Big Space Travel

Kudos to Stéphane in Montreal for hipping me to this Russian outer space film. Stéphane has impeccable taste and I always know an email from him is bound to contain untold musical treasures. I don't know much, or really anything, about the film apart from its very to-the-point title -- "Big Space Travel" -- and that it can be viewed here. Sort of an Eastern Bloc version of The Tomorrow People? Stéphane has also very kindly allowed me to share the film's moog-kissed folksy soundtrack, which was released on the Melodia 7" pictured below.


Here's a taster track. So awesome!



If you like this as much as I do, please send Stéphane a line letting him know. Well done, Stéphane. Oh, I almost forgot, while I'm on the subject here's another Russian outer space film with a fantastic soundtrack.

China Diary

Stephen Spender and David Hockney in China, 1981.

I, Galileo, here am bent
On a scientific experiment
All men do bicker
About which falls quicker
A pound of feathers
Or a pound of lead,
Look out below there
Mind your head!

Itsutsu Akai No Fusen

New Sky 1. Suuuuuuper mellow Japanese folk-psych. New link.

Radical Light

Looks like I have just missed, or mostly missed, an unbelievable film/video series at BAM/PFA in Berkeley. "Radical Light: Alternative Film and Video in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-2000" brings together a collection of film oddities and related ephemera from Bay Area artists, much of it housed in the PFA vaults and hardly any of it available elsewhere. Click here for the droolworthy schedule. There are names here that I'm familiar with (Bruce Conner, George Kuchar, Lawrence Jordan, James Broughton), but most of these figures are complete unknowns to me. The event of Oct. 17 -- "Procession of the Image Processers" -- must have been especially mind-bending. According to the press release, that evening's films were accompanied by live "video synthesis" performances by Skip Sweeney (who also showed his early 70s films "Moog Vidium" and "Koto Feedback"), Roberto Pacelli and Warner Jepson. I don't know what video synthesis means but it sounds cool. Apparently there is a related book for sale. Hopefully some of this shit will still be up when I'm back in California over the holidays. The above video, "Orange Wind" by Jepson, was not on the series roster, but I'm posting it just 'cos.

Jane and Gordon Martz

Ceramicists Jane and Gordon Martz of Marshall Studios in Veedersburg, Indiana. These are images from early Marshall Studios catalogs, circa the late 50s and early 60s. Happy Friday!

Marcel Marceau

A friend of mine at school used to have a Marcel Marceau t-shirt like this. I always coveted that shirt, and I've never been able to find one. Getting dressed this morning, I also noticed that most of my t-shirts are looking pretty grungy. It's been a long time since my t-shirt heyday in the mid-90s.

So. This is probably off in the future a ways, but I'm toying around with the idea of doing a super small run of Marcel Marceau t-shirts. Maybe hand-done? On like a nice American Apparel shirt? I'm not really sure yet. Just wanted to float the idea here and see if anybody might want one of his or her own. Send me a line if you're interested.