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Favorite ALBUMS, SONGS, MUSIC VIDEOS & MOVIES of 2012

This massive blog is the result of me being unable to decide whether I wanted to make a list of my favorite music OR movies for 2012. Usually I just pick one because putting everything I love into one post always seems like it would just take too long, but, alas, it has happened. Why? No reason. Well the reason is mostly because I’m just kinda OCD or something. Regardless, here are my favorite ALBUMS, SONGS, MUSIC VIDEOS, & MOVIES of 2012.

THE BEST 10 ALBUMS OF 2012

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1. Grizzly Bear – Shields

Grizzly Bear has always had a knack for incredible songwriting, well sequenced albums, and intricate musicianship – but Shields is the absolute culmination of everything that makes Grizzly Bear excellent and it’s their best album yet. Singer Ed Droste bends his voice into a rawer territory here by often stripping back the layers of vocals to let one take stand stark among the musical landscape. The result is a more human and honest approach to the usual hazed multi-colored production of the Grizzly Bear sound. Just about everything in this album is a step up from their previous efforts. A somber yet grandiose album punctuated by an incredible display of letting things have more space when its needed make this my absolute favorite album of 2012.

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2. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…

Fiona is notorious for long periods of time between her albums. She often states that you can’t write if you don’t just live and experience things. The wait for “The Idler Wheel…” was the longest between any of her albums, but the result is her best work yet. This is venomous, daring, brutally honest, gloves are fucking off Fiona – and it totally rules. Stripped down to the core, these songs place Fiona’s vocals front and center and she contorts her vocal cords through emotional and expertly written honest songs. The albums stark honesty feels like you just snuck into her room and flipped through the diary tucked away in her drawer. The albums twisted and wild loosely hand-drawn colorful image on the cover couldn’t summarize the album more. The album is intimate, fresh, intense, and badass. When I first heard Fiona belt out “SEEK ME OUT! / LOOK AT, LOOK AT, LOOK AT, LOOK AT ME!” in “Daredevil” – voice cracking as she pounds her piano like a 5-year-old desperately seeking the attention of their parent, it became clear: this isn’t just lyrics and music. This is performance. Every word uttered drips the emotion that must have run through that pen onto the paper. The world created on this album is wholly of its own. Much like any great artist, it can’t be replicated. She lived it.

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3. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan

It’s not often a band occupies such a unique sound that it is indistinguishably and inarguably their sound. Dirty Projectors music accomplishes this with soaring & playful (yet incredibly technical) backing vocals from the angelic voices of Amber and Haley, guitar lines that feel like scribbles on a 5 years notepad, and lead vocals that constantly tether off the edge of complacency. This latest album’s goal from the eyes of main songwriting David Longstreth was the rein in some of these eccentric elements to create a more simple sound. The result to my ear sounds more like he has honed these eccentrics into an absolutely perfect pinpoint. It’s a fantastic starting point for new fans, because it also happens to be perhaps their best album to date.

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4. iamamiwhoami – kin

While this album IS meant to be an audio-visual experience (see details on that below for my pick of “Music Video of the Year”) it still works remarkably well as solely music. This is best described as warped pop music with a darker edge. Pop elements are easily found in the vocals being front and center, synthesized beats, and catchy hooks – but the sum of it’s parts ends up feeling much deep than what you would hear in the top 40. singer/songwriter Jonna Lee sings vaguely about loss, existential musings about life, and loneliness in a landscape that has a darker landscape preventing it from ever really entering bubblegum territory. The production work is excellent, and each song pops as noteworthy and exciting.

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5. Tame Impala – Lonerism

Usually when a band puts out an incredible first album, many assume the next can only falter by attempting to recreate the same momentum and sonic landscape of the previous album. With Tame Impala’s 2nd album “Lonerism”, while similar to the first album, is simply just as good. Instead of attempting to add some predictable bells and whistles in an attempt to expand, the sound of the band has been sharpened down to be even MORE effected, whacked-out, fuzzy throwback acid rock. This album doesn’t just sound like the 60s though, it sounds like the 60′s filtered through the future. if that sounds hard to picture its cause this album simply sounds sonically like nothing else. Mastermind/band leader Kevin Parker described the album as sounding as if you shot Britney Spears into outer space. It’s true. These are classic and insanely catchy pop tunes (ala The Beatles) but through so much webbing it feels like each song is reaching out and surrounding your entire body. An incredible and unmissable album.

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6. Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It

“Honesty is the key” said every mom ever. But that can be hard to forget when consuming art. How honest were the intentions of the artist of your favorite masterpiece? It doesn’t get more obvious than the absolutely painfully confessional stark new album by Perfume Genuis (aka Mike Hadreas). The performances found on the songs feel like they are sometimes inches away from the pain they are talking about – with Mike’s fragile voice often sounding on the brink of a breakdown. It’s a heart wrenching album to listen to, but also one of the most memorable for the exact same reason. You kinda just wanna give Mr. Hadreas a hug once the album wraps up its somewhat short half-hour runtime. But hitting play all over again usually suffices.

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7. Animal Collective – Centipede Hz

How do you follow up releasing a complete masterpiece? Well…with a still really good album. Sure it’s not a phenomenal Animal Collective album, but its still a great album by any (weird music lover) standards. No, I mean it – this album is pretty freaky. Whereas their previous effort “Merriweather Post-Pavilion” was loaded with their most accessible material they’ve ever released (and also their best in my humble opinion) this takes a 180. This is dense, fast, freaky, wild, eccentric, and just about the opposite of easy-listening. It might be startling at first, but there’s still a lot of warped-pop elements to grasp onto – they are just less immediately apparent.

