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Recs is an
incredible new section of
canofzebras.com in which I ask some of my favorite filmmakers
and musicians to recommend 5 films and 5 albums they would like
to share with the world. These are not top 5 lists, but rather 5
films and 5 albums that you may have missed out on if not for
having them recommended to you here. Recommendations will not
always be the obscurest of the obscure, but they're not trying
to impress you. What you won't find here are the usual movies
and music people push on you.
- Jason LaRay Keener |
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Todd
Rohal I
first met Rohal at the 2006 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival in
Birmingham, AL. I liked his film, he liked mine. It was festival
networking at its finest. Since then, I've received a voice-over
from him for
Hallelujah! Gorilla Revival and he was kind enough to record
an audio commentary for
Catfish with Falcon Wings.
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Funky Forest - The
First Contact (Katsuhito
Ishii Hajime Ishimine Shunichiro Miki, 2005) IMDb | Trailer | Netflix You can easily find this on DVD now, but you have to promise that you'll watch it without pausing or getting distracted. It's 3 1/2 hours of pure, Japanese bliss. I think Japanese people even consider this movie weird. If viewed in ideal conditions (see above) it will affect you. I was lucky enough to see it in a theater, where I could see it properly. It's beautiful, unexplainable, beyond logic and inspiring in so many ways. A lot of people hate this film for all of the reasons you should love it. The director's previous film "The Taste of Tea" is a good one as well -- and both DVDs have bonus disks with behind the scenes footage that make a Japanese film set look like the most normal, calm and welcoming place on earth. Those are film schools in themselves.
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Goliath (David
Zellner, 2008) IMDb | Trailer | Netflix David and Nathan Zellner's movie is just coming out on DVD and it's a doozy. I saw it at Sundance with an audience of super-stuffy local folks who WERE NOT into it, one bit. After seeing so much crapoloa that week in Park City, this was like striking gold in them hills'o'crud. |
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True Stories
(David Byrne, 1986) IMDb | Trailer | Netflix Thanks to the Alamo Drafthouse, I got to see a 35mm print of this for the first time since I was a kid (I loved it then as well, but forgot my reasons). Needless to say, the combination of David Byrne, John Goodman and Ed Lachman is bound to win you over...but since the only available format to see this on now is either VHS or DVD pan and scan, seeing the full-frame picture with cranked-up speakers is an entirely different experience. We walked out of the theater just blown to Mars. No one makes movies like this -- not now, maybe not ever. It's full of so much energy and happiness. The 80's weren't all like that, were they? Go somewhere and demand they rent a print of this so you can see it. No one does that, so they should listen to you. |
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Dog Days
(Ulrich Seidl, 2001) IMDb | Trailer | Netflix Ulrich Seidl has a way of making movies -- a combination of depressing and funny that suits me just right. This is a hottest day in the Vienna suburbs. Ugly and wonderful things happen that you'd never think up yourself. |
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Pankun & James YouTube Go to YouTube and search for Pankun & James. What you'll find is a treasure trove of clips from a Japanese TV show featuring a chimp named Pankun and a bulldog named James. There are no subtitles. None are needed. I've watched hours of this stuff. It's like Milo & Otis, but...well...perfection. If you can search around enough and discover it for yourself, you'll find an 8-part series that culminates with the conclusion of the show -- where Pankun gets sold back to a zoo in Japan. It's hard to describe, but these episodes are so epic in scope, comedy and sadness (people on the comments talk about crying while watching these), it'll blow your mind. My girlfriend and I went to Japan last year and took a train out ot the zoo where Pankun lives and met him. Yup. That's how much this'll affect you if you're a total dipshit like myself. |
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Butch Willis &
the Rocks - Repeats iTunes If you buy/rent the Heavy Metal Parking Lot DVD, you'll find a treasure tucked away in the bonus features -- it's a music video for Butch Willis and the Rocks directed by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn. This in itself is as great as the main feature on the DVD. Butch Willis is a DC/Maryland treasure who opened for the Butthole Surfers back in his heyday. This album includes the song Jeff and John made the video for -- "TV's From Outer Space", as well as the epicly depressing and likely autobiographical "Drugs". Butch has a few albums -- now all on iTunes -- worth checking out. It might not be something you listen to all in one sitting, but when the right mood hits, Butch is ready and waiting. I'd also suggest my personal favorite, "Pizza On My Jeans" sung on Butch's a capella album "Locked In This Room". A man without a band, performing for an audience of what sounds like 15. It won't leave your head anytime soon. |
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Bob - Greatest
Hits, Vol. 1 nomainstream-music.com | myspace Tough, maybe impossible to find, but Bob the Band is Austria's only band worth your spending money. "Yes For Sure" is completely addicting, as is just about everything else on this CD -- "Tom Selleck" and "One Two" are electronic hits waiting to be discovered...if only you can find the CD, files or videos. Write to them and offer to buy one. |
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John Prine -
Fair and Square iTunes Any John Prine album is worth it's time, but I really like his voice post throat-tumor removal. I listen to John Prine every day. It's the only thing I'm consistent about.
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Kevin
Bewersdorf - Babes last.fm Kevin's music is free to use, anywhere and everywhere. The guy is a genius, plain and simple. His newest album is called "Babes" and I think it's still incomplete... Not to make things too difficult for you, but this album may be tough to find as well, or at least will require some google searching. His other music, "Slow Dudes" and the Soundtrack to "LOL" are available... Kevin takes his time with his work and it's worth the wait, every time. I'm no music critic, so I'll spare you having to read me describing his work. |
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Da Yoopers -
Songs For Fart Lovers Amazon Just in time for Christmas -- this is a gift that keeps on giving. If you're not excited by song titles like "You're My Favorite Turd" "I'm a Lonely Toilet" or "No One Here to Fart On" then fuck off. |
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~ /// ~
© Reining Nails 2009.
canofzebras.com and its content are made possible in part by the patronage of Brianna
Holmes.
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