim Jarmusch and John Waters, actor-writer-director Steve Buscemi, Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Hip Hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, photographer Richard Kern as well as Amos Poe, James Nares, Eric Mitchell, Susan Seidelman, Beth B, Scott B, Charlie Ahearn and Nick Zedd. Fittingly, the soundtrack includes: Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Contortions, The Bush Tetras, Sonic Youth and many others. [/NAMEDROP]

The title BLANK CITY is simple, representative of the emptiness and hollow futures felt by people coming of age in this period that sired “No Wave” and “Cinema of Transgression”. Brought together primarily by virtue of proximity & cultural interest, and recognizing that they had few avenues from which to obtain money to fund their creative works, the “No Wave” creatives frequently found themselves caught in a daily struggle between survival and the whirlwind of artistic expression. Empowered by a sense of freedom with their self-recognized nothingness, filmmakers embraced their personal sense of creative urgency by filming the people they knew and the bands they saw at clubs like CBGB’s, Max’s Kansas City and Hurrah.

Throughout this period, film directors often took huge risks for their work which, even by today’s standards, would be considered outrageous. There were films that openly represented the struggles of battered women, rape victims and homosexuals, graphic representations of violence and drug usage that had never been explored on film in this way. What their film cameras captured that was special about this downtown Manhattan art scene was dramatic sea change in progress — that even though most of their films were clearly influenced by Warhol, everything happening at the time represented a post-Warhol, post-Vietnam war cultural break from the kind of creative work that seemed to care solely about its commercial value or purpose. In direct opposition to attempts at commerce through art, throughout BLANK CITY we consistently hear tales of on-the-fly, guerrilla film making and entire works created & shot in one or two days without concern about film permits, content or borders. With few exceptions, these weren’t films you were likely ever going to see at a cineplex; the graphic, aggressive anti-establishment nature of these movies was such that many were relegated to video cassette — a technology that came of age during the “No Wave” movement.

Unlike many historical movements of art which are solely a convention of the wealthy’s fascination with the poor, the “No Wave Cinema” movement wanted to thrive among those who lived on the fringes of society or outside the mainstream. The creative community surrounding “No Wave” was far more intentionally inclusive of the poor, destitute and otherwise derelict, with many openly shunning the artifacts of money (and people with money) in exchange for whatever could be borrowed, stolen or cobbled together.

During this time, the unlikely marriage of Manhattan’s uptown graffiti artists, hip-hop’s founding fathers and breakdance crews with its downtown filmmakers, artists and punks emerged from a true cross-cultural admiration. Moviegoers get a chance to hear from those who created & witnessed this phenomenon unfolding, one which is unique to this era of New York City — the shared poverty, struggle and creative survival ethics represented by each resulted in a permanent creative bonding.

As the tales told by interviewees unfold, the extent of the glaring inaccuracies of commercial films of the day becomes clear. As these filmmakers never relied on the commercial potential of their films as a measure for success, BLANK CITY successfully illuminates how the many independently-shot and financed films released during this time period far more accurately depict what was going on in the arts at the street level.

BLANK CITY examines beautifully how, with seemingly no intentional organization, these creatives often found & collaborated with each other on film projects when they weren’t really looking & unknowingly left an historical permanent mark through their work that encapsulates the frequently anti-heroic visions, fears, hopes and dreams of their generation of New Yorkers. For those who tend to over-romanticize the New York art & film scenes of the era, the film’s narrative elegantly puts to rest any hyperbolic or delusional tendencies by those who equate the glamorization of drugs with the era’s creative output in art / music / film.

Danhier’s seemingly expert interviews with an essential who’s-who of the era intermingle with clips from a number of films of the era, serving as the audience’s tour guide through hobbled buildings, desolate neighborhoods, tenements, crash pads and clubs of lower Manhattan from 1976-1987. If you share any interest in independent film making, in the creative output of this era or those whom it has heralded, I cannot recommend this impassioned, ranging and spectacular film highly enough.

