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(TV) Music for Films



As our own Chelsea Girl notes, it was a great evening.  These early
films represent some of the most groundbreaking work in early
experimental cinema.  I'd seen one of these films, "Le Etoile D'Mer"
The Sea Star, or starfish) by Man Ray before, but the rest were new
to me.

The music that has traditionally accompanied these films is of the
period, without the benefit of the technology or the huge leaps in
musical understanding that happened in the last part of the 20th century,
so these films have often seemed quaint, tied to a period because of
the music accompanying them.

By throwing out the old soundtracks and providing new ones, Tom Verlaine
and Jimmy Rip bring a new feel to these old films.  They have a great feel
for these films, knowing instinctively when to evoke moods and when to
provide a literal interpretation, such as ripping noises when a character
rips all his collars up or bells pealing. 

My favorites were the Man Ray film "Emak Bakia" and Dreyer's "They Caught 
the Ferry."  The first is a very stylish Surrealist film with amazing
imagery.  Very trippy :)  The second is a Danish traffic safety film (!)
warning of the dangers of pissing off motorists whilst riding a motorcycle.
This gave Tom and Jimmy a chance to do their most rockish work - after
all, what's more rock-n-roll than a motorcycle ride?

One other film worthy of note was Watson's Impressionistic "Fall of the
House of Usher."  Virtually incomprehensible if you didn't already
know the Poe story, it nonetheless conveys the feeling of terror in
the story, and the music Tom and Jimmy composed for this sent me into
the "scared witless" category.  This was a truly creepy piece.

It was great to see Chelsea Girl and Leo at the show.  it's always
interesting to meet list folks in the real world!


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