VOIVOD DVOD 1 (MusiquePlus / MVD) dvd 14.98
As Voivod fans mourn the loss of guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour (who sadly passed away earlier this year, a victim of cancer), they can take bittersweet enjoyment in this new DVD that collects video footage from the pioneering Quebecois sci-fi metal band's earlier years from 1983-1991, when they progressed from playing the rawest thrash you'll ever hear to levels of technical, psychedelic genius previously unheard in metal. This is the classic era of the original line-up of Piggy, Snake, Away and Blacky. You get all their '80s videos (six of 'em, including "Tribal Convictions" and their cover of Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine"), plus seven live tracks from shows in Montreal between '86 and '91, as well as some behind the scenes stuff from video shoots and in the studio recording the Nothingface album. And there's extras as well: artwork, photos, and demos. It would seem that this is essential to any serious Voivod aficionado!
Another note to Voivod fans: next year should see the release of the first-ever ART BOOK by Voivod drummer and lyrical and visual conceptualist Away, being published by Troubleman Unlimited. 'Bout time!

VON Satanic Blood Ritual (Nuclear War Now!) dvd 12.98

WAINWRIGHT, RUFUS All I Want (Geffen) dvd 25.00
Wow! This is one heckuva fan pleasin' dvd. It really is packed oh so generously with all you really do want! Over three hours worth of Rufus! Where do we start? Well, there's a frank and intimate documentary about Wainwright's life story thus far, there's a baker's dozen wonderful live performances, four music videos, some Wainwrights' home video footage, a bunch of interviews with Rufus, his family (sister Martha and mom Kate McGarrigle) as well as with a number of his celebrity fans such as Elton John and Sting. And the cherry on top? A spiffy new song titled "The Maker Makes". Whew! Need we say more?

WEDDING PRESENT, THE Search For Paradise: Singles 2004-5 (Manifesto) cd+dvd 16.98
In case you're a Wedding Present completist who missed 'em when they were originally released as imports over the last coupla years OR in case you're a bit of a neat freak who wants everything in one tidy package, here's a cd/dvd set of U.K. singles (released on the band's own label Scopitones) and videos from 2004 and 2005. Eleven of the fourteen songs were previously unreleased in the U.S., and three of the six videos were previously unavailable anywhere!
MPEG Stream: "Bad Thing"
MPEG Stream: "The Girl With The Curious Smile"

WELCH, GILLIAN The Revelator Collection (Acony) dvd 19.98
Who doesn't love alt-country songstress Gillian Welch and her musical partner David Rawlings? I kinda feel sorry for you if you don't. Anyway, chances are you're a fan, it seems most AQ-customers are. And fans should be pretty happy with this release, a DVD featuring the three videos shot for Welch's last release "Time (The Revelator)", plus nine songs filmed live in concert last year, five of which don't appear on any of Welch's albums! It's about an hour's worth of music total, and best of all -- it's in black and white! That's just perfect. Welch and Rawlings are wonderful live performers, so charming and funny that they make what they do seem easy, when of course it's not. Rawlings' impressive guitar solos, the duo's lovely vocal harmonies, Welch's brilliant lyrics...so good. See 'em live if you can -- checking out this DVD should definitely inspire you to do so. If it's not too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts, this seems like an idea...

WHITE STRIPES, THE White Blood Cells (V2) cd + DVD 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Following the growing trend of recent albums being reissued with bonus material (dvds, videos, extra tracks, etc), V2 offers up a new run of the White Stripes' third album with a bonus dvd. Why? Because V2 are nice, generous folks? To extend the life of a popular album a little longer? Hmmm. Regardless, fans of Meg and Jack, here for you is the White Blood Cells cd with a dvd containing two "previously unreleased" extra tracks (actually they should instead be called "rare" 'cuz one of the songs "Lafayette Blues" was actually previously released and re-released on a 7", while the other "Hand Springs" was also formerly available on 7" and a compilation - I guess V2 didn't consider those to be officially "released") and four videos ("Hotel Yorba", "Fell In Love With A Girl", Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground", and "We're Going To Be Friends"). As for the album itself here's what we had to say about it last year when it was initially released:
People love 'em and Jack White's certainly got a great voice, and he's a lot less annoying and attitudinal than his contemporary-in-sound Jon Spencer, but I think I'm missing something here. Or maybe not. Upon listening to "White Blood Cells" (their hotly awaited third album) I put aside any preconceived opinion of how I thought I was supposed to react to the music and realized that it isn't the songwriting (good, garagey Detroit-style stomp) so much as it is the Iggy-tastic enthusiasm and love of making music that makes the White Stripes incredible. And I think it shows, just listen to the music -- it's not bad, but not the second coming either, but it definitely rocks. It makes you want to drink beer and fuck shit up. Just like rock n' roll should.
RealAudio clip: "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground"
RealAudio clip: "Hotel Yorba"

