MetaFilter posts tagged with Music and film

A loving look back on Dixieland Jazz

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:08:16 -0800

"Men working on the river would move in time to the beat of the music. It was everywhere: on the street, in the church. In the tonks and barrelhouses where people went to be together. Like the beating of a big heart. It gave everyone a good feeling." The Cradle is Rocking is a delightful 12-minute film that, though somewhat damaged (Folkstreams has found what may be the only surviving print), is highly recommended viewing for anyone interested in American roots music: in this case, New Orleans jazz. The film's thoughtful and affable narrator is trumpeter George "Kid Sheik" Cola, who can be heard along with Captain John Handy serving up some fine old-school Dixieland jazz here and here.

Hey! It's a bunch of lists we can all agree on!

Navelgazer — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:02:32 -0800

The A.V. Club's Best of the Decade: Films. Performances. Scenes. Bad Movies. Books. Short Story Collections. Comics. Video Games Music. Metal. Electronic Music. Comedy Albums. Television Series. Television Episodes. Reality Series/Competitions. Made-For-TV Movies/Miniseries. Late-Night Comedy/Talk Shows. One-Season Wonders. And the orphans.

Jerry Fielding

Joe Beese — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:29:15 -0800

Jerry Fielding (1922-1980) was one of cinema's most distinctive voices in the 1960s and especially '70s, the perfect musical complement to the films of Sam Peckinpah*, Michael Winner, Clint Eastwood and others. His scores are marked by modernism and intricate orchestrations but also a poetic beauty and intensity—an appropriate accompaniment to the decade's strange and often sad (but never sentimental) criminals and antiheroes, be they in westerns (The Wild Bunch) or crime films. He was, however, capable of numerous styles (he was a former Vegas bandleader), and wrote a great number of scores (from sticoms to dramas to sci-fi) for television. - Film Score Monthly This bootleg version of Fielding's soundtrack to Donald Cammell's Demon Seed ends with a 40 minute assemblage of snippets from the recording sessions that provide a unique look at the creation of such a work - as well as Fielding's reaction to his father's suggestion that he become bar mitzvahed. (previously)

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (In Patagonia)

Len — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:08:46 -0800

A few years ago, Gruff Rhys, lead singer of fabulous Welsh pop oddballs Super Furry Animals (Cymraeg/English) set out to make a film about the search for his uncle, a 1970s Argentinian pop star called René Griffiths. The result is Separado!: part travelogue, part music film, and part history of how a small band of idealists set out to establish a Welsh colony in the Argentinian part of Patagonia. The settlement was the idea of Welsh Congregationalist minister Michael D Jones (pic of his fabulous beard here), and the first settlers left Liverpool, bound for Patagonia, on a rickety tea clipper called the Mimosa in May of 1865. 153 passengers were aboard – including the Rev. Abraham Matthews, whose family travelled on this ticket. The Mimosa landed at Puerto Madryn and over the subsequent decades, its passengers and their descendants established a thriving Welsh community in the Chubut River valley. The settlers had been promised that Patagonia was much like lowland Wales, but they soon found it a harsh and unforgiving environment. Despite this, the colonists built both churches and what may have been Argentina's first system of artificial irrigation, as well as towns like Trelew and Gaiman, many of whose Welsh shops and tea houses survive to this day. (Small gallery of contemporary Gaiman and surroundings here.) Glaniad – a joint Welsh/Patagonian project – has original documents relating to Welsh emigration to Patagonia, including printed material extolling the virtues of the settlements, the culture of the settlements, and the everyday working lives of the colonists.