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8. Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti – Mature Themes

Ariel Pink is a total fucking nutcase. much like Animal Collective (see above), Ariel Pink decided to follow up his ‘breakthrough’ album which contained accessible (well…by Ariel Pink standards) tunes with some…insanely fun stuff. By which I do mean both insane AND fun in equal amounts. some choice lyrical moments found on the album “Suicide dumplings dropping testicle bombs” “She’s a nympho at the discotheque / she’s a nympho and I’m a lesbian” “Sorry said the fanny to the head / one-eyed Willie’s ghost is dead” “Blonde seizure bombshells and the blowjobs of death / bring on the bogan she-males hopped up on meth” so….umm…basically this is Frank Zappa for a new generation of freaks. The moment when you find yourself singing these catchy songs to yourself and smiling when you realize what the hell you’re actually saying is about when it all makes sense.

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9. Chairlift – Something

This is one fun album. filled with some of the most overlooked pop hooks of the year, wild synth sounds, and (SERIOUSLY) some of the coolest set of music videos for one album I’ve ever seen, the album seems like it just begs to blow up. But alas it remains a not particularly hidden, but certainly not widespread gem. singer Caroline Polachek has an incredible voice ripe with character. It’s a perfect match for the 80′s vibe of most the album, but don’t get too stuck on thinking this album is too one-note. there’s plenty of variety and genre influences found throughout its memorable and insanely catchy tracks. Amanaemonesia exists somewhere between psych pop and Michael Jackson (…yeeeaaa), and the new wave pulse of “Met Before” is propulsive and full. The album isn’t only excellent from a songwriting perspective – the production is absolutely pristine and perfectly compliments this particularly fun set of tunes.

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10. The Mars Volta – Noctourniquet

Notorious for over-indulgence and painting with just about every color of the sound rainbow, The Mars Volta to many are just too…dense. On this release, however, you may actually find something you don’t often find on a Mars Volta album: space and restraint. well…for Mars Volta standards. With the introduction of synths as a prominent feature on the album as well as excellent vocal hooks from singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala, this can act as an inviting album for people interested in exploring the dense catalogue of these prog-freaks. With the news of band-leader/guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez moving onto a new (much more accessible) band called Bosnian Rainbows and publicly putting Mars Volta on hiatus, this may well also be the last Mars Volta album we hear for quite some time.

ESSENTIAL 5 SONGS OF 2012

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1. “Amanaemonesia” by Chairlift
Just TRY to listen to this song without smiling and dancing. I dare you. Instantaneously catchy without feeling cookie cutter. One of those songs where EVERY single part from the verses, choruses, bridge, and and breakdowns are all equally incredible. This song is just zany wacky fun. It doesn’t get old.

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2. “Apocalypse Dreams” by Tame Impala
What starts as a driving and punchy 60′s psych-pop jam with extremely catchy sweeping hooks as singer Kevin Parker sings “Nothing ever changes” soon…well, changes. Halfway through the song everything gets sucked into a vortex and pops out as a slowly turning colorful kaleidoscope jam that is equally hypnotizing and captivating. Droning away for minutes has never sounded so spectacular.

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3. “Yet Again” by Grizzly Bear
Let this be a testament to absolutely superb songwriting. Grizzly Bear has never really slacked off in their brilliant ability to let every aspect of a song shine through by letting things breath and have their own sonic space. “Yet Again” is perhaps their greatest achievement to date in this regard. polished to a shine, this pristinely recorded song is absolutely filled with moments that just…click. An emotional and raw through-line is found with Ed Droste’s reverb soaked vocals, but just about every instrument in the song is the highlight. My personal favorite is when those claps come in distant and sparingly for the verses punctuated with a tambourine slap. Subtle touches like this make it easy to leave this one on repeat.

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4. “Disparate Youth” by Santigold
Anthems can often feel contrived, but when listening to “Disparate Youth” it almost feels like Santigold accidentally stumbled into it…just about perfectly. The choruses open wide with synth pads, skittering drums, and vocals front and center saying “Oh-ah / We know that we want more / Oh-ah / A life worth fighting for”. It’s a propulsive moment for a song that never seems to dip below ‘insanely-addicting’. It’s one that stands at the top of just about anything that Santigold has ever done.

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5. “Werewolf” by Fiona Apple
I often have a hard time zoning in on the lyrics of a song. Usually my brain focuses on the music at first and sometimes I never really get around to actually fully understanding what a song is even about. With Fiona Apple – it’s practically impossible to ignore. Her dramatic and emotional deliveries are often highlights of the song, and this songs clever wordplay and excellent delivery make it a standout track of an already outstanding album. Fiona takes jabs at a lost love and brainstorms perhaps why it fell apart, but punctuates each insult with an introspective look at how perhaps she’s the one to blame: “I can liken you to a shark the way you bit off my head / but then again, I was waving around a bleeding open wound”. The restrained and subtle uses of percussion, banjo, and a chorus of screaming kids all come together serendipitously to form a perfect crescendo of a piano and vocal led ballad.

UNMISSABLE 8 MUSIC VIDEOS OF 2012

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It’s a no-brainer to give the best matching of visuals and music to the project that is BASED on giving their fans their content as an audio-visual experience right out the gate. this roughly 40-minute audiovisual album played out in an episodic fashion early this year with each song and corresponding visual chapter given out every fortnight over the course of a few months. The end product is an experimental visual piece with themes of loss, the struggle of structure vs chaos, and isolation – but of course there’s much left for interpretation. A woman awakes in a bleak hotel room and begins dancing with a hairy creature before slowly being sent down the rabbit hole into an alternate world of lush forests and sparse deserts. The cinematography and set design is nothing short of spectacular and relies very much on the tangible and only very sparing use of CG. The music, while certainly less experimental than the visuals, is equally captivating and attention-worthy. synth heavy trippy pop with a darker edge is all helmed by the animated and unique voice of Swedish singer Jonna Lee (who also stars as the main character in the visual component). It’s hard not be anxious for the next step in this consistently intriguing mysterious project. (For more on this artist check out my in-depth explanation of why there has never been a project done quite like this one)

