My Favorite Things: 2wo - I am a Pig Video directed by Chi Chi LaRue

"I am a Pig" is a song by Rob Halford's ill-fated attempt at industrial rock known as 2wo. It was released in 1998 on the bands sole album titled Voyeurs. It was also the only song that managed to get a video. And what a video that was - it was directed by Chi Chi LaRue of all people. Hooray! (if you know what i mean).  

For those of you who don't know Chi Chi LaRue - he's a porn director extraordinare. He's a big figure in a drag community and usually works in gay and bisexual genres. And he's not a usual porn director who just turns the camera on and captures the thing - far from it. His films are one of the few really engaging experiences because of the ways he uses long takes and tricky editing to evoke excitement. He is actually trying to tell stories through physical intercourse - something akin to pro wrestling ring psychology. I guess he is the only person in porn who actually tried to do the film according to Soviet Montage Theory heavily leaning on Eisenstein's Montage of Attractions and Kuleshov Jedi Mind Tricks... Well, i did my homework. Ok? 

While the video for "I am a Pig" is commonly perceived in mainstream as a some kind of a "sleazefest" - it is basically just some stuff that usually happens at the fetish parties presented in a digestable form of a highlight reel. You get "this" and "this" and "this" and also "that" and "that" too "if you want". It is a riff of traditional cock rock videos. But it is subversive in a very different way than it seems on the surface

As Halford said in the interview back in the day - the song was about public and private sides of personality and the video was intended to show it in a tricky manner. But there's nothing outraging even if your overthink it - just people hanging out and having fun. You have somebody in a cage; midgets with whips; people with their mouths gagged; pals in the gas masks; scenes of foot fetish; someone's getting tickled probably; LaRue doing whirling around; some boot licking; temptation resistance; oh, hi Janine Lindemulder (no ice dildo though), nice to see you; threesome flirting; i guess there must be some edge play hidden somewhere; some sweat licking; dancing of course and some people just staring at others who do something. And then in the very end of the video - there's Our Man Rob looking like Nosferatu with the saddest eyes in the world for some reason - he looks at all this with that particular uncertainty that you might get if you're puzzled enough. 

But it's the editing that makes this video work. LaRue gives you the basics - the flow of images, parts of something without revealing the whole thing - and your brain does the heavy lifting and fills the gaps. The effect depends on performance but it is designed to make you think of something arcane and potentially obscene via association. Or not. It is most non sequitir - it can go anyway you way. In fact it is not as much a viewing experience as a momentary thought experiment - how far you can take it. There is so much visual information to chew and it is edited in a way to achieve some sort of sensual overload. It goes way too intense - you gotta adapt to perceive it. It bursts almost a DADA level of visual noise.

It breaks away from any form of narrative into semi-abstract realm - it's like Len Lye or Stan Brakhage or Joseph Kornell shapeless inert flicks - just with other kind of images.

Yes, and i've been overthinking all the way.

BSPH: Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol

Here's a controversial confession. I was a big fan of Adriano Celentano when i was a kid. He always seemed to be grounded and believable even though he always played an amped up version of himself and his films were mostly braindead monstorocities (but there was also magical "Bluff" directed by Corbucci and co-starring everawesome Anthony Quinn) - he is kinda like Dwayne Johnson. For reasons unknown he radiated such deeply awesometacular charisma he could literally spat out nonsense and remain otherworldly cool. Speaking of nonsense...

"Prisencolinensinainciusol" is a song by italian multi-faceted artist Adriano Celentano. It was released in 1972 on an album titled "Nostalrock". It was a big hit for Celentano scoring No. 1 spot in Italy and numerous chart entries all over Europe coupled with critical acclaim. This is more amazing because it is a gimmick song. It sounds like a regular rock song but actually is warped experimental song written in faux English. This combination makes it brilliant in every way. 

Bil Sabab Power Hour: Miles Davis - U 'n' I

"U 'n' I" is a composition by Miles Davis recorded for his 1983 album "Star People". It is one of the rare examples of Davis playing relatively straight. "U 'n' I" is arrestingly charming and brisk. For "Star People" Davis decided to keep things simple - all tunes have concise bodies around them and the melodies are relatively discreet while the solos are performed in a spotlight manner - no blanket tugging - "U 'n' I" is perfect example of this approach. The result is a lot of space in the music - you can hyperventilate inside this structures. "U 'n' I" feels massive. But it is unusually easily digestible. 