Bikes, mics, and helicopters.

hpliferaft — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:38:26 -0800

80s Film and TV composers filter: Let's hear it for Serbian-born action-flick composer Sylvester Levay. He scored a #1 Billboard 100 hit in 1975 with "Fly, Robin, Fly,", but moved from pop music to action movies. Maybe he's known best as the genius behind the alleged World's Most Expensive TV Soundtrack, the theme of which you don't have to pay $900 to hear.
Why did he move from action movies to historical musicals in the 90s? Maybe the genre was a little overloaded. Other notable compositions: Television: Time Bomb (1984) - youTube playlist Otherworld (1985) - theme Film: Cobra (1986) - homebrewed music video with the theme Mannequin (1987) - The non-Levay soundtrack is well-known but unavailable; however here's a ten-minute version of the movie. Navy SEALs (1990) - no theme on youTube, just the bangin' trailer

For Creative People

netbros — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:37:41 -0800

Lost At E Minor is an online publication of inspiring art, illustration, photography, music, fashion, film — basically contemporary pop culture.

Online Gallery and Visual Archive

netbros — Sat, 16 May 2009 05:33:24 -0800

Blanka is a collection of original, vintage, and limited edition posters and prints.

He wrote a score they couldn't refuse

crossoverman — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:51:46 -0800

One Hundred Years, One Hundred Scores. The Hollywood Reporter and a jury of film music experts select the 100 greatest film scores of all time. One of the jury is Dan Goldwasser, editor of Soundtrack.net, which publishers interviews with composers, reviews of soundtracks and keeps a valuable list of trailer music - for when a new trailer uses old film music and you can't quite remember where it's from. The AFI's equivalent Top 100 scores list from 2005.

Disturbing Strokes

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:48:05 -0800

Disturbing Strokes ... from where the new music was taken

Your Favorite X Sucks. Or Not.

Navelgazer — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:06:16 -0800

Pop Culture Blind Spots, Guilty Pleasures, Guilty Displeasures and Sacred Cows from The A.V. Club

Untitled

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:09:54 -0800

Accompanied by Aphex Twin's classic Selected Ambient Works II, we have the rarely-seen experimental video Stakker (Westworld) in nine parts: Z Twig / Radiator | Rhubarb | Hankie | Grass | White Blur | Parallel Stripes | Z Twig / Lichen | Blur | Match Sticks Stakker (Westworld) was an experimental video published by the seminal IDM electronic music label Warp Records and made in the mid-1990s by Stakker, the pairing of video artists Mark McClean and Colin Scott who later collaborated with Brian Dougans of The Future Sound of London and Humanoid on the release Stakker Humanoid.

Events and Festivals Across the USA

netbros — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:49:11 -0800

Top Events USA lists their top 20 events across the USA, the top 10 events and festivals for each of the United States, and lists of the best annual events and festivals by category or theme. There are comment input boxes on every page - or nominate a new event or festival that you think is something important Top Events USA has missed.

Something Of Boris

fearfulsymmetry — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:30:53 -0800

Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish of Adam & Joe fame put forward their proposals for the theme tune for the upcoming Bond film Quantum Of Solace

Beasties Boy Made Good

Cochise — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:54:31 -0800

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (that's MCA to you) says you got to fight for your right... to make movies? Yauch has finally stepped out of Nathaniel Hornblower's shadow and started making movies for himself.

Brimful of Kumar

Kattullus — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:07:50 -0800

Rare Kishore Kumar Songs is a website dedicated to the music of legendary Bollywood playback singer and comic actor Kishore Kumar. There are hundreds of songs, many with other Bollywood legends, such as Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar. There are also songs by Kishore's son Amit. All songs and videos are in Real Player format and in low quality.

Driving fast and jazzing it up in the 1920s.