2. “Amanaemonesia” by Chairlift
3. “Yet Again” by Grizzly Bear
4. “Met Before” by Chairlift
5. “Hi Custodian” by Dirty Projectors
6. “Tiny Tortures” by Flying Lotus
7. “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by The Flaming Lips
8. “Do It With A Rockstar” by Amanda Palmer

FAVORITE 6 FILMS OF 2012

(because the last four of my top 10 were just kinda ‘pretty good’)

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1. Moonrise Kingdom

This film is Wes Anderson’s best film. Culminating all of the best aspects of what makes his films so endearing, memorable, witty, fun, warm, engrossing, and visually outstanding – the film is simply perfect back to front. I once heard someone say the film looked too “Wes Anderson-y” for them. I couldn’t help but be baffled by the irony of the statement. How can a film BY Wes Anderson be TOO “Wes Anderson-y”? The statement only acknowledges the sheer impact and uniqueness of the worlds he has created over the years. Moonrise Kingdom sits on top of all of his directorial works as the one I’m most likely to visit over and over again. An outstanding achievement of American cinema.

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2. Seven Psychopaths

This film recalled Tarantino for me, yet here it sits just one slot higher than this years Tarantino original offering of Django. A bloody and brutal crime film that doesn’t stop being absolutely fucking hilarious and witty throughout its entire runtime. With the best casting in recent memory (Christopher Walken AND Tom Waits in the SAME FILM?? Along with a show-stealing Sam Rockwell) this film feels superbly fine tuned to be the years funniest film, while still being far more affecting than any comedy I’ve seen in years.

 

 

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3. Django Unchained

SO Tarantino. This film is so completely Tarantino. Yea yea, he borrows from other filmmakers, references his favorite films, and can get a bit wanky sometimes – but that doesn’t stop his films from being some of the best theater experiences of their respective years. This film was no exception in proving that Tarantino is one of America’s best filmmakers. Using pre-civil war slavery as the backdrop, the film smartly swims it’s way through genre-bending fun and expertly written dialogue scenes that often feel more exciting than the explosive action scenes sparingly sprinkled throughout the films nearly 3 hour runtime. My favorite scene is an extended multi-part (and multi-layered) dialogue-driven dinner scene that probably spanned at least 20 minutes that had my undivided attention. The film isn’t really Tarantino at his BEST, but it’s still better than most things you’ll see this year.

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4. Skyfall

This is one of the best Bond film’s I’ve seen, and might just be my personal favorite. I definitely got some vibes of The Dark Knight (not rises…I’m talking about the one with Heath Ledger’s Joker) in this one. An eccentric villain can only be stopped by an orphaned dude with gadgets? Dunno why it took so long for me to make the obvious connection, but in many ways Bond is like a super hero, and in this one especially, it feels very much grounded in a reality much like our own. It goes a little lighter on the action scenes and more into character, back story, and emotion (and that’s a GREAT thing). It almost felt like the franchise itself had become self-aware of the fact that Bond is perhaps becoming…outdated. ‘Do we really need secret agents when we have computers’ is a talking point in the film, but it also felt like a parallel to the franchise as a whole. Do cheeky spy flicks with gadgets, girls, and one-liners really matter? But it appears that by starting the concept of this film with “do we really need another Bond film?” has created a Bond film that actually feels fresh, modern and removed from some of its cheekier spy-movie elements. This isn’t just a great Bond adventure, it’s a great movie.

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5. Cabin in the Woods

I love a film that is intensely hard to describe to people other than to say that it is unmissable and insanely fun. INSANELY fun. I mean it. A meta-genrebending-hilarious-horror film is my best attempt, but part of its charm is simply going into it WITHOUT knowing exactly what you’re getting into. Don’t let anyone spoil where this film ends up going, but rest assured – it’s not just your typical horror film as the trailer (and first act) may suggest. If you love horror films (good ones OR bad ones…and ESPECIALLY if you love both) this is an ABSOLUTE must-see.

 

 

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6. Keep The Lights On

This hyper-affecting drama that spans over 20 years of a turbulent on and off relationship between two gay men in New York was perhaps the most realistic film I saw this year. While the main thing tearing apart the couple in focus here is drug addiction, it often doesn’t dwell on just that. These are two people who clearly love each other, but are also just struggling on a more basic level of whether or not they are right for each other – despite their love for one another. It’s no surprise the film is partly autobiographical of the writer-director because the film is at times an unsettling realistic portrayal of a couple picking the scabs of the wounds struggling to heal between them. Also of note is the music of the film; which is almost entirely done by the late experimental-folk cello player Arthur Russell which adds a subtle underlying emotional landscape beneath the grainy and sweeping cinematography.

Posted by  |  January 23, 2013 | Categories: Film, Music, Review | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

SPOILERS: Why Do We Need to Know the Ending?

spoilersThe very sight of the word “SPOILERS” to my eyes in an article often results in a slight stomach turn and instantaneous need to scroll away from the following words as if  the information contained within could cause some sort of irreversibly traumatizing damage to my fragile soul. The constant lookout for stray spoilers to breach my self imposed spoiler-free life can sometimes be exhausting. It’s a bit like sheltering a child from all the evils of the world. Unfortunately  the inevitable will occur. Yet for some, knowing whats going to happen is an imperative element to the experience of consuming stories. What exactly drives people to either avoid or seek out spoilers? SPOILERS: I overanalyze the subject ahead.

It’s human instinct to want knowledge. The old adage “knowledge is power” rings true in most scenarios. Before entering a situation it can often be beneficial to you to know as much as possible before it as to hopefully reduce surprises. Perhaps it makes more sense than we may think to use that same instinct to want to know as much as possible entering into situations involving stories. but it can perhaps be for the same reason that people choose to withhold. Reducing the surprise is only desirable case by case.

