#40: "outshines the abyss"
Welcome to issue #40 of THIS NEWSLETTER CANNOT SAVE YOU. You know, friends, I started this newsletter with a nickel in my pocket and a dream in my heart. I lost that nickel to a pack of bullies, but they couldn't take my dream away from me. No, my dream was crushed by capitalism like most good things in life, leaving me a husk that craves only short-form video entertainment. That reminds me, I've got some video recommendations for you - let's dive right in!
Scottovision
Ten bullet points full of promise, only some of which will end in regret. C'mon it'll be fun!
"Soft Animals" (2022) - Filmmaker Renee Zhan delivers again with this wild and beautiful animated short film that screened at Sundance. Two ex-lovers cross paths at a train station and exchange awkward pleasantries, only to realize they're still deeply intertwined and compelled by each other. Zhan's abstract depiction of the submerged emotions they feel is "animalistic" as she puts it, featuring oceans and tendrils of swirling flesh tying the two together. This is the third of Zhan's films I've experienced (see also: "Reneepoptosis" and "Herzog's Foreskin"), and they're all sensuous and surprising.
"Selfies" (2019) - No point trying to top the official description: "In a veritable firework display of digital self portraits, hundreds of quaint, embarrassing and dread-fully disturbing selfies were arranged in a unique short film composition. Single photos, artistically reworked, consolidate to form a ghastly grin that outshines the abyss of human existence." From animator Claudius Gentinetta.
"Jacky" (2018) - A cautionary short film about draining your mother's credit card to buy cryptocoins, only to learn these coins are sentient and wish to pull you even further into their alluring and preposterous digital realm. From director Guilherme Nasser.
"My Galactic Twin Galaction" (2023) - "Good and evil, utopia and dystopia, narrative and post narrative collide in a mortal battle to entertain the audience." The POV is delightfully slippery in this animated short, as filmmaker Sasha Svirsky - also the film's narrator - slips in and out of the storyline in pursuit of a satisfying conclusion.
"Is Anyone Receiving the Data?" (2023) - Director / choreographer Andrew Winghart makes effective use of apparently all the students at the CLI Conservatory in Massachussetts to create this film. Not the first time he's deployed large ensembles to great effect (see "Moment of Truth," for instance), singling out a distinctive soloist in the midst of a sea of seemingly identical dancers to metaphorically ask the titular question.
"Hydrangeas" (2017) - Passing on a recent recommendation from the esteemed Daily Psychedelic Video blog: a hypnotic music video that unfolds slowly into a series of surreal animated Busby Berkeley-style sequences. Animation is provided by Collectif Chroniques Cosmiques, a trio that seems to have gone dormant. The track is provided by the artist Draumr (a word that means "dream" in old Norse); it's a nice bit of psychedelic dream pop.
"XENA" (2023) - Skrillex has an impressive catalog of great music videos to his name, and his latest is no exception. Musically the star of the show is vocalist Nai Barghouti, who provides the appropriate fierceness for a video depicting a troupe of women dancing for peace in the midst of dystopian chaos. Directed by Amara Abbas.
"Wake Up Jeff DVD Game" (2023) - A wholesome homage to old DVD-based children's games. (Note: not wholesome nor appropriate for children.) After enjoying, be sure to proceed directly to "Wake Up Jeff DVD Game (SCARY EDITION)" because why not. Courtesy of Xploshi.
"Ferris Wheel Pregnancy" (2023) - You see, the young woman is about to give birth to a ferris wheel.
"Sexx Laws (Version 2)" (1999) - The lead single from Beck's Midnite Vultures album got a hilarious and bizarre "everything and the kitchen sink" video treatment, directed by Beck himself and featuring Jack Black. Version 1 was apparently over 18 minutes long and available for a time on Beck's website. It's long gone, but someone eventually posted the extended introduction, which greatly expands Black's role. And then, if you'd like to see the smooth jazz version of the video, make sure to catch "Saxx Laws" featuring a Kenny G impersonator in the lead.
Exit Music
Taking you out this time with an extended collaborative jam from Kieren Hebden (aka Four Tet) and William Tyler, a guitarist and composer based in Nashville. It's a track called "Darkness, Darkness," opening up as a contemplative guitar meditation and unfolding over the course of ten minutes into an outstanding full-blown production complete with psychedelic rock flourishes. The track is coming to vinyl soon, if that's your thing.
A YouTube playlist with this issue’s recs can be found here.
Until next time, I remain your friendly correspondent, thinking of you,
Scotto
Scotto Moore is the author of WILD MASSIVE, BATTLE OF THE LINGUIST MAGES, and YOUR FAVORITE BAND CANNOT SAVE YOU.
