I attempted to encode a movie from the European format PAL to our NTSC, using an elaborate work-around in Final Cut. For some reason, after 12 or so hours of chewing on the file, the audio came out cut up and loopy.
The movie was The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema, with Slovene philosopher and writer Slavoj Žižek. It’s a great movie about the collective dream factory we call cinema that is sadly available in the US (Do you hear that, Netflix?)
What’s cool with the loopy audio is that it repeats the words Pervert and Desires at regular intervals. I didn’t do any editing of the audio or otherwise treat it with effects. I only removed one silent bit where Final Cut choked during playback into the recording software.
Over at Negativland’snew, snazzy website, The Weatherman (aka David Wills) has been releasing tons of his famous family tapes for your listening enjoyment. These tapes have been the basis for many songs by Negativland, Over the Edge radio shows and many of his family’s unique phrases have been incorporated into the lexicon of Negativland/OTE. Many of his family tapes figure prominently in the releases The Weatherman’s Dumb Stupid Come Out Line and The Willsaphone Stupid Show.
Right now he’s got up a very lengthy, two part tape featuring his family playing Scrabble together and other surprises. It’s strangely hypnotic. I suspect it probably sounds like most people’s family and one could easily all asleep listening to it and be transported back in time to some weird childhood memory. The Weatherman’s Grandma sounds uncannily like mine, who passed away in 2001.
It probably helps that I’m listening to it with Viragelic playing in the background.
cast: dAS, Ninah Pixie, Andy Cowitt, Michael Wertz, Cliff Neighbors, Melissa Margolis, Insect Deli, Dark Muse
cover art & design: Michael Wertz (www.wertzateria.com)
The follow up to 1981’s Points has Negativland fine-tuning their homespun audio collage to mind-blowing proportions. It also introduces more thematically tied material and a narrative story structure of sorts (albeit a very dada one) thanks in no small part to uber-nerd and band mascot/muse/technician David ‘The Weatherman’ Wills. This also introduces a very deft use of tape collage (thanks to the newly joined Don Joyce), which forms the first part of this two piece epic, which is so mind-pummeling magnificent and at times resembles Frank Zappa’sLumpy Gravy. The second major section is an extended story narrated by the Weatherman that is very silly and surreal and introduces lots of trademarked words and phrases into the Negativland lexicon – featuring also an apparently real argument between Wills and his mother. The back of the craftily packaged CD tells you to listen to this loud with headphones on, which may be the case, but you’ll feel like your brain has been soaking in Formula 409 afterwards.
Highly recommended.