1069524880.2D.2048x2048More than ever before we have access to any and all information in a massive interlocking encyclopedia that you are currently using – The Internet. From as menial as looking up words to as vast as exploring an entire subject, The Age of Information has birthed out a generation of people who rely on the Internet for…well almost everything. As quickly as you can find out who was IN a movie, you can find out the ending of that same movie. If you google the word “spoilers” the first result is an entire website dedicated to telling you the ending to EVERY movie in theaters. They’ll even give you a iTunes gift certificate for being quick to provide the info.

Today, if you are excited about a major upcoming film you have a smorgasbord of options to tide over your excitement. Watch trailers, TV spots, follow the film on Twitter and/or Facebook for constant ‘sneak peeks’ or fun facts dispersed in your personal news feed, and even watch FULL scenes of the film days before its released. At the stroke of midnight on the eve of its release you can probably find the anticipated film in most theaters, but if you choose to go to bed early and check it out the next day, you could theoretically wake up and google the ending of the film that some midnight goers stayed up extra late typing out. Blogging it out to the masses as if they were reporting a breaking news story. All this pulls the ‘sneak peek’ curtain so far back that you begin to wonder why you still even need to ACTUALLY see the film.

18164A friend of mine once told me he hadn’t seen Breaking Bad, but was quick to assure me that he had read the first 4 seasons worth of episode summaries on Wikipedia so we could still discuss it if I wanted. “I don’t have time to watch 50 hours of a TV show” he said. and who’s to blame him? In almost every scenario of a modern-day young adults life in our society they are told to attempt to find the fastest and most efficient way to accomplish a task. My friend simply took this framework, saw a 50 hour way to learn the full story of Breaking Bad, and saw an alternative that would clock in around an hour or so of reading. So what exactly is he sacrificing? A whole lot.

It might not always be an easy task to convince someone investing a considerable amount more time in a piece of entertainment will reward them with a richer experience, but it is almost always the case. For example – take an art form that is nearly impossible to spoil – music. SURE you can listen to samples of each track on iTunes, but as far as knowing the ending, it’s basically a non-factor. If a friend tells you “the album ends with a kazoo solo” you at MOST could be moderately bummed that you’ll know what to expect – however it doesn’t really take away from the experience of hearing it and having your own unique feeling and reaction to it. It’s not like the interweaving story of the album reaches an apex with that kazoo solo…and if it does, stop listening to so many progressive kazoo concept albums. But almost unanimously one would agree that the more time you invest into an album, the more certain things may pop out at you as an outstanding portion of that art. Perhaps your least favorite track ends up growing on you and becomes something you appreciate for its not so immediately apparent values. The same can be said for story driven art forms like movies, TV shows, video games, or books. The more time invested in discovering how the story plays out, the deeper the connection to that story you may have.

The biggest problem with spoilers, however, is not just the lack of time you spent getting to the information at the end of any given story. By spoiling a story-driven art form you are intentionally disregarding the artists intentions and slighting yourself a potentially rewarding emotional experience. That may sound heavy-handed, but everyone as some point or another has been moved by a well told story (and if you havent, may I humbly suggest ANY FILM by directors such as David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, or Christopher Nolan – for my money, the three best modern-day American storytellers). Perhaps what many don’t realize about a well told story is that it hinges on the element of surprise.

surpriseWith the prevalence of the internet and over-saturation of information available at us, the element of mystery and surprise has been sucked out of a lot of art in favor of instant gratification. Anticipation has become a feeling people prefer to avoid and combat by fulfilling a brief but easily gained urge to have what they want now in a truncated form over waiting for the full experience later.

The mixed messages of our societal functions are partly to blame for the decline of appreciation for patience and surprise-driven storytelling. We are told in many aspects of our lives that finding faster and more efficient ways to gain information is just…better. It can be hard to turn off that function when it comes to preserving the artistic merits of stories – but rest assured It’s worth it. The gratification of a well crafted and presented story is something that can never be replicated by a brief summary of events.

Posted by  |  December 5, 2012 | Categories: Thoughts | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The Family of Man – “Bittersweet Relief” Music Video

My latest video project, which I’m extremely proud and excited about, is my band’s music video! Making this video feels long overdue, as I had wanted to direct a music video for my band (The Family of Man) for a while but never had a song and concept come together. After creating our third album “The Way” it finally happened. The video is for our single “Bittersweet Relief” which is a song that Wilfred wrote for the especially collaborative album.

We always create our albums deep in the woods on week long retreats from the city life (you can read more about that HERE), so it only felt appropriate for it to be the setting of a music video. As far as the concept, I wanted it to really reflect the spirit of the band. There’s a certain magical element to the process of us getting together and making these albums. It often feels like an alternate reality. getting away from the constant buzz of the city and leaving electronics by the wayside ends up having a regressive effect on the mind to where we are able to act instinctually, freely, and childlike. It only felt natural for us to play the song on instruments that could perhaps grow from a tree trunk, or are a little larger than life.

Shortly after proposing the idea to the band, the logistics began to fall in place. With the help of two extremely talented Fellow Filmmaker Friends (FFF’s for short) Jaena Sta. Ana and Alexander Collins we were able to realize the project seamlessly…and have a great time while doing it.

Wilfred Galila (Co-Director / Bandmate / Creative Partner for Life), Jaena Sta. Ana (Producer / The Eye in the Sky / Skywalker Gangsta) and I went out to location scout near Muir Woods about a week before shooting and found some excellent locales rich with forest greens and large behemoth rocks. A week later, with Aliyah Cline (Third Bandmember / Life Long Friend / Insane Other Half) and Alexander Collins (Director of Photography / Visual Extraordinaire / Fellow Videogame Nerd) we set forth to shoot. Through tons of laughing, mediocre burgers, and an occasional rap came the music video. The entire day felt like an extension of the trip to Humboldt which made the album – and the result was a video that captured the same spontaneous energy found in the music. I couldn’t be more happy with the result. I hope you enjoy it as well. If you like it, you can download the entire album for FREE right here.

Thanks for watching! Stream the full album below.