WHOLPHIN DVD MAGAZINE No. 3 (McSweeney's) dvd 15.95

WILD COMBINATION: A PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR RUSSELL (Plexifilm) dvd 26.00
Amazing portrait of this prolific musical figure who, as is often the way, sixteen years after his death has gained a wider popularity and recognition than when he was alive. Russell had his hands in many musical pies from the early New York avant-garde composer scene and leftfield disco, to no-wave pop, country rock and dubby cello abstractions. In fact, his estate with the help of the Audika label have been diligently uncovering hours of unreleased recordings, including the stunning recent compilation of early recordings, Love Is Overtaking Me, reviewed elsewhere on this list.
Beginning with his childhood upbringing in the corn belt of Iowa as a shy bookish cello student, he soon escaped to San Francisco during the Summer of Love, where he met up with Allan Ginsberg, writing cello accompaniments for his poetry and studying North Indian music at the Ali Akbar School of Music. Moving to New York, he met up with Ernie Brooks of the Modern Lovers and formed the band The Flying Hearts and became musical director of The Kitchen where he collaborated with the likes of David Byrne, Rhys Chatham, and Phillip Glass among others. Always with an acute ear for new sounds, Russell latched on to the burgeoning underground disco scene, especially at Larry Levan's Paradise Garage and The Loft, where he released a string of amazing ahead-of-their-time dance singles under constantly changing monikers: Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, Indian Ocean etc. As he became increasingly more ill from AIDS, his last years focused on deeply personal but experimentally abstract song forms involving the cello and a barrage of effects pedals with soft echoed vocals.
An obsessive perfectionist, Russell was notorious for his difficulties in finishing projects, which often strained or sabotaged his professional relationships (namely Robert Wilson and Francois Kevorkian), and was a key reason for his lack of a wider success during his lifetime. At the time of his death, he had over 1000 hours of recordings that hadn't been released including 96 mixes of the same song! The documentary includes interviews with and footage of Allan Ginsberg, David Toop, Bob Blank, Lola Love, Ernie Brooks, Philip Glass, Jens Lekman and Audika label head Steve Knutson as well as Russell's surviving partner Tom Lee and Russell's parents. Although beautifully shot and always engaging, we think the documentary plays it a bit safe at times, especially on its coverage of Russell's involvement with the late-seventies / early eighties club music scene and his experiences as a gay man in New York at this time. This is most likely out of respect for his parents. Other than that this is a killer key document of a major musical force for whom we are just beginning to feel the reverberations of his influence.

WILLIAMS, WENDY O 10 Years Of Revolutionary Rock & Roll (Mvd) dvd 19.98

WILSON, BRIAN Smile (Rhino) 2dvd 31.00
Not to be missed! Ms Cup was absolutely devastated (in the best possible way!) and seriously moved to tears by this release! Heck, she's been at such a loss for words that it's taken her months to complete this review! This fabulous double dvd set's documentary and live performance present Wilson as the true musical genius he is, situating him alongside other great composers such as George Gershwin, Burt Bacharach and Cole Porter... although he truly belongs in a category all his own. If you have even an inkling of the journey this album and its creator have taken to get to this point (far too lengthy and involved to go into here -- you'll have to do your own Smile studying), it's nearly unfathomable that it should exist at all. To hear and see it all come to life is nothing short of a joyous experience. The live show was performed, recorded, filmed and edited beautifully. It looks and sounds fantastic! In fact, we'd definitely recommend experiencing the work known as Smile via the live performance on this dvd over listening to the studio album which was recorded in some very controlled, self-aware circumstances -- obviously a process of facing long-stored demons and finding closure to a work long unrealized -- and thus it comes across as somewhat stiff when held in comparison to the original Beach Boys' versions which were also much more wild and untethered... all understandably so. That said, Wilson has repeatedly stressed that this incarnation of Smile wasn't intended to be the same album he set out to do back then, that although it has pieces from his past, it's something very different to be taken on its own. The documentary is suitably reverential with remarkably well selected interview subjects (musicians, producers, peers and friends, themselves real artists, not simply celebrity talking heads) including Van Dyke Parks, Elvis Costello, Rob Reiner, Roger Daltrey, Jeff Bridges and George Martin. No folks, it's by no means an overstatement to say that this is a phenomenal triumph. Enjoy!