::: THEATRICAL RELEASES 2011 :::
• NOW PLAYING @ IFC Center in New York City & Magic Lantern Theater – Spokane WA

::: COMING SOON :::
• May 4 (one day only!) @ The Little Theatre – Rochester NY
• Opens Friday, May 6 @ Denver Film Center – Denver CO
• May 13 (one day only!) @ The Cleveland Museum of Art – Cleveland OH
• Opens Friday, May 13 @ The Plaza Theater – Atlanta GA
• Opens Friday, May 20 @ Cable Car Cinema – Providence RI

Richard Hell – (I Belong To The) Blank Generation

Patti Smith – Gloria

Sonic Youth – World Looks Red

Television – Marquee Moon

::: DETAILS :::
http://www.blankcityfilm.com/

There will be a post-film Q&A with director Vincent Moon and Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite. Login below using Twitter/Facebook/AIM/MySpace to take part in the conversation.

[/HASHTAG]: Twitter hashtag for this event is #mogwaiburning
[/TWITTER]: Mogwai on Twitter @mogwaiband
[/PURCHASE]: Pre-Order Mogwai’s new album Special Moves [bundle].

]]> http://loudersoft.com/5669/mogwais-burning-virtual-screening/feed/ 0 http://loudersoft.com/5663/mogwai-burning-screening/ http://loudersoft.com/5663/mogwai-burning-screening/#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:37:15 +0000 E.J. http://loudersoft.com/?p=5663

Tomorrow, 27 July 2010 beginning at 12pm PST/3pm EST/8pm GMT, Loudersoft will participate in a global virtual screening of Mogwai’s live concert film entitled Burning. The film is a precursor to their forthcoming release Special Moves which will ship on 24 August 2010.

As part of the streaming event, viewers like you can connect with and talk to Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and the director of the film, Vincent Moon via the social media widget. They will both be live during the stream to discuss the film with viewers. Tune in any time of the day by clicking on this link.

If you follow on Twitter, the band’s Twitter is @mogwaiband and the hashtag for this event will be #mogwaiburning.

[Link to virtual screening]

The story of the 1970′s teenage all-girl rock band The Runaways is one for the ages in both rock ‘n roll and punk rock. To read it in print exposes one to the extreme highs and lows that life in the world of rock and roll and punk rock proffers its disciples. The notion of watching the story unfold on screen promises to engage those unfamiliar with The Runaways a slice of cinematic intrigue with the all-too-true story of Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Sandy West and Lita Ford.

Picture, then, the story of four teenaged girls who form a rock band in Los Angeles leading them to early fame, an unlikely connection to the newly-emerging scene of punk rock and sold out shows the world over. Their true story, as told by director Floria Sigismondi will feature expected breakout performances from two of Hollywood’s respected young actors: Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie. From the looks of this short trailer, there’s good reason for us to remain interested and optimistic about the finished film.

The Runaways – Queens of Noise

[The Runaways: Official Site]

If you don’t know about the documentary known simply as The Carter, it’s time you became familiar.  The movie, which screened at this year’s Berlin and Sundance Film Festivals (among others) to rave reviews, gives fans and foes an inside look at the mind and the day-to-day world of what it’s like to be Lil Wayne.  The movie will be released next week on DVD, giving anyone willing to pony up $15 a chance to see for themselves what goes on behind the scenes. If you didn’t trust me before, now y’all will know — it’s not easy being Weez. It’s all there — the drugs, the excess, the fights, the drama — exposed for all the world to see in a way you probably never imagined Wayne would even allow.

Variety has said about this movie, “‘The Carter’ is the ‘Don’t Look Back’ of rap” — a comparison who’s fairness I look forward to testing on my own.  Whether you like, love, dislike, or hate Lil Wayne, you cannot ignore his presence as a force in music and culture.  There’s a realistic fear on Wayne’s part that this movie might ruin his image and his career, but I’m pretty sure that his folk anti-hero status is well-secure in the modern era.   I can’t think about all of that — I’m ready to pop the popcorn and chill out at home for the night to learn more about one of the most important and polarizing figures in modern music.

Pre-Order The Carter on DVD by clicking here.