-Dominic

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Posted by  |  November 26, 2012 | Categories: Film, Music | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

The Recording of the Third “Family of Man” Album

Spontaneity is what my acoustic-folk band “The Family of Man” has always been based on, but one thing that has so far remained a constant is: we record an album every July. However, circumstances for this latest batch of songs which will make up our third album (hopefully completed in a couple months or so) were still informed by one rather spontaneous change: where we record. It was only days before we were planning to make our annual trip to Mendocino to record in that same storage container that produced the previous two albums (Inside The Box and Heads in the Sky) that we found out that circumstances at the property would not allow us to be there for the amount of time we would need. As fate would have it, however, we were able to contact another wonderful couple who lives in the Humboldt forest and has hosted us for several visits during New Years. Without a second thought we adjusted our trip to the north to go…further north.

This new space is a small plot of land down a long windy road which then becomes a windy dirt road, which then becomes a small house hidden within the forest. A small river flows right behind the main house, and much like our previous recording space, there is a smaller hut outside of the main house across the garden and past the beehives. we call it “The Honey Hut”.

This is the space the vast majority of things were recorded during our 6 day stay. using a portable recording device we would one by one spend some time in the Honey Hut adding our individual parts to a growing puzzle of songs. Getting the process started is always one of those things where you just have to throw yourself to the wind and hope it’s all going to piece together in the way we collectively heard it in our heads. After some rough first takes, and a little quality control with the recording process, things started to flow.

In a very similar way to how “Heads in the Sky” was conceived, these songs were all formed over the previous year and played for each other either in rough GarageBand demos passed digitally, or in band practices. One notable difference is that, for the first time, I wrote several songs for the record. Where both our previous albums were formed from song ideas originally from Wilfred and Aliyah , this album will be the first where all three of us contribute songs.

When I initially was writing the songs that have now been recorded for this album, I was simply writing them out of necessity and personal release. Formed out of some rather rough emotional times that went down over this previous year, I found myself needing to just have a creative release that was a bit of a faster turnaround then my other creative outlet: filmmaking. conceptualizing, writing, casting, directing, and editing a short film is often a process that takes me over a year to complete. Writing a song is something that can be completed in a matter of days, and it was what I needed. These songs were really just a form of medication for me, never really intended to be something more than a way to work out whatever it was that was driving me crazy in my own head. Through sharing them with Wilfred and Aliyah it started to become clear to myself that Family of Man songs aren’t really defined in any other way than songs that the three of us hear in our heads and actualized through the recording process. The songs I wrote became redefined as Family of Man songs.

To say I’m nervous about them being heard is an understatement. However nerves and excitement can often be close relatives.

The recording process felt far more exhausting than previous years. 2 major things had changed which influenced this: we decided to record every single instrument / vocal separately as to have the most control in the mixing process (and ultimately have the highest quality sounding album yet) AND…we had about 4 days less than we normally do to record the album. Needless to say, this is not the greatest combo. The challenge was taken on with full force however, and we would spend literally every waking hour doing something that was contributing to the album. if someone was cooking dinner, another one of us was recording a part. If one person needed to take a nap, the others recorded. In fact, on one of the rare moments all three of us decided to take a break and go to the river to relax for a bit, we still brought the recorder to document the journey…and some sound clips from that made it onto a couple moments on the album. Towards the end of the process, I was beginning to feel a deeper connection to the insanity of Jack in The Shining.

One thing we discussed as far as how we wanted this album to sound compared to the others was scope of instrumentation. We wanted to include a broader range of instruments throughout the songs and experiment more with things that we had previously only briefly tapped into. The album contains the instruments we’ve used before (guitar, percussion, flute, ukulele, piano flute, bongos, etc.) but also includes some new ones (saxophone, banjo, piano, a wider range of percussive…objects, and a moment with a choir of friends belting along with us).

The songs all occupy their own land in many ways. “Hero’s Journey” has a psychedelic western feel, “Twin Sized Bed” alternates between backcountry twang and a foot stomping folk-march, and “The Way” is an expansive gospel-infused sing-a-long.

I’m incredibly excited to release this album so you can hear what we’ve heard for the previous months. I’m currently mixing the album (which is becoming a much longer process then our previous albums due to how this was recorded) and hope to get things to a point where we can announce a release date as soon as possible. We will be releasing a bunch of behind the scenes videos from the trip through our Facebook leading up to the release, as well as all the announcements concerning the album like track list, album art, release date, and more. “Like” us on Facebook for all the updates.

UPDATE: The album is now out! you can download / stream the entire thing all for FREE below:

-Dominic

Posted by  |  August 1, 2012 | Categories: Music | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Nuclear Family: Online Release on June 17th 2012!

I’m very excited to announce that anyone and everyone will soon be able to view my latest film “Nuclear Family” for FREE and online starting on Sunday June 17th 2012 (exactly 1 year from its last public screening). “Nuclear Family” is a film that has been a long road for me starting all the way back in August 2009 when I began to draft characters, summer 2010 when I wrote the script, Dec 2010-Jan 2011 when we shot the film, March 2011 when it screened for the first time publicly, and now, finally, June 2012: when it will finally be viewable online for anyone and everyone to see and share.

You might be wondering what has gone on with the film for the past ENTIRE YEAR since it was last seen publicly. Over the past year I have submitted Nuclear Family to 13 (unlucky, I know) Film Festivals across the US. During this process, its common practice to not let your film be publicly seen in case it does get accepted into a film festival. They want to have your ‘premiere’. Well, recently I heard back from the last one, and after 12 rejection letters, the 13th one didn’t really feel so bad. In fact, what I now feel most bad about is holding this film hostage on my computer for an entire year. It is a film I’m extremely proud of, and I don’t make films so that they can sit on my hard drive at home. I make films to share them with as many people as possible.

