La Movida

Just finished translating the second edition of the 1982 book "La Movida" by Paco Martin, he was a DJ during the start of the Movida in Spain. Also known as the golden age of Spanish music- it is today considered Spain's most fruitful musical era of the last decade. It lasted between 1975-1987, and its beginning coincides with the death of their dictator. The movement has been arguably traced back to the capital city of Madrid although it was actually more of a national movement with music coming from throughout the nation. As a side note- the term "La Movida" is quit broadly used to express visual arts, film and publications of the area (the most internationally renown of those associated with this movement is Pedro Almodovar).
I found out about La Movida when I was living in Spain during college and started collecting records and found some books at El Rastro in Madrid. Unfortunately there isn't much literature on the subject in English and the music (what mainly attracted me to the subject) is all in spanish- but I think it's worth sharing and unburying from the annals of recent pop history.
This particular book only talks about the music made in the city of Madrid from 1977-1982 (when it was published). The organization (somewhat encyclopedic) and lack of information in general made me do a bunch of research on other aspects of the movement and I've been compiling music videos and other stuff to share.

 (if you would like the whole transcript in English email me and I would love to send it your way)-

all photos are credited to:

Jesus Peraita
Miguel Trillo
Alberto G. Alix
Pierre Alain de Oliveira
Diana Polakov
Floren
Rafael Abitbol
Paco Luque

CHEERS

Arctic Beach

I haven't spent enough time posting about my friends' stuff- Priscilla Rodriguez, who shot my Girls in Black video made this lovely ambient film Arctic Beach/Reverse Siberia with her man Dakota using his music. I really love her style she has a special kind of patience with a camera that I deeply admire. I really like this video because it has a droning visual quality, its emotively dark yet unequivocally Southern californian. Its affective while being completely non-narrative and all of her compositions are beautiful. Uhhhh we are going to collaborate on more stuff soon. (I posted a bunch of Ed Ruscha stuff up there because I think he shares the California aesthetic but is darkly symbolic and unsettling in a way I think they share and I find aesthetically pleasing)…. 

Lito The Dog

Sooooo I took the liberty of photocopying and translating some of this really cool Crumbish-Kazish Peruvian comic by David Gualliquio I bought while traveling in Peru- unfortunately the humor doesn't translate very well- not that it was very funny to begin with. But I really like the visual style and line quality.... It was a lot more work than it sounded like when I  took on the project. but either way next time I will do it on photoshop! 

Cartoon Devils

 

There should be a live action film genre in which the main tropes consist of emulating animation. Some of my favorite aspects of films (acting, cinematography, set design, mise en scene) and inevitably the way I direct actors derives from the exaggerated pantomiming of early warner brothers, disney, and hannah Barbara cartoon series. My dad had a bunch of box sets and huge vhs collections of early animation when I was a kid and we never had cable so my television education consisted of theese, ( in addition to generic mystery tv shows on pax and touched by an angel). The only thing I love more than Jim Carey is Danny Elfman in a devil costume. Everything else is a personal problem.

So here is a faux trailer I did playing around with a green screen, stock footage (again), and a devil hood my sister made....

Light Years

                                      

                                      

                                      

Aaron from Mothers of Gut and I were trying to collaborate on a series of music videos for their new album. Stuff kept happening (I was working a lot, then we got locked out of the first location we were supposed to shoot) and we ended up making huge plans (involving a lot of props, costumes, a weekend  shoot in Big Bear and lots of post editing effects) and not following through with anything so I made this collage short with a bunch of old documentary clips I got from the Perlinger Archives and their song.