WIRE On the Box: 1979 (WDR) cd + dvd 21.00
As much as we may extoll the virtues of Wire, Dome, He Said, and any / all other Wire side projects, those albums would have never seen the light of day had Wire not released the ultra classics Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, and 154. Infinitely smarter than the Sex Pistols and not as gloomy as Joy Division, Wire initially appeared as a bright 3-chord punk band on Pink Flag, but quickly authored the template of a post-punk ethos that moved beyond simple rock structures and orchestration on Chairs Missing and 154. As distinct as each of those album are, Wire connected the dots with a very strong signature that they didn't really exhaust until the early '90s. While the latest reincarnation of Wire has boasted a return to their early glory, we haven't been entirely convinced.
Fortunately for big Wire fans like us, there's On The Box: 1979, a DVD / CD set of a live set that the band performed for the German television show Rockpalast. Recorded in between Chairs Missing and 154, the band was at that point experimenting with more obtuse songs; but given the live context and their apparant dissatisfaction with the rather placid and polite audience, the songs that would later appear on 154 (i.e. "The 15th" and "Map Ref. 41 N 93 W") have a definite edge that's not found on the studio recordings. For a live recording, this is as good as you'll find: great performance, tight and aggressive, great song selection, and good sound quality.
The DVD also features an interview in which the four are particularly difficult and curt to an increasingly confused journalist, and the CD just houses all of the audio from the show.
MPEG Stream: "The 15th (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "French Film Blurred (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "Pink Flag (Live)"

WITCH Local Band Nitemare (Tee Pee) dvd 7.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
The Witch album that came out last year was, in our doom-lovin' opinion, one of the best Black Sabbath/'70s styled doom metal records we'd heard in a long time. And quite a surprise, considering that Witch is something of an unlikely "supergroup" -- including members of new weird folksters Feathers, and Dinosaur Jr. mainman J. Mascis, on drums!! Of course, Mascis is super busy now with the (equally unlikely but totally awesome) Dinosaur reunion, we know that our hankering for new material (or live dates out here in California) from Witch was probably gonna require some patience on our part. Fortunately, to keep us tided over 'til whenever that happens, there's this unexpected DVD documentary on Witch! With the great title "Local Band Nitemare", it's about 20 minutes long, shot on tour in in the Northeast, 2007 including both live performance and interview footage... join Witch on the road, in the van, backstage, in the hotel. Hijinks ensue, sort of. Some of it is actually funny, maybe just 'cause it's J. Mascis there in his long grey hair and glasses... and the live bits will serve to remind you how this multigenerational band of longhairs are almighty masters of the swingin' doom RIFF, in the tradition of Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Sleep, Dead Meadow, and even the Flower Travellin' Band. Also included in addition to Local Band Nitemare: the psychedelic-visual-effects overloaded promo video for the track "Seer" (check out J. spinning those sticks!), a special full live rendition of "Isadora" from their very first show, and also an art/photo gallery feature. So, if you like Witch as much as we do, you'll be pretty stoked on this. If you haven't checked Witch out yet, well we urge you to pick up their self-titled debut if what we said about 'em above has interested you at all!
NB. the band originally released this themselves on dvd-r, wrapped in just a xeroxed paper sleeve, but this new version on Tee Pee is a real dvd, packaged in a normal dvd case, done up all pro-like.

WOODEN WAND AND THE VANISHING VOICE Moon Void Of Course dvd-r 14.98
It seems like not a week goes by without a new Wooden Wand release making its unorthodox folk presence felt. Up until now it's all been of the audio variety, but this week we've got something you can listen to AND watch! Moon Void Of Course is a self-released LIMITED TO 100 dvd-r packed with tons of WWATVV goodies and extras. The focal point of the release is a bunch of on the road live footage from their summer tour of 2005, but there's also a couple of music videos and footage from a particularly unconventional show they did at an orphanage earlier that year. To boot, along with the dvd-r you get a soundtrack cd-r and a lil' tour diary/insert booklet.
We repeat: This is SUPER LIMITED! You choose to snooze, you choose to lose.