As a director, there’s a lot of control you have in making a film. One thing you can’t control is if your film will please the judges of film festivals and subsequently get a film festival run. In many ways, it can be luck of the draw. I’ve focused so much on getting the film seen by this abstract “them” (all the people who attend film festivals) that I’ve forgotten about “you”.

In the interest of keeping the sappiness level of this post somewhat low, I will sum up what I’m trying to say in a nutshell: I care about you. If you are reading this right now then you are supporting independent filmmaking and I want you to see this film and be able to share it with whomever you want. Love it or hate it, If you have any desire to see it, you should be able to.

Thank you for your support, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Check back on Sunday to watch “Nuclear Family”.

-Dominic Mercurio

BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK!
WATCH BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEOS!
NUCLEAR FAMILY IMDB PAGE!

UPDATE: WATCH THE FULL FILM BELOW!!

Posted by  |  June 14, 2012 | Categories: Film, Nuclear Family | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

iamamiwhoami: How This Audio/Visual Artist Brought Mystery Back To Art

It’s entirely likely that you have never heard of the audio/visual artist ‘iamamiwhoami’. Like many new artists in the 21st century, using a unique viral-like unraveling internet mystery is one of the few ways to get recognized from the endless ocean of candidates all clawing for a spot in the much sought after headlines of major internet publications (because lets face it, how many of us still read the newspaper?) That’s why, at least initially, publications turned their heads when a mysterious YouTube channel with zero information other than its username ‘iamamiwhoami’ began uploading 1-minute clips of extremely well produced visuals tied together with strange, ambient / electro beats with distant, heavily distorted vocals, and a female singer consistently visually distorted as to not reveal her identity – all back in December 2009. They even caught the attention of MTV when ‘iamamiwhoami’ sent a package directly to one of their writers containing a lock of human hair, and mysterious drawings of various animals that had appeared in the videos. As far as mysterious viral artists go, this was cream of the crop, and various publications were foaming at the mouth to be the one to say ‘I totally reported on them before they revealed everything about the project’.

from the music video for "B"

Well the thing is…months went by. More short clips were uploaded, and soon full songs with complete music videos followed.  Each one with only a single letter as their title (B O U1 U2 N T Y). Everyone was inching forward on their seats…waiting for the big reveal…the big ‘man behind the curtain’ moment. But, it soon became clear that there would be no big reveal. These mysterious videos WERE the project. Soon the powers of the internet uncovered that Swedish folk/pop singer Jonna Lee was the woman distorted in the videos and the front-woman of the project. With that, music publications shrugged off the project, and went back to updating us on what Best Coast said on Twitter about the Lou Reed / Metallica collaboration (I’m looking at YOU Pitchfork).

The reveal of who was behind this all actually proved to really not be the driving force of the all the mystery, because the videos kept on coming with no explanation behind them. If you watch the videos in chronological order, Jonna becomes more and more easily identifiable, so I’m sure she realized it was only a matter of time before people figured this out. The true shock is that still to this day Jonna Lee has never officially stated she’s involved with the project, or who else is.

from the video for "20101104"

Maybe to some, that could seem like a disappointment. That these veils of mystery distract from the art. But I would have to argue that something as carefully constructed, heavily layered, and well-planned is innovation on a level unseen before. Ironically, something this mysterious can ONLY have legs to stand on with the help of the Internet, despite the Internet seemingly representing the over-indulgence in information that the project rebels from.

It’s simple to call something like this ‘gimmicky’ but there is no denying its bravery. In an age built on instant gratification, and almost COMPLETE lack of mystery (go ahead and google the answer to anything you’ve ever wanted to know), the ‘iamamiwhoami’ project is choosing to provide that mystery. ZERO interviews, ZERO promotion, and ZERO explanation of all the many layers of symbolism that fans have discovered trace back to outlandish source material like mandragora folklore. Its worth noting this choice goes against just about every typical ‘rise to fame’ move you could pull. If you think we’re ever gonna see an ‘iamamiwhoami’ song in a Coke commercial, I would suggest not holding your breath.

Jonna Lee as a salad. From the video for "N"

This project has brilliantly accomplished the unthinkable in The Age of Information: gain a rabid loyal fan base by doing absolutely nothing beyond putting their art on a tray for the taking. If you are a fan of ‘iamamiwhoami’ its because you are a fan of the art itself, simply because there is NO other aspect to the project.

I would be lying if I said this project has gotten no recognition, but it is the way that the artists behind this have handled the recognition and praise that is truly worth noting. At the 2011 Swedish Grammis Awards, ‘iamamiwhoami’ won for “Innovator of the Year”. How did they accept this award? An anonymous woman approached the stage with an envelope that she was told to open in the event they won. Inside the envelope: a blank piece of paper. Before leaving the stage the woman said ‘Thank you. That’s all I am allowed to say.” This unrelenting commitment to not break character is something to respect, especially considering the projects marriage to mystery.

There is a reason the project has such a dedicated fan-base. The rewards of the unknown, and the sense of surprise the project offers is something that many from my generation lack. The convenience of having everything at your fingertips comes at the price of losing the wonder of discovery. It’s no surprise that people have such a strong reaction to the project. ‘iamamiwhoami’ is providing what for many has been lost. In this Digital Age, that’s a little bit of magic.

Watch the latest video from ‘iamamiwhoami’ titled ‘sever’ below, which is the first video in the next chapter for the project: a full-length audio-visual album titled ‘kin’ which is to be released on June 11th 2012.

Posted by  |  February 16, 2012 | Categories: Music | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Top 10 Films of 2011

10. Lotus Eaters
written & directed by Alexandra McGuinness

When I first saw the trailer for this film I thought to myself “looks sorta like that TV show ‘Skins‘” (of which I mean the original British version…don’t even get me started on the American MTV bullshit remake) and I wasn’t entirely off base. This film is sex, drugs, and rock and roll – plain and simple; but it does so with heart and searing visual flair. It all made sense in the Q&A after the screening when writer/director Alexandra McGuinness explained that she had a background as a stylist and a large interest in fashion, because the way this film is photographed is a bit reminiscent of classic fashion photography. “Lotus Eaters” follows a group of young upper class brits living their life in that aimless cycle that we all at some point or another fell into in our teenage years. At the center is a blooming yet turbulent relationship between two of the main characters Alice and Charlie, the latter of which has a bit of a drug problem.