Memphis, get ready to stand up. $5 Cover, the highly-anticipated new web series from director Craig Brewer has already made its introductory splash to audiences at the Sundance Film Festival this past weekend.

In the weeks and months to come, the rest of the world will have an opportunity to find out what those of us in Memphis have long known and understood: the richness and depth of our tightly-knit music scene and those involved. For now, take a minute to check out the trailer, and keep your eyes peeled to http://fivedollarcover.com for new information as it becomes available.

There would never come a chance in my life to see Joe Strummer perform live in any musical incarnation. The Clash were broken up by the time I would have gone to see them, The Mescaleros weren’t playing in a city near me. So I am left only with the memories of what The Clash meant to me as a young person, a feeling that it was my duty, in some small way, to work towards enabling the freedom and empowerment I personally enjoyed to be shared by everyone.

I walked in to see Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten knowing a great deal about The Clash and came out realizing I knew so little of its front man and principal songwriter. It’s easy, five years after his passing, to talk about him in hushed romantic overtones that are reserved for dead rock stars. But what is contained in Julian Temple’s poignant and unreserved biographical expose is a story of the struggle for a kind of salvation through music — a man who was so vehemently anti-rock star that he became driven to self-torture, forced to reject the trappings of his own fame for the sake of his humanity.

A picture is painted of a true journeyman, often in first person narrative by Strummer himself: one who was raised in a kind of privilege, slowly rejecting his upbringing and the privileges that came with it as he went to art school, becoming exposed to the fiery atmosphere of the late 1960′s and, by inclusion, the injustices of the world around him. Coming of age in the hippie culture of the late 1960′s, his experimentations with hippiedom could well have sealed Strummer’s fate in the years which followed. But Strummer came to embody the complete D.I.Y. ethos that fuels punk rock, and merely by turning a few odd corners came to recognize his place. While a handful of pundits of the punk era consider Joe Strummer to be an opportunist, even Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols (a band whose appearance at an early performance of Joe’s band The 101′s would change the course of punk music forever) calls Joe Strummer “…the real deal.”

Throughout the documentary, many friends, cohorts, former band mates and loved ones (including the likes of Bono, Jim Jarmusch, John Cusack, Matt Dillon, John Cooper Clarke, and Don Letts to name a few) are interviewed, and the majority of these interviews illustrate the positives. Here is a man whose works have served as inspiration to two generations of artists, musicians, performers and individuals seeking out ways to correct injustice and end hatred. The Clash and Joe Strummer’s gift was in how their musical world successfully melded a gritty, unbridled speed with Jamaican dub music and soul — and he did it organically from influences that were all around him. If some deemed him arrogant, it was because of his distaste for anything which reeked of a certain falsehood. Unlike many modern reinterpretations of punk, Joe Strummer’s punk rock ethic was far more than simply a cliched bored white punk on dope. His rebellion had purpose, he believed in what he was fighting for as deeply as he loathed the hypocrisies against which he fought.

In his arrogance, it would seem he brought down the house The Clash had built. He made more than his fair share of detractors and enemies in process. But the Joe Strummer which I took from this film was neither evil nor harsh. I see in this film a man so hellbent on a quest for human rights, so impassioned about what he stood for, so sincere in his beliefs about equality and global unity that he often found the need to push aside anything which stood in his way.

Joe Strummer believed, correctly so, that his music bore his message. He was both hero and anti-hero, populist and demagogue, loving father and deeply tortured artist. But the message of his music and his unabashed care with and for music from all corners of the world, from people of all backgrounds, races, and nationalities, is a message which should continue to be heard.

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten is by far one of the, if not the, finest documentaries about the birth of punk rock and its aftermath from the vantage point of its most important voices. His untimely death left a void in the world of music that can never be properly filled. The story of his life is filled with the kind of lessons we can all use.

Listen to The Clash – The Magnificent Seven (12″ Version)

You can learn more about Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten by visiting the official site here. You can purchase “The Magnificent Seven (12″ Version)” as part of The Clash: The Singles Box Set from Amazon by clicking here.