flapjax at midnite — Sun, 25 May 2008 18:53:55 -0800

The opening shots of 1920s New York City are wonderful, then you get a zany high-speed Harold Lloyd blazing down the avenues, and that's fun to watch, but the real killer is the horse-drawn trolley absolutely tearing-ass through lower Manhattan, full gallop. Ends badly. Then it's over to San Francisco for one last bit of homicidal vehicular activity with a bus. Well, they sure don't drive like they used to! In case that crazy 20s spirit grabbed you, you might want to spend a little time with the archetypical "jazz age" sounds of Jan Garber and his Orchestra, full of pep, silly humor and choked cymbals: There Ain't No Maybe In My Baby's Eyes Don't Bring Lulu! Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down Baby Face Positively-Absolutely "is she nifty? ABSOLUTELY! under fifty? POSITIVELY!" Louisiana Way Down Yonder In New Orleans Of course, Garber's music was lively, entertaining and well played, but, unsurprisingly, the music of the same era and style as played by black folk had that extra swing, that rollicking but relaxed easy groove that was just a wee bit lacking from bands like Garber's. These musicians deserve FPPs of their own, but for the time being, let's drop by and listen to the music of a couple of early pioneers, Freddie Keppard and Joe "King" Oliver. Freddie Keppard Jazz Treasury (two 1920s gems on this clip) King Oliver's Too Bad and Riverside Blues.

Blacula is Dracula's Soul Brother

burnmp3s — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:22:19 -0800

Shaft was so cool that he had his own theme song. Shaft walked across the street whenever he wanted to. Shaft was a complicated man. But not all Blaxploitation heros were Private Dicks. They could be a Pimp, a Power-Hungry Criminal, a Coke Dealer, or a Male Prostitute. One was a Former Green Beret, one was a Bounty Hunter, and one was a Prize Fighter. Some were Foxy Ladies, such as Vigilante Nurses, US Special Agents, or Escaped Convicts. They might even be a Karate Master or a Vampire. The stars of the Blaxploitation era, among them Richard Rountree, Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Jim Kelly, William Marshall, Tamara Dobson, Rudy Ray Moore, Jim Brown, and Ron O'Neal, were some of the first legitimate black film stars. They came after the first major black film actor, Sidney Poitier, and before later stars like Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. When the era ended in the mid 1970s, so did most of their careers. Although many stayed in show business as actors, none found many significant starring roles in later films. One of the most distinctive characteristics of the genre is the music. Other than Isaac Haye's theme to Shaft, Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack is probably the most famous. Other major artists such as James Brown and Marvin Gaye wrote soundtracks too. In fact, nearly every Blaxploitation film had a decent soundtrack. The Blaxploitation genre itself lasted only a few years. Since then, there have been many parodies, in the form of brutal satire, nostalgic throwbacks, modern genre spoofs, or random pop-culture references. Quentin Taratino is probably the most vocal advocate of Blaxsploitation films, going as far as to cast Pam Grier as the lead in Jackie Brown. John Singleton also directed a "remake" of Shaft starring Samuel L. Jackson, but his version managed to drain all of the charm and groove out of the original. Although some recognize the political statements that the films made, and the subtle impact that they made to today's culture, as a whole the Blaxploitation films continue to get no respect.

Scenes From Latcho Drom

y2karl — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:10:23 -0800

First, and foremost, here is La Caíta - El Pájaro Negro. Could there be singing anymore heartfelt than this ? I wonder. And here she is, in an ancillary role, with the Amaya family. Also, from Spain, here is Tchavolo Schmitt, Dorado Schmitt & Hono Winterstein - Kali Sara & Tchavolo swing. From Romania, here are Taraf de Haïdouks and, from them, here is Taraf de Haïdouks and of them, here is Balada Conducatorolui - Nicolae Neacsu. From the Thar of Rajasthan, here is the very charismatic Talab Khan Barna, and here, from Egypt, is Bambi Saidi. And let the etymological connection between Egypt and gypsy be noted here and now, by the way.

All of these are. of course, excerpts from Latcho Drom. And here, courtesy a cheese eating surrender monkey name of KaliYug, and under the title Gipsies story, is apparently, and, in ten parts, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, Latcho Drom in its entirety. Talab Khan Barna Popmatters: Taraf De Haïdouks Rambles: Latcho Drom

6 milion bucks, and no iPod. Sheesh. MP3s are the future!