The movie spirals around their lives as if a fly on the wall taking you from one situation to the next, whether it be a wild party with vodka-baths, or buying ridiculous clothing accessories. The movie is lean at just 78min, and is pretty light on plot but heavy on character. It was the last act of the film that really just had me hooked. Once the wave finally crashes down on the never-ending party these lads live, it begins to take a more pensive route. One that ultimately ends up making this film a wild ride. Top that off with Alexandra’s seriously kick-ass taste in music (I’m talking best soundtrack of the year) and seemingly instinctual mastery of blending visuals with music and you end up with a fascinating gem of a feature debut.

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9. The Tree of Life
written & directed by Terrence Malick

I would just as quickly warn people to never watch this film almost as much as I would plead others to. Its glacial pacing, stream-of-consciousness structure, over two-hour runtime, and minimalistic story will probably have unsuspecting filmgoers instinctually reach in their pockets for a quick few rounds of Angry Birds as they pan it for being too artsy. I often wonder if films of this nature will slowly become extinct as our collective attention spans dwindle into the length of adorable-kitten videos on YouTube.

At any rate, this film propelled me into a rather pensive funk for the proceeding few days after seeing it. What ended up being so note-worthy was its unbelievably accurate depiction of how we remember our lives, and more specifically our childhood. Textures, smells, inconsequential moments, or snapshots of seeing the world when you were two feet tall. These moments bubble to the surface, often without too much context of what came before or after it, or even what age you were. ‘The Tree of Life’ plays out much in the same way. After the introduction of a 1950′s family grieving a loss, we are transported back in time…you know to the big bang. Upon witnessing the very formation of life itself, we eventually catch back up to what most would consider the main ‘plot line’ of this freeform existential journey. The film is visually astounding. I mean serious eye candy. Captured images of profound greatness. Do you get what I’m saying? Pop this one in after a nice bubble bath, or perhaps a few hours of meditation because this isn’t a film that’s gonna quiet a restless mind.

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8. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
directed by David Fincher

It’s not often phenomenal filmmakers have turn around time between films as quickly as Fincher. After releasing “The Social Network” in October 2010, he’s already back with his next project which slides snuggly in next to other Fincher classics like “Se7en“, “Fight Club“, “Zodiac“, and “Curious Case of Benjamin Button“. Yeah, this guy has certainly been busy making some of the greatest films of the last 10 years. It’s well known that ‘Dragon Tattoo’ is a remake of a 2009 Swedish film, leaving many to wonder just why the film is so necessary. While I more often than not join the rally of ‘leave great foreign films alone!’ (as I did when they remade the brilliant Swedish film “Let The Right One In“) I can’t help but make an exception if the film is helmed by a visionary director such as Fincher.

But enough about all that, this movie is badass. Rooney Mara as Lisbeth, the damaged and strong anti-heroine, glues your eyes to the screen and demands your attention in one of the years best performances. As far as tone goes, this mystery thriller focuses much of its drama on the slow unraveling of the murder mystery at its core and refrains from loud set-piece-destroying action sequences. It’s very much akin to Fincher’s more recent work of “Zodiac” and “The Social Network” where he has been seriously flexing his ‘make long dialogue scenes way more gripping then any standard action scene would be’. To top it off, his frequent cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth paints stunning visuals into each frame with his uncanny eye for visual perfection. Trent Reznor’s score is yet again a perfect pairing to the visuals, and keeps the sense of menace and dread up even when really all we’re watching is our main characters flip through old news articles and investigating every corner of a photograph. That is what filmmaking is all about.

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7. Submarine
written & directed by Richard Ayoade

OK, I can’t argue it. We’ve all seen a quirky coming-of-age love story before, however ‘Submarine’ manages to rise above its own framework to offer a comedy with outstanding characters, emotional depth, and a so-british-it-hurts style humor for the 2011 generation. The film sinks its teeth deep into the visual medium its presented in with a fresh and lively style. Consistent across the writing, cinematography, directing, and editing the film hits its tone so perfectly on all ends it becomes hard to not be swept away in its heightened reality. 15-year-old Oliver Tate is wise beyond his years, and his hilarious introspective internal rants give us a great sense of the depth of his character. Character is something this film packs in by the tons. Each player in this tale has a perfect array of flaws, quirks, and oddities that make each scene a joy to watch as more layers are peeled back. A classic love story told in an unconventional way. Its odds and ends make this an addicting watch.

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6. Hesher
directed by Spencer Susser

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what about this depraved dark comedy I found just so outrageously hilarious. In many ways, it’s the sum of its parts, but truly the comedy orbits the hysterically straight-faced performance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the aimless stoner metal-head deadbeat Hesher. His unapologetically don’t-give-a-flying-fuck attitude accidentally finds its way into a grieving family of three mourning the loss of mama-bear. It’s dark tone is played for laughs on just about every turn of the story, and does so without shame. Despite its mostly bleak tone, Hesher keeps things energetic and entertaining with seriously fantastic performances, killer writing, and well-rounded characters. Hesher is filmmaking turned up to 11. In fear of over-complicating things, it’s easiest to say: this film fucking rocks.

