#70: "a personal digital apocalypse"
Welcome to issue #70 of THIS NEWSLETTER CANNOT SAVE YOU, one more attempt to catalog the haphazard slices of meaning that flow past us and slide over the falls of awareness. For those of you who have been with us since the beginning of this newsletter:
Okay let’s boogie!
Scottovision
“family and friends” (2024) - The music video for this ethereal and intimate dreampop track by Oklou takes place on the streets of a quiet suburb, where a small group of girls is pursued by a supernatural force that can’t be captured by the camera they’re wielding. Directed by Gil Gharbi, the video is unsettling in its framing, never straying too far from the girls’ immediate vantage point as they start to fray apart from each other. From the album choke enough.
“SYNCOPE” (2023) - A unique combination of dance film and thriller, SYNCOPE (a term for fainting or passing out) is an intense short film in which a choreographer continually raises the stakes for his five dancers right up until the premiere of his latest piece. The tagline for the film is “How far would you go for art?” and the answer unexpectedly threatens the troupe. Written and directed by Linus von Stumberg, who also plays the choreographer.
“Hotel Kalura” (2021) - Rosa checks into the Hotel Kalura looking for romance, and perhaps finds it with a man in a silly hat who can control the moon; their all-too-brief courtship is surreal and intimate. Animator / writer / director Sophie Koko Gate also voices the character of Rosa, whose strangely world-weary delivery belies her sense of wonder at finding the man with the silly hat.
“It’s So Over” (2025) - A man’s life craters without warning when someone hacks all his accounts and then deepfakes him into taking the fall for a terrorist act in this disturbing short film written and directed by John Merizalde. Indie actor Al Warren stars as the helpless man at the center of a personal digital apocalypse, once again turning in a sharp, eminently believable performance; his frustration is real.
“Slugs” (2025) - Mad comedic genius Conner O’Malley takes to the mall to observe the “slugs” engaged in mindless consumption. He’s in character as one of those people who believe they see through “the system” and can’t be fooled and aren’t responsible for any of it, only to be betrayed by his own feelings in the end.
“Leg Of A Salesman” (2025) - You see, the man stands to inherit a tremendous fortune, but only if he cuts one of his legs off with a hacksaw first. Comedy.
“A Kind Of Testament” (2023) - Another weird internet film, this 2D animated tale from writer/director Stephen Vuillemin focuses on a young woman, billed as “the main character,” as she attempts to register a domain with her name, onlyh to discover someone else with her name has already snagged it and is posting animations based on her social media highlights. But Vuillemin takes it to an unexpected next level, and it’s both hilarious and poignant, while maintaining its sense of mystery.
“A Date With Chimney Alfonzo” (2025) - You’ve never been wooed until you’ve been wooed by acclaimed flautist and master of double entendre, Chimney Alfonzo. From the animation entity called u m a m i.
“Homemade Gatorade” (2025) - If you’re a fan of the creepy, menacing humor of David Firth, this new short film by Carter Amelia Davis (who recently contributed to the “Cringe” episode of Off The Air on Adult Swim) will be right up your alley. Blending an off kilter animation style with eerie live action, Davis presents the saga of a woman’s efforts to sell the five tubs of homemade Gatorade she’s got warming up in the garage before it’s too late. When an enthusiastic buyer reaches out to her via social media, is she saved, or is she doomed?
“Cat Location Conundrum” (2024) - I accidentally watched this strangely epic music video the other day and was mesmerized. The music by the band Moon Wiring Club is a blend of trippy psychedelic rock and baffling experimental trip-hop, with a heavy layer of sampledelia atop the whole palette; and the video is a miasmic pastiche of moody and dramatic 60s and 70s film clips, except the footage has been thoroughly and relentlessly polarized for your viewing pleasure. The experience is like watching the last episode of The Prisoner while smoking salvia, except in murky lava lamp slow motion. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Sending you out this issue with an upbeat, avant-house set by by Daniel Brandt (of Brandt, Brauer, Frick). Brandt is on tour right now, and after a recent concert, he played this brisk 40-minute set for an unexpected encore.
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.
See also:
Dr. Tregoning Chiropractic Center
The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda