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:44:53 -0800

When it comes to home theaters, I thought I'd seen it all. But nothing's come close to this. First, I'm going to try to describe the sheer magnitude of Jeremy Kipnis' theater. His Stewart Snowmatte laboratory-grade screen is the biggest I've ever seen in a home, and in the back of the theater, there's a Sony ultra-high-resolution (4,096-by-2,160) SRX-S110 digital projector. I'm looking everywhere, jotting down questions, and Kipnis sounds almost giddy talking about his theater's capabilities. He refers to his baby, the Kipnis Studio Standard (KSS), as "The Greatest Show on Earth." And from the looks of it, he may be right. I should hope so, it cost six million dollars.

Edward Samuel's Illustrated History of Copyright

carter — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:49:00 -0800

Edward Samuel's Illustrated History of Copyright A fascinating illustrated historical tour, looking at how different technologies have shaped how we think about copyright and intellectual property.

Also starring: several telephones, puddles, scarecrows, saxophones, orchestrated cities and motors.

progosk — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:03:27 -0800

Its animated-type opening credits set the tone - and when, soon after, Jonas Mekas stumbles in, explaining his version of the butterfly-wing theory, you know this is a different kind of rock-movie. Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel's 1990 music film "Step Across the Border" matches 35mm black&white cinema direct to several seasons of poly-instrumentalist Fred Frith's round-the-globe improvisational jams (with the likes of Joey Baron, Iva Bitová, Arto Lindsay, John Zorn and others). A big-wig at Cahiers du Cinema has it in his top-ten - now you can watch this masterpiece of visual jazz online (or do yourself a favour and get the DVD). (Thanks to Vincent Moon for the heads-up.)

Great Training Montages throughout history

psmealey — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:50:12 -0800

Great Training Montages throughout history And a few of my own choosing to inspire you all to keep to your New Year's resolution-mandated training regimens: Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Footloose, Team America: World Police, Karate Kid, the Breakfast Club, Flashdance, and arguably the best of all time, Turkish Star Wars

The Source of all the Music in your Head

SansPoint — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 11:58:38 -0800

Are You Not DEVO? You Are Mutato! LA Weekly goes behind the scenes of Mutato Muzika, the commercial music studio owned by Mark Mothersbaugh. Mark is a visual artist, composer, oh, and front man for a little band called DEVO who is "spending December at Mutato trying to create an album’s worth of new material and contemplating a method of dispersal in the post-record-company world."

Dance Craze

misteraitch — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:25:40 -0800

Courtesy of Youtube, here are some performances from the 1981 movie Dance Craze: Nite Klub, Too Much Too Young & Concrete Jungle by The Specials; Three Minute Hero & Too Much Pressure by The Selecter; Ranking Full Stop & Mirror in the Bathroom by The (English) Beat; The Prince & Swan Lake by Madness; (Lets do the) Rock Steady & 007 (Shanty Town) by The Bodysnatchers and; Nee-Nee-Na-Na-Na-Nu & Lip Up Fatty by Bad Manners. Sadly, I was unable to find a clip of The Specials’ rendition of Man in C&A from this movie, ‘which is thought to be the only known recording in existence of Terry Hall laughing.’

Art Experimental: Ruttmann vs. Milant

carsonb — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 10:11:47 -0800

Ruttmann vs. Milant
Alexis Milant has composed scores for three experimental animations realised by Walter Ruttmann. The pleasure in watching and [listening to] this come from the reactivity in the same temporality between sound and picture. Walter Ruttmann is perhaps best known for his silent documentary Berlin: Symphony of a Great City* (1927) and for his carefully orchestrated abstract animations. (Ubuweb has Opus I-4 in one.)

Alexis Milant has impressed us before with his excellent art is a game and game an art, aka awesum fingerboarding video! Turns out the impressive sound design of that video is his specialty.

Finally, here are some one-off videos of interest:

Another modern score for Opus I-4
Michael Szymczyk's modern-day re-imagining of Berlin, Vienna: Symphony of a Great City (not silent ;)
A video fingerboarding tutorial

*in 8 parts—you might want to put on some music for this