WORLD HERITAGE, THE Invitation To World Heritage (Magaibutsu) dvd + cd 17.98
Another Yoshida prog project!

WORLD OF SID & MARTY CROFT (Rhino) 3 dvd 45.00

WS50: THE VIDEO ALBUM 10th Anniversary Edition (Wordsound) dvd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

WYATT, OLIVIA Staring Into The Sun (Sublime Frequencies) cd + dvd + book 30.00
The latest from Sublime Frequencies is a massive cd/dvd/book set, compiled by photographer/filmmaker Olivia Wyatt on a recent trip to Ethiopia, planned to coincide with a music festival - which the government abruptly cancelled for fear of the musicians being exploited. So instead, Wyatt travelled into the bush, to compile this sonic/visual travelogue of the music and musicians, the people and places of the various tribes of Ethiopia, and it's of course breathtaking. The music, heady and hypnotic, joyous and emotional, the sounds varying dramatically from tribe to tribe, but music being ubiquitous, weddings, ceremonies, rituals, drawing water from the well, on television, in living rooms, very rhythmic, mostly vocal drive, but with lots of hand clapping, wildly bowed stringed instruments, vocals chanted, shouted, call and response, super mesmerizing, many of the tribes utilize whistles and panpipes, and the music they make is incredible, otherworldly and impossibly lush, sounding like some modern 20th century classical composition in many cases, while actual bands to rock out, and get surprisingly soulful and funky. A compilation like this must have been so impossible to compile, how on earth to whittle down what must have ben days of recordings to just an hour, but the tracks chosen are amazing, and make us want to hear so much more.
Both the cd and the dvd (more on the dvd in a second) are housed in a cd sized hard cover book, which includes extensive liner notes on Wyatt's trip to Ethiopia, but also 117 Polaroid photos Wyatt took on her trip, of people, places, musicians, villages, an incredible visual feast for the eyes. And then there's the dvd, which features a 60 minute film, which in its won way is structured like the video version of Wyatt's Polaroids, with many still shots, video portraits, as well as some incredible footage, some highlights include so many different lots of singing and dancing, sometimes in traditional tribal dress, often in western t-shirts and shorts, one of the most amazing sequences if of men and women working drawing water from a well, passing buckets from person to person, their worksongs so hypnotic and beautiful, then there's a super wild psychedelic guitar freakout with one woman doing some of the craziest, most ecstatic hair swirling / headbanging we've ever seen, there's footage of men feeding wild hyenas in the middle of the night, often right out of their own mouths, snippets from Ethiopian television with wild MTV style videos, fantastic tribal folks songs with synchronized dances and lots of whistles, dancing girls making music with just the clank and jangle of her jewelry, in fact lots of dances that involve the jangle of jewelry, men smoking in dark rooms watching television, intimate performances in living rooms and so much more.
So incredible, sonically, visually, culturally, easily one of our favorite Sublime Frequencies releases for sure.
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES . The dvd is all region NTSC.
MPEG Stream: KONSO TRIBE "Konso Lyre Song"
MPEG Stream: HABESHA 2000 BAND "Habesha Traditional Song"
MPEG Stream: AZMARI (MASINKO PLAYER) "Masinko Song"
MPEG Stream: DIRASHE TRIBE "Dirashe Syncopated Panpipes"
MPEG Stream: GEDEO TRIBE "Gedeo Vocals"

XENAKIS, IANNIS Electronic Music 1: La Legende d'Eer (Mode) cd 16.98
Greek avant garde composer's 1977/78 46-minutework for 8-channel electronic tape. Challenging, to say the least. You dig Merzbow? Well test your mettle against this - piercing tones from a true master.