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5. Martha Marcy May Marlene
written & directed by Sean Durkin

Don’t call it a cult film. OK, you can if you want, but interestingly director Sean Durkin prefers that the misguided and reclusive group that begins molding Martha’s mind to do the ‘right’ thing unconditionally not be so attached to the classical definition of a ‘cult’. I think really what he’s getting at here is that “Martha Marcy May Marlene” is a ‘cult’ film without the over the top cheesy elements involved. Don’t expect any sacrificial lambs, speaking in tongues, and velvet robes in this one. This is a group that could very well exist in our modern world, and is unnervingly easy to see how someone in a vulnerable state of mind (i.e. Martha) could find solace and a sense of community among her new-found brothers and sisters. This is crucial in understanding just what makes “MMMM” so powerful and truly chilling. Powerhouse performances from Elizabeth Olsen as Martha as well as John Hawkes as Patrick, the ‘cult’ leader, make this a serious knockout of a feature-length directorial debut. The film is firmly grounded in reality, while Martha struggles to understand her own. smoothly transitioning between her life since escaping the cult and the deep-rooted memories from when she was still a part of it make you as the audience sometimes question what is a dream, memory, or is really happening. The audience is constantly trying to make sense of the events and what it will mean for Martha’s transition to life in our normal society. You never really know more than Martha, down to this brilliant film’s final frame.

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4. The Future
written & directed by Miranda July

Miranda July is odd. If you haven’t seen her video blog, watched her interviews, listened to her audio-stories/spoken word albums, or seen her debut feature “Me and You and Everyone We Know” (which along with ‘The Future’ she wrote, directed, and starred in) then it may be a bit hard to judge whether “The Future” is going to be your thing or not, but suffice to say it’s another addition perfectly in line with her off-kilter humor mixed with child-like wonder. In other words it’s brilliant. Describing the plot of the film actually doesn’t do much good in enhancing your understanding of what this film is truly about. Sure it involves love, modern-day dilemmas of technology, existential mid-life thoughts, and a talking cat – but really this film is more about then that. Absorbing the film into your mind offers you a rather insightful tale of…well…life. despite its abstracted fun-house mirror presentation, this film at its core is a grounded and relatable human story. Miranda July has often been discredited to just being ‘weird for weird’s sake’ but in truth what makes ‘The Future’ just so inciting is wondering just how it is that Miranda July is going to present the next scene. Her unique penchant for storytelling makes her work less about trying to figure out WHAT will happen next, but more so HOW it will happen. Call it weird, but I call it transcendent.

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3. Melancholia
written & directed by Lars Von Treir

‘A beautiful film about the end of the world’ is this films tagline, and there truly isn’t a better way to sum it up. When was the last time you saw a film about the end of the world that doesn’t show people rushing into stores to stock up on supplies, frantic newscasters warning people to stay inside, the Golden Gate Bridge being destroyed, impossible scientific experiments like lasers that can destroy asteroids without any debris entering earths atmosphere, or Bruce Willis. In Lars Von Trier’s (Antichrist, Dogville) latest film, he explores the real emotions of a handful of characters as they begin to come to terms with the fact that their lives, and the lives of all human beings on earth might soon be coming to an end. The uncertainty of the situation and the wide personalities of the four main characters here cast a relatable shadow in the audiences direction. Would you be the one to doubt it until the last minute? Accept it and enjoy your final moments? Panic and convince yourself there must be a way to stop it? Fantastic performances from Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg blended with the unmistakable cinema-verite style of Lars Von Trier’s eye as well as his latest obsession with super-slo-mo imagery make this film remarkably powerful and existential.

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2. Life in a Day
directed by Kevin MacDonald

It’s always refreshing when films are able to take you beyond the simple presentation of a story, and Life in a Day does just that while still remaining captivating and interesting. ‘Life in a Day’ essentially boils down to being a 95min video time capsule of what life was like for humans around the world on June 24th 2010. The result is both fascinating and deeply thought-provoking. Pieced together from thousands of clips that were submitted by people from around the world filming their day, this is a project unlike any other before it. By eliminating the arguably invasive film crew from this documentary, and handing the camera over to the subjects themselves (i.e. everyone on earth) we get undeniably candid and personal moments that would otherwise be stifled by a bunch of film dudes making sure the shot looks good on the other side of the room. When I say this film is beautiful, I’m not talking about the camerawork, lighting, or visual effects – I’m talking about the deep undercurrent of human feeling this film has sewn throughout its running time. In watching this film, you’re sure to find connections to your own life and raise some questions about how you’re living it. It’s an experience that will happen for those willing to open themselves up to it. This film rewards audience members who allow this film to absorb into their minds. It turns out it’s one of the most rewarding experiences that film has provided this year.

MY FULL REVIEW OF THIS FILM was published on TwitchFilm and The Evening Class.

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1. We Need to Talk About Kevin
directed by Lynne Ramsay

This film is impossibly twisted, unmistakably unsettling, and far beyond just ‘dark’. Often picking my ‘favorite’ films just comes down to the visceral feeling a film gives me. After all, a truly effective film is the kind of film that literally gives you chills, or overwhelming emotion that lingers hours, days, sometimes weeks upon seeing it. So it was a no-brainer for me to place “We Need to Talk About Kevin” firmly at the top after experiencing what can only be described as a ‘my skin is crawling’ moment during the closing credits. This film is NOT for everyone. For example: children, people interested in seeing movies to escape/feel good, or people who would not like to be aware of the irreversibly fucked-up scenario of raising a child that has serious psychological problems. So its audience is a little limited.

The deranged insanity of the demon-child in question ‘Kevin’ is actually played by three actors at different stages of his life. toddler, adolescent, and teen. While the adolescent Kevin does have the most screen time, it will undoubtedly be the teen Kevin (played by Ezra Miller) who will give you death-stares in your nightmares. In fact it’s not just his performance that stands out as exceptional, but his mother Eva (played by Tilda Swinton) as well. The complex emotions of Eva that drive the fractured narrative through its depraved story of the constant search for a normal life catapult this film into territory of universal fear and doubt of ones abilities as a human. It’s a rough ride for your psychological state, but this film is dementedly visceral and unmissable for anyone willing to stomach it.

Posted by  |  December 23, 2011 | Categories: Film, Review | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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