(I’d like to try this with the big Euphonix desk at ParkRoadPost!)
> Protect the state of no-intent
> Ever heard of Patchwork? Its almost like having Max in your browser! I especially like the glitches it makes when your browser is busy doing other things. Have a play here and read more about it here (thanks for the tip Steve!)
> Mobius strip music box
(thanks Marco!)
The year is rapidly grinding to a hault and before the remainder blurrs I figured I’d post my favourites of the year that has been; the films & music that has inspired me on both a creative and personal/emotional level… While it can appear as lazy journalism in a generic sense, I always enjoy reading the best of lists from sources that I trust & respect (eg The Wire magazine’s REWIND series eg 2009 & 2006 & 2004) as they often point me to projects that I either totally missed or didn’t persevere with enough to fully appreciate them… And to provide some perspective, IMDB lists 8,813 films released in 2010, so its not like we lack for choice…. Anyway here are the eight films (in alphabetical order) that reminded me why I so dearly love cinema as an artform….
image credit
EIGHT FAVOURITE FILMS OF 2010
Enter the Void – IMDB + trailer
Exit through the Gift Shop – trailer + IMDB
Fish Tank – trailer + IMDB
Greenberg – trailer + IMDB
MicMacs – trailer + IMDB
Poetry – trailer + IMDB
The Housemaid – trailer + IMDB
Thirst – trailer + IMDB
Uncle Boonme who can recall his past lives – trailer + IMDB
Yet to be released here, but can’t wait to see them:
Norwegian Wood – trailer + IMDB
Sound of Noise – trailer + IMDB
And if there was some kind of annual Music of Sound awards:
Best Feature Film 2010: Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Best Sound in a Feature Film 2010: MicMacs
As a sidenote: for me the true test for a film (or an artwork of any kind) is how long it stays with me. Many films are hugely entertaining but have no real residual value – they are empty calories, don’t ask me to name names because the list is long and already forgotten… I thoroughly enjoyed MicMacs on every level but I am haunted by the memory of Uncle Boonme in a strangely beautiful inexplicable way – it was deeply effecting. Go out of your way to see it, but do not go expecting to see The Matrix 4, Bond 27 or Transforminators 5…
EIGHT FAVOURITE ALBUMS OF 2010
I’m going to split these between the lovely quiet albums:
Amiina – Puzzle
Aus – Light in August, Later
Eluvium – Similes
Hauschka – Foreign Landscapes
Jonsi – Go
Minamo – Durée
Olafur Arnalds – And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness
On (Sylvain Chauveau & Steven Hess) – Something That Has Form And Something That Does Not
And the louder, more percussive albums:
Clubroot – II: MMX
Grad U – Spectral Decay
iTAL tEK – Midnight Colour
Lukid – Chord
Mount Kimbie – Crooks and Lovers
Pulshar – Inside
Quantec – Thought Experiment + Leap in the Dark
Roots Manuva – Dubmix
EIGHT FAVOURITE SITES OF 2010
This category was the hardest of all to wrangle, but then I thought: if I deleted all my rss feeds except 8, which would I keep? hmmmm…. I couldn’t actually answer that question, so I changed it to eight from each category… Still difficult, 28 would be easier!
SOUND:
designingsound
the duc
filmsound.org
gearslutz post forum
socialsounddesign
sonic-terrain
and all the individual field recordists sites:we are all the richer through your efforts!
MUSIC:
create digital music
disquiet
dubbhism
matrixsynth
muffwiggler
new music box
tokafi
VISION:
ektopia
erasing
ffffound
pugsfly
this isnt happiness
vvork
wooster collective
yimmyayo
FILM:
cinematical
greencine
guardian.co.uk/film
house next door
indiewire
koreanfilm
nipponcinema
slashfilm
So what films & music will you carry with you into 2011 & beyond?
Rest in Peace:
- the Kong boat from Miramar wharf
- Dennis Hopper
- 29 Miners in Greymouth, NZ
Relatedly, reading the death notices on Wikipedia makes for some strange imagined backstories – the abbreviation of a life to a one line entry leads to odd interpolation. A balloonist whos death date is estimated, as thats when his body was found (where was he/she going? what happened?) A p0rn actor who died of a heart attack? (on the job?) A mexican professional wrestler, shot? An american corporate raider who died in a boat collision? (is that a metaphor?) I’m not being disrespectful, its just such an odd shift… Moral of the story? An Aldous Huxley quote: “It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one’s life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than ‘Try to be a little kinder.”
So let that be the final sound advice for the year:
> Congrats Miguel, on the new site launch! Check out Designing Sound TV
> An acoustic amplifier for your iphone?
> Werner Herzog on psychology
> A phrase/question I ask at some point during every film mix
(thanks Michael!)
> Sonivox previously blogged here
> Just got the Jonsi live DVD+CD – so beautiful!
> Rycote rain cover!
> wow! A software version of the infamous Klee sequencer!
> The perfect video for a sunny Friday – hilarial!
>PS I’m putting together a little HISSandaROAR Christmas present, a high rez freebie which will only go to people on the mailing list – sign up or Sonic Santa won’t be calling….