There is clear rhythm pattern with no jumping around, there is distinct, almost old-school be-bop, melody without twists and turns colored by inventive back and forth with guitar and a little shout-out with soprano sax. It is laid back and shuffling, cool, mildly tempered jazz fusion tune with rippling chords and funky stabs ready to grab you by the throat and baptize in the mood for something-something. It is also one of the catchiest late-period Miles Davis pieces. "U 'n' I"  feels right even though the melody is childish by Davis' standards. 

In its core "U 'n' I"  is a sound enactment of taking a walk with somebody you love. Stroll hand in hand, no bullshit (just because). There are two main voices - trumpet and guitar. They talk about everything and nothing in particular, going round and round, basically looping, phasing sometimes, curdling in their thoughts and bumbling all the way. 

Rhythmically it is based on laidback, relaxed walking patterns. You have legs and lungs and heart sometimes almost bursting out to the forth. Sometimes the step is a little bit too fast and then tries to make it up by slowing down a bit and somewhat stumbling. It feels a swingy as if you're nearly overwhelmed with the flush of feelings but still in control. The resulting groove is infectious - Al Foster and Mino Cinelu do the cool funky cat walking tall strut like no one else while Marcus Miller' bass is dancing around. It transcends the whole thing. Miles Davis and Mike Stern' are playing off each other doing parallel narratives - trying to calculate all possible moves of each other and attempt to hit a preemptive strike. But they never do it. It is unsettling in some way. The resulting melody is irresistible. It sticks, it gets in your head - whirling and curling and you can't help but utter-mumble it every time you take a walk.  

Unlike uncertain, careful and overly reasonable stuff from "The Man with the Horn" - "U 'n' I" reeks with quiet and understated confidence. This time Miles Davis knows exactly what he wants to do and he goes for it. The whole thing is like something not exactly comprehensible but very distinct. It moves towards you but kinda not but it feels like there is something going on and it is immensely cool. It defies certain rules of composition for sake of more abstract and angular approach. It goes circles with minimal variations ending up being completely different. 

That's how you make an awesome jazz tune. 

Just imagine

Beekeeper's Flytrap

UTSANGA REMIX RAMPAGE is on!

Utsanga.it is the Flying Dutchman of experimental lit zines. It always comes out of nowhere, gives you RKO and smacks you right in the face as if it was a final solution. You feel different after that. And i'm writing it as a reader not member of editorial staff. With every issue Utsanga.it manages to blow your mind to pieces then gather those pieces together and blow them up into even smaller pieces - up until things go down to atoms. Because that is what experimental art zines are supposed to do. It is not about being nice and cheerful. It's about total annihilation of rational thought.

Bil Sabab Power Hour: Miles Davis - Chocolate Chip

"Chocolate Chip" is a composition from Miles Davis' final album "Doo Bop". It is unusually upbeat and straightforward jumpy funky piece with a melody so sticky it will shape the rest of your life just because. It can go on forever and that is fine by me.

"Chocolate Chip" is a standout track on "Doo Bop". Unlike the majority of the album which is a series of rather drowsy, unfocused and quite uncertain steps that should've been a dance - "Chocolate Chip" is extremely focused and fired-up. It drops the sentimental impressionist feel which dominates the album and winds up in "Davis full swing". It is more like his 70s stuff but streamlined and made "nice".

The melody is extremely catchy albeit simple (it stands beside "U'n'I") - it is busy zigzagging and moving around with occassional pa's here and there. It bobs and weaves and struts and lopes. It begs to be performed in scat by Jordan Williams or Al Jarreau. It has this uber-cool vibe that makes me feel good by the sheer force of groove. The beat is just right, keyboard fills in the second part bring a different shades. The beat is pure oldschool hip-hop reminescent of new jack swing but is stripped of its tackiness. Bass back and forth with muted horn stabs in the chorus parts are like a transition to the next level. Miles blows his way through the groove. And then after another chorus turn he doesn't play. As if he was just listening to the thing and enjoying it. He returns after the break with another splash of melodies and electric piano flourishes. Then things settle down for one more turn before fading out.