XENAKIS, IANNIS Electronic Music 1: La Legende d'Eer (Mode) dvd 26.00

YAHOWHA 13 2013 (Prophase Music) 2cd+dvd 30.00

YAHOWHA 13 Re-Visiting Father and The Source Family (Swordfish) dvd 30.00
Back In Print!!!! The Source book was awesome, but before that, there was this dvd, you need it too...
If you're at all like us, you're a fan of the Ya Ho Wha 13 records. big fans don't know much more than that the Yah Ho Wha 13 was a band that belonged to a '70s hippy religious commune (some would say, a "cult") known then as the Brotherhood Of The Source and now as the Source Family, that was based in California (and later, Hawaii), led by a fellow named Father Yod, who eventually perished in a hang-gliding accident. Pretty mysterious really. And if you're like us you're curious about the folks who made all that weird music. Well, now you can learn the rest of the story from this DVD documentary. And it's a long story -- about two and a half hours. Very entertaining though. In part 'cause the actual facts are so strange, in part 'cause the interviewees are really rather charming... and in part 'cause this was a student film project. The filmmaking isn't so much amateur or low budget as it is simply bizarre. It fits with the subject though!! The young filmmaker himself sometimes appears on-screen, hosting the proceedings. A lot of the time, he has the back of his head to the camera, superimposed Mystery Science Theatre 3000 style over whatever he's discussing. Weird. And he really tries to generate a "psychedelic" mood with the use of computer animations and the overlaying of multiple video images. It's a pretty darn trippy movie he's made. But once you're used to it, you'll be able to focus on what the former "Family" members are talking about in the interviews. You'll learn that Father Yod's real name was Jim Baker. And that supposedly he was an Olympic athlete and WWII hero. Well, that's what his former followers still think. Further viewing will reveal how Tarzan, salad dressing, Jodie Foster's dad, and the Egyptian pyramids, among many other things, all play parts in the story... And don't worry, in addition to the present-day interviews, this makes use of all sorts of vintage footage and photos, both "home movies" and what appears to be a local Los Angeles TV news feature on the Father Yod and his followers from back in the day.
In a lot of ways, this film is basically a case study in how to start and run a cult. In Jim Baker/Father Yod's case, the idea is to become an esoteric-wisdom-spouting father figure to a group of "lost" youths (it's helpful if there happens to be a whole hippie generation running around looking for spiritual enlightenment and belonging). And get them all working at your successful health-food restaurant, to make money to pay for Rolls Royces, mansions, and nice suits. And have amazing hair! (The sequence where one former Family member describes the colors and texture of Father Yod's hair is really intense!) For instance, would-be cult leaders probably are curious to know just how Father Yod wound up with so many attractive young "wives"? Well, he taught his flock that women were god-creatures, creative spirits who should be utterly liberated and free to choose their partners as they wished. If a man was chosen, he should accept the attentions of the woman gratefully, no matter what. Now, could Father Yod help it if many of the women in the Family chose him, leaving many of his male "children" without partners? No, he could not.
An interest in cults, gurus and sixties spirituality aside, despite the fact that the Ya Ho Wha 13's music (which you'll hear throughout the film) doesn't really get discussed much until about an hour and a half into the movie (and Djin Aquarian, the guitarist in the band, isn't talked to for some reason, though you can find a fascinating 2003 interview with him online here: http://www.nicepooperzine.com/interviews.html, and of course he's in the Source book), this is still pretty much essential for any fan of Father Yod & Co.'s musical endeavors. We think you'll "hear" a lot more next time you spin one of their albums, after viewing this.

YEAH YEAH YEAHS Tell Me What Rockers To Swallow (Interscope) dvd 17.98

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA & SOTOYAMA AKIRA Drum Duo (Enban) dvd-r 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

YOSHIMIO Yunnan Colorfree (Shock City) cd+dvd 50.00

YOUNG, NEIL Greatest Hits (Reprise) cd 16.98

MPEG Stream: "Down By The River"
MPEG Stream: "Old Man"

YOUNG, NEIL Prairie Wind (Reprise) cd + dvd 25.00

YOUNG, NEIL Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968 (Reprise) cd+dvd 24.00

