#66: "a barrage of confused thoughts"
Welcome to issue #66 of THIS NEWSLETTER CANNOT SAVE YOU, a bastion of distraction in trying times. Our staff of one (1) curator constantly monitors the short-form media landscape, fails to observe 99.99% of it, and reports breathlessly about a tiny percent of what’s left. Someday, gentle reader, it’ll just be us, sitting atop an abandoned shopping mall as a horde of algorithms surrounds the premises, and we’ll launch issues of this newsletter into the fray to cut them down where they stand. Then Old Ned will start frothing about how “your premium subscription tier is now ad-supported!!” and we’ll realize, he’s been bit and we have to take him down by screening experimental short films at him until his head explodes. By then we’ll know that the algorithms are getting too close, and we’re running out of newsletters, and we’ve gotta save the last issues for ourselves. This newsletter cannot save you, but it’s not going down without a fight.
Scottovision
Ten recommendations to delight, baffle, perturb, and entertain:
“Back In The Game” (2025) - Quickly catapulting to second place on my list of "Favorite music videos featuring a glorious parade of immensely weird beings" is this recent music video from Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke. It’s pleasingly surreal goodness from animator Jonathan Zawada. (First place remains “Traveler” by Lucky Chops, directed by Raman Djafari.)
“Star Trek: Acid Party” (2020) - For five years, this demented lysergic remix of ST:TNG episodes was a beacon for heads who needed a quick fix of pop culture psychedelia (and were tired of all those “Drug references on The Simpsons” videos). Alas, thanks to a copyright claim by SESAC over the music used, the party finally stopped with a YouTube takedown notice. Or did it? The work’s creator, Yew Zyr, archived the piece elsewhere for your enjoyment, but who knows how long it’ll survive there, so get it while it’s hot.
“HIGHED” & “BOILERBEEK” (2025) - Two music videos showcasing the experimental beats of the band ECHT!, utilizing amusing animation to, respectively, tour the entire history of Europe through the destructive eyes of a giant floating head (weirdly reminiscent of Time Bandits), and parody every Boiler Room session that got out of hand. Good clean fun from Simon Breeveld, Rocco Manta, & Super Tchip.
“Margie Soudek’s Salt and Pepper Shakers” (2023) - In this documentary short, filmmaker Meredith Moore explores her grandmother’s absurdly large collection of salt and pepper shakers, while deploying various VFX techniques along the way to spice up the footage. As someone with multiple absurdly large collections of objects, I found Margie Soudek’s recollections of her collection to be unexpectedly charming, and it’s gratifying when Moore starts adding explosions in the background.
“Blue” (2024) - A hyper-stylized psychedelic cartoon of a music video accompanies this pretty, pastoral ballad by Sami Fitz. It’s a unique style bursting with cuteness and strangeness, barely seeming appropriate for the music, but the soothing symmetry and synchrony of the marching little characters in their wild environments is pleasingly lulling. Directed by Ben Collier-Marsh.
“Dressbarn Greg's Top Five Jams” (2025) - Dressbarn Greg — the first male supervisor at Dressbarn — shares his top five jams (natch) in this kinetic monologue performed and co-written by comedian Brad Howe, directed and co-written by Whit Conway (both alumni of Joe Pena Talks With You). The flashy editing perfectly suits Greg’s ridiculous enthusiasm; the awkward conclusion puts a weird spin on the whole short.
“Snooze Quest” (2025) Animator Victoria Vincent wrote and directed this edgy Adult Swim Small film, in which a young insomniac witnesses a sniper attack and is roped into seeking revenge by the ghost of the victim. Set against a backdrop of vindictive social media messaging, advertising that’s practically psychic, and the protagonist’s self-destructive tendencies, this is one of the darker Smalls you’ll see, but it’s also infused with Vincent’s engaging oddball humor.
“Rebel Paradise” (2025) - Quickly catapulting to second place on my list of "Favorite music videos featuring a lone astronaut hurtling across the galaxy like Dave Bowman" is this recent music video from “psychedelic soul” artist Common Saints. The cinematic vid is written and directed by Jeremy Rubier. (First place remains “Infinite Blue” by Billain, directed by Hideki Inaba.)
“When I Sit Alone. With My Thoughts. I Am Crushed.” (2005) - For electronic musician Max Cooper’s new album On Being, he solicited thousands of anonymous statements and themes from his fans, and this one instantly stood out, inspiring both an experimental whirlwind of a track, and the accompanying music video by Simon Kounovsky. From raging wildfires to the demeaning office spaces of the world, the video captures “the brutal intensity of a barrage of confused thoughts and scenes.”
“Pélame La Papa” (2025) - And finally, the music video that proves once and for all you should never consume your own product, especially if the product is psychoactive potatoes. The frenetic track is by Jarina De Marco and Mediopicky, and the absurd video is directed by MAMA.
Exit Music
Sending you out this issue with my brand new mixtape, the Death & Romance Mix, co-curated by Miss Susie and featuring recent tunes from the likes of Magdalena Bay, FKA twigs, St. Vincent, Imogen Heap, Audrey Nuna, Remi Wolf, Arlo Parks, Blu DeTiger, “and more!” In other words, please check out my Soundcloud.
Here's the YouTube playlist with (most of) this issue's recos. Please enjoy responsibly.
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.
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