"Doo-bop" was masters final tour de force. Released in 1992 it was a culmination of Davis' continuing interest in sound and style of then-modern pop music - the Minneappolis sound, New Jack Swing, R&B and Golden Age hip-hop productions in particular. He collaborated with Easy Mo Bee (who later produced bulk of Notorious BIG debut "Ready to Die") and managed to prodice a weird beast which not really a jazz, not really a hip-hop - it is more like then-emerging trip-hop with a twisted tinge of wicked easy listening. Basically it is an upgrade of his signature cool jazz style but even more impressionist. It is almost a cloud steam you happen to walk in and the wind sweeps it away.

You gotta respect Miles Davis for his fearless aesthetic development. He was all about MAKE IT NEW and for every record he was bringing himself to a breaking point and somehow managing to reinvent himself and come back with such a bang you could only say "WOW!" or "WHOA!".

My Favorite Things: Martin Arnold - Passage a L'acte

"Passage a L'acte" is an experimental short film by video artist Martin Arnold. It was released in 1993. It is a remix of a scene from a 1962 screen adaptation of Harper Lee' seminal novel "To Kill a Mockingbird". It takes out of context a morning kitchen table breakfast scene and makes it something completely different. 

Martin Arnold (Hey, Arnold!) turns the scene into ominous but convoluted, dizzying and terrifying exploration of interpersonal relationship within a family by means of continuous stretching and pulsating repetition. Curiously, it is not a comment on "To Kill a Mockingbird" in any way. It just takes one particular scene as a source in order to make something of its own. Arnold wanted to take "better known" domestic moment in order to secure engaged attention from the viewers. 

The original bit runs for about 10 seconds - Finch family had gathered around the breakfast table, children prepare for the first school day of the year. Father demands that his young son would not leave the table until his sister has finished eating. End of episode. Within the film it is barely significant. Just another brief showcase of character interaction - a family in complete harmony with one another. "Passage a L'acte" takes certain bits of that scene and transforms them into a setpieces of their own - stretching it up to 12 minutes thus creating weird rocking motion coupled with explosions in composition.

The annihilation of original continuity completely defamiliarizes the scene. The resulting narrative is constantly starts and stops. It is stuck, repeated and reversed and repeated once again. This stuttering is staggering in its scope. And because of that new narrative shows occurs. Unlike the original scene it is not that nice. It is disturbing. It shows concealed tension.

"Passage a L'acte" turns a breakfast table scene into a microcosm of the family. It renders the scene nonsensical but repetitive patterns expose the suppressed underbelly of the relationships between its members. At first scene starts to look utterly bizarre in its new warped continuity but then it starts to make sense. There is a pattern. Halts and repeats of every instant mark intense passage of time - it's a matter days and weeks, possibly month compressed. It is fair to say that time truly flies in "Passage a L'acte". 

Overt repetition of sounds and body movements shows profound absurdity of it all. Every spoken line is stultifyingly repeated over and over again until it shreds any meaning it must bear (here's a transcribed snippet from IMDB). It is nothing more than unintelligible barks and yelps. "Yes" can morph into "byah", "weh", "bam", "jam" or "haffa-now", "flupper", "patoot". The characters are stuck twitching in pointless loops back and forth without any resolution. This stutter is a showcase of a repetitive nature of everyday activities. It evokes untapped evergrowing frustration.  

Such narrative can be jarring, tedious and comedic in the same time. Think about it. Woman sits with uncanny smile on her face possibly trying to keep her act together, man reads the paper as if he was performing a dance with his eyes and head. Then boy gets up, open and closes the door many-many times. The repeated bits of slamming are distorted to the point it sounds like a machine gun offense. Subsequent dropping of a fork is also transformed into surrealist sonic dance composition. Originally just a snarky smirk from the girl is now transformed into rhythmic guttural noises. Kiss on a cheek through numerous repeats turns into grinding chomp. These volleys of sounds are like retaliating onslaught of woodpeckers. 

  

"Passage a L'acte" is a testament on flexibility and versatility of film as an artform. It shows how far it can be taken in terms forms. It can be transformed in a variety of ways and every time it will be able to forge something completely new - another narrative or way of perception. It is important to