Vol 1,2 & 3
Nomad There’s a social phenomenon going around recently that seems to be polarising the nation. A group of people will be talking at a barbeque or something and they’ll all be laughing and saying “What about the one where…”. Then some schmo will stroll by and be all, “What’s going on?” and then the group will go, “Dude, Alcatraz? Rotting pigs?…coca cola?… shit toothbrush?” And the dude will go, “What the fuck?” Non comprende. Soon after, they turn their backs and continue discussing the virtues of the greatest of them all. N.B Maybe Jamie and Adam should attempt to bust the myth that people like buying their favourite TV show over three separate hour-long volumes. Total bullshit. It all fits on one disc you cheap bastards. CHUCK & TITO Moog
Plexifilm/Stomp Don’t want to be too much of a Negative Nancy here but this is easily THE MOST BORING DOCUMENTARY OF ALL TIME! Synthesizer innovator extraordinaire Bob Moog just walks around New York, occasionally bending over to allow outdated and irrelevant musicians to blow smoke up his ass. It is, however, worth seeing for the unintentional comedy sequences where said musicians heap praise upon his fine invention only to have their rants spliced together with footage of them playing guitars or rival brand synths. Sun Ra also gets top billing but appears only as a still photo with some of his music in the background that doesn’t seem to even contain much Moog. What the fuck is this movie? GEEZER Haack—The King Of Techno
Force Entertainment This doco about Bruce Haack, the dude who basically invented techno back in the 50s, is amazing. It traces him from a peyote smoking kid to a reclusive old guy, who believed he was somehow telepathically linked to an extraterrestrial world, as he set a new benchmark for trippers everywhere. From the psychedelic children’s records he made with his partner Esther Nelson, (which would be enough to freak the fuck out of most five year olds) to his later albums like The Electric Lucifer, this gives an insight into what drove him and how his music influenced the next generation of electronic bands. BLINDING LIGHT Rubber Jonny
Warp/Inertia Waiting for a film for over five years with little to no information about it’s progress is bound to load it up with unreasonable expectations. But five measly minutes? Are you fucking kidding me? A year per minute? What was he doing the whole time? Probably ketamine. It doesn’t matter that there is nothing else on earth like this demented tale of an elasticised mutant raver who doesn’t know his arse from his elbow because in the end, it’s still just the sum of its parts—which makes it yet another creepy Aphex Twin gross out comedy clip. It comes with a disgusting forty page art-book of drawings and mind bending digital skull-fuckery that should’ve fleshed out the film, which is so awesome you should forget everything else written before this sentence. GEEZER Palindromes
Madman Jesus Christ. Todd Solondz, the master of awkwardly disturbing cinema, is back with a slap in the face that is his new flick Palindromes. The idea of a chubby thirteen year old obsessed with becoming pregnant is jilting enough but when you mix that with Solondz’s overbearingly hyper real characters and a rotating cast of gawky actors playing the lead teen, it’s enough to have you recalling scenes and shuddering for weeks. Bring it on. Palindromes is playing at cinemas from the 25th August and will be out on DVD in a month or so. SKY SMITH The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle
Sony BMG I have no idea why this took longer than I’ve been alive to release on DVD. My best guess—the caviar has finally stopped flowing for punk’s original svengali, Malcolm McLaren. You see, the guy managed to rape every other hole the Sex Pistols ever presented (or tried to withhold from) him, but for some reason The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Swindle remained commercially elusive. Until now. Funny thing though. I remember seeing it as a kid and finding it boring, self-indulgent crap. Now with the benefit of a few years, a lot of music and a tertiary education I’m glad to say, it still is. Forget the marketing battle cries of this being the definitive anti-Beatles, anti-Elvis rock ‘n’ roll parody film. It’s a pile of shit repackaged to ride on the success of films like The Filth and The Fury and End Of The Century. And for some strange, strange reason that kinda makes me love it. Oh Malcolm you sly bastard. BRAM