Saturday, July 16, 2011

Care Package #1: Boyfriend

Today I'm going to try something new, and dedicate a blog post to someone I care about. We're going to call this one a Care Package. I hope to do more of this type of post in the future.
In this installment, the Care Package goes out to my boyfriend, comedian, Matt Aromando. Things about Matt you may or may not know: he likes Nirvana, Sailor Jerry Rum, and playing pinball. Here are three good documentaries that discuss all of these topics.

Watch here
Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry documents the life of Norman K. Collins aka Sailor Jerry, famed tattoo artist from the 1940's and 50's, and rum producer. Setting up shop in Hawaii, Collins pretty much brought tattooing to mainstream America. Tattoos went from being a criminal signature to a cute thing a young sailor could get as a souvenir while on tour. His tattoos were pretty risque for the time, but now they're a cool vintage statement. While his style might be considered a bit cutesy to current tattoo standards, Collins was no wuss. According to the film, Collins owned a pet monkey that he kept in his tattoo shop, which he personally tattooed. Watch the movie to find out what it said and... where he put it on the monkey. Also find out Ed Hardy's connection to the Sailor Jerry legacy, and how the title of this movie is a tad bit racist. (It's okay if you already got it).





Watch here
Hype! was directed in 1996 by Doug Pray, making this one an oldie but a goody. I don't know if it's just me, but I find older documentaries harder to take seriously because the topic could have advanced further past the date of the film. Like reading a science text book from the mid 1980s that doesn't have all the elements on the periodic table. However, this film benefits from being made right at the end, if not still during the grunge music craze. All of the opinions and knowledge are still fresh. This is truly an eye-opening documentation of how the genre began and how it got over-hyped. Of course Nirvana is a big part of this film, but it focuses on a lot of popular and not so popular grunge era bands from the Pacific Northwest.

Watch here
 Special When Lit discusses the history of a forgotten pastime, pinball machines. Why this documentary is important: you learn where in the world you can still play pinball, who has unreal amounts of pinball machines in their possession, where the Pinball Museum is located, the evolution of the machine, and the fact that pinball was illegal in America at one point. Also, if you've ever seen a Bally Total Fitness, and then got really confused when you saw the same logo on a pinball machine in a bar, you have made the correct connection, they are owned by the same company (whether that makes sense or not). Definitely watch if you like pinball, and it's still interesting even if you don't.   






I hope you all will enjoy this care package as much I think Matt will. Maybe some day if you get in my good graces, you too will find something special in your rss feed.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Rip! A Remix Manifesto

While looking for this poster I found Unseen Films

Ever think about what our culture will be like in 100 years? Will it be something we never dreamed of, something so new and original we couldn't even predict it in some kind of Epcot ride?  Or will it be a tired, reconstituted, cannibalized mess? Rip! A Remix Manifesto explains beautifully how our culture continues to evolve and rejuvenate. The main point is that we depend on the past to form the future, and that's the way it's always been whether your parents want to admit it or not.

Directed in 2009 by Brett Gaylor, Rip! explains how the current issues over ownership of our culture (copyright laws) is promoting stagnation. But the big to do over the laws is also causing a wave of rebellion that will be a sure fire way to keep the creative juices flowing. By following Napster, Girl Talk, Air Pirates, and many more artists involved in music and or video, we see how they are misunderstood as thieves and hacks.   
Shot from Rip! A Remix Manifesto

For me, this film was great because I got to see how Girl Talk makes his music. His concerts look like a religious ceremony where the religion is about worshiping the structure of modern songs, and understanding their harmony... and dancing like a mother.

Also the graphics in this documentary are excellent! They simultaneously present facts and entertain. There are several scenes where a point is powerfully made with artful video time lines.  Rip!'s plot has a lot to do with modern music file sharing, but it also makes it's point about the pattern of recycling culture throughout history by presenting examples from decades ago.  While The Rolling Stones sue the pants off of The Verve for sampling their song, you see that the Stones actually weren't being very original themselves.
This documentary goes at the top of my favorites. The things that are said are extremely important for all of us to hear as a society. If you ever wanted to do something creative, watch Rip! A Remix Manifesto.