ZECHARIA, ZADIK Kurdish Melodies Played On Zorna - Live At Mondial Hall - 14.12.1987 (Something On The Road) dvd-r 10.98
For anyone who bought the Zadik Zecharia cd (and that's a WHOLE lot of you), an amazing disc of wild and energetic performances on a small traditional Kurdish horn called a zorna, a disc that is STILL played constantly in the store, this dvd-r is absolutely essential. The sound of the zorna is a buzzing high end hypnotic buzz, very much like snake charmer music, and is completely and relentlessly mesmerizing. A sound that is wild and festive and joyous, and that definitely has a primal power, a timeless intensity that transcends mere music, it's a sound that does in fact force your body to bounce and shimmy, dance and shake along. As is evidenced by this dvd-r, a home video recording of a wedding in 1987 that is just a nonstop dance party / zorna jam. It's a little strange to see, it's a little like watching some stranger's home videos, which it basically is. But wow!! If only weddings were this wild and festive in the US. Then again, if only weddings featured a kick ass zorna jam courtesy of Zadik Zecharia (maybe Andee and Heather would have actually gotten married by now). From the moment the bride and groom enter the building, Zecharia is playing a continuous stream of flowing buzzing melody, never stopping, accompanied by a huge thumped drum, and of course the clapping and shouting of the crowd. And that's basically it, a huge crowd of friends and family, dancing wildly, together, separately, in big groups, holding hands, forming huge chains, hands raised in the air, while Zecharia and the drummer, wander from the stage, strolling amongst the crowd and back to the stage again never letting up. In fact there are even some parts where Zecharia plays with one hand so he can use his other to communicate with some of the guests. A few folks whisper in his ear, to which he responds with a nod or a smile, still never letting the music stop. It's 1987 so there are some amazing fashions, wild pantsuits and big hair, which are fun to see, but it's all about Zecharia and his inspiring performance.
Shot on a camcorder 20 years ago, which means the picture quality is not the best, but the sound is fantastic (minus a few drop outs) and if you're anything like us you can't get enough of Zadik Zecharia and his zorna!! So recommended!
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "Two"

ZELIENOPLE Land of Smoke (Root Strata) dvd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
In the age of YouTube and MySpace, the idea of the music video has changed dramatically since the days of MTV (or at least the days when MTV actually played videos). In the past, only bands on major labels could make a video, often hiring a real director and dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, plenty of bands have videos before they even have a record out. Super 8, digital video, Final Cut Pro, anyone can put together their own video and have it look as good if not better than the classic videos of old.
Old news maybe, but the thing is, most bands seems to use the video as simply a promotional tactic, or an excuse to fuck around and film it. Instead of, dare we say, ART. In the underground though, it's not at all uncommon for like minded musicians and filmmakers to join forces. In fact, with the advent of live performances featuring laptops and other sedimentary sound making devices (when is someone gonna make a laptop guitar, so left out laptoppers can windmill and leap about with the rest of the band?), often it's the accompanying films that are way more compelling. Often, a show is touted as some band performing "with films by so and so", but in fact, more often than not, it plays out more like seeing a film, that just so happens to feature live accompaniment by some band.
Few labels have really taken advantage of this new technology as much as Root Strata, who have quietly and steadily been releasing a series of super limited dvd-r's, each featuring new compositions by a small handful of artists, coupled with original films. The results have been pretty sublime, the films tending toward the abstract and impressionistic, the music following suit. When watching / listening to these, it's hard not to imagine laying on the floor, propped up on cushions, lights low, the film being projected on a huge blank wall, the band hunkered over their instruments in the corner, which makes sense as that's most likely how these films/sounds were conceived.Ê
So we have two new super limited dvd-r releases, one from Zelienople and one from Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Paul Clipson, both limited to 100 copies, both already out of print, so these are the only copies we'll ever get.Ê
We've only ever had one other release by Zelienople in the past, the gorgeous Stone Academy. A smoldering noise drenched folk, simple strum surrounded thick sonic swells, tons of effects, often evolving into a blown out druggy haze. The music here is similar, but a bit more post rocky, a little Velvets, a little Bohren. A simple main riff, repeating over and over, wreathed in reverb, the vocals a hushed plaintive murmur, while all around, those elements, softly swirl, streaks of blurred effects, spidery reverbed guitar melodies, all heavy with reverb and delay, the sound super laid back and weary, dreamlike and drowsy. Which perfectly suits the visuals, a film by Donald Prokop (and the band), an endless shot of the world passing by outside a car window. In the first half, the various sights are rendered an impressionistic blur, long streaks, fields of color vibrating, whirring past, sometimes the screen is mostly sky, peppered with glimmering streetlights, but often it's a a jittery assemblage of shapes and colors and lights, here and there, more of the landscape is revealed, eliciting a strange sense of melancholy, of loneliness, enhanced by Zelienople's moody musical drift. Near the end, the camera seems to be traveling through a series of tunnels, the film offering up long stretches of blackness between smeared glass views of passing towns. So lovely.Ê
Packaged in printed, folded papers sleeves, and again, LIMITED TO ONLY 100 COPIES, and already out of print.