I’m going to try my hand at some honest commentary.

Here’s something about the last year:

I lived in Berlin for 3 months.  I pushed it to the edge of my tourist visa and returned slightly worse for the wear but better for the experience.

I’m back in the bay area, but one cost of going overseas for that time was dumping my uber hip urban loft living and going with the inexpensive (read as free mostly) housing option of staying in someone’s sister’s home…. in the suburbs.  I need to write about that.

So for now there’s dust as I get things re-organized hereabouts.

And that reason is I’ve been on a 3 moth sojourn to Berlin.  That’s right, I’m in Europetown now.

And here’s where I’ve decided to blog it up, rather than blogging it up right here. Because over there is a travel blog.  And right here is… not.

7:  Seeing Grace Jones in any capacity has left its mark on me, especially when she and Dolph Lundgren did that naked photo shoot for Playboy in the 80s & especially once the lady started advertising for those Honda Elite Scooters.  But I digress! This vid stands as a testament to all things  music video had to offer at the time and to the beginnings of the classic music video format. To me it always looked like DaDa -- like Hugo Ball and Tristan Tzara were dug up just for the occasion of creating this little moment for Miz Jones.

People painted colors, singing heads on a television set filmed to be shown on television (wheels within wheels), sped up video dancing, & antique bathing costumes are just the beginning… robo headed Grace Jones!

Grace Jones, Slave to the Rhythm

6: This is the first music video I ever saw, the first time I ever switched on MTV, first there was the astronaut with his flag and then there was this, all in 1982  (see also Bauhaus, Mask #9).  I will never forget Mr. Billy Joel falling into the carpet which was really shaving foam while haughty society women look on put out by his gauche actions.   I feel  the guns of pressure pointed at my head…  Classic dystopic future themes, ruined loafers, water glass stress, and more

. I’m not a Billy Joel fan but I still like it when I hear this song, thanks to the video.

5: I’ve inadvertently gone back to spooky town with this offering of Coil covering tainted love .

This video did more for my sense of safe sexual practices and understanding of the sheer tragic loss from HIV related complications and the ugliness of not knowing one’s STD status than any public service announcement ever did.  Was it the flies and honey?  Maybe.  Perhaps it was the dirgelike cover in combination with the Nosferatu -esque moments… or maybe it was just the times.

Either way, this video introduced me to Coil and for that I will always be grateful.

Tainted Love, Coil

10: Oh Sonic Youth, it’s a toss up.  How can I possibly choose between Death Valley 69 and any another Sonic Youth video?  Death Valley is such a classic.   Dirty Boots has the romance, McBeth is pure trash with pure trash music making it one of my favorite videos… I could go on but really the best video in the Sonic Youth category can’t help but be the evil marriage of Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch, Lung Leg, and Sonic Youth for the real murders and their sonic take on the whole affair.  This shattered my vision of music and image fantasy and took me somewhere entirely new when I first saw it:

9: Oh  bauhaus how can I possibly express the terror driven into my psychotropicaly frazzled mind by the viewing of this video? I’m ahead of myself though, as that terror wouldn’t have been felt until at LEAST 1986.  So perhaps I was permanently shaded to a fine grey from seeing this at an early age.  Either way I fell hard and fast for the band known as bauhaus and forever defended their brilliant artistrty & dark passion once I viewed this gem I’ve dug up from the past.  Call me spooky tooth, but this is better than most of what 1981 had to offer (and I’m looking right at you “Jessie’s Girl” and your kiss is NOT on my list Hall and Oates…).  Not surprisingly, it blew my mind.

Filmed in 1981, it likely wasn’t until 1982 at the earliest that I saw this as this is when MTV was installed in my grandparent’s home.  Well, it was multi-channel cable that was instaslled but as far as my brother and I were concerned it was MTV that was installed.  It’s possible my bizarre comfort with death was formed with the fusion of cancer, MTV, and bauhaus’ fine song and film… Mask

8: Oh The Residents  (and snakefinger), Hello Skinny indeed! This is still my favorite song of yours and so it beats out the amazing filmed “video” for Third Reich and Roll (but barely!  because I love the newspaper klansmen and the gigantic steaks destroying the swastika so MUCH).   The appearance of eyeballs in the background of this video has nothing to do withbad artschool first film ever!1! and everything to do with The Residents, pre theft of one eye head, for those not familiar.

This will complete the absurdly creepy videos portion of our programme.  Well, maybe.  I think it’s the creepy ones that always worked best for me.  Skinny sold something, every single night….

]]> http://www.dollsinthewalls.com/ditw/?feed=rss2&p=542 1 http://www.dollsinthewalls.com/ditw/?p=548 http://www.dollsinthewalls.com/ditw/?p=548#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 02:18:39 +0000 dolls.in.the.walls http://www.dollsinthewalls.com/ditw/?p=548 it’s the moment of decision.

for awhile, that moment is one which I avoided.  At this point, when it’s unavoidable it’s time for the pat answer which turns the subject to something more interesting.  At this point, most people are either going to focus solely on it or make it a joke.

The reverse pendulum swing of the suspended blade is when someone I feel I just don’t have the energy to explain things to wants to push for detail.  It’s when I hand wave and that’s not enough.  I’m still unsure what the hiding is about, the turn of the cheek from exposure. It’s the person who’s opinion matters and I know I could turn it my way – but why?  At the end of the day, I just don’t care enough to put it out there but I care enough to avoid/deny/change the topic.

I wonder if and when it will change.

I really only care when I feel myself void the topic.

“What do you do” is mostly not in the lexicon of people around me any longer.  blessed relief.

When it’s asked, it’s usually from people who I’ll tell now or who may have an inkling or whom I don’t care about one way or the other and tell as I’m moving on to something else.  It’s the moment that still causes me to shake my head at myself.

but what are you doing now is the line.  It’s the line I draw with lie or the line I draw with truth.  it’s up there with “what’s your cell phone number”.  I’m less tortured now by giving out the number, having crap reception in your house means you rarely have to decide whether to answer or not.  Now the answer has two paths.  First path: Am I interested in having this discussion and are these people worth my energy? or am I up for being the novelty party favor of the night? Second path:  It could matter and I could need to explain to be certain they see it clearly because I like this person.  or or Do I care if I’m pegged with limited chance for being seen as a sum of parts rather than the whole of one element?

oh yeah there’s also the “it’s just going out there and no rsvp required” has become a large rule of the day of late.  there’s the response of assumption that you want response but that’s more loss for them and for me just sort of another drop in the bucket of ORLY?

So yes, I’ve decided to announce that I collect crankshafts and resell them on ebay.  I know it’s hard to understand but it’s what I do and I wish you’d see me as more than that.