Fela Kuti

The radical "King of the Afro Beat." Do youself a favor and get to know him. Start with this documentary:

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6


Each of the parts is about 10 minutes long. I don't care if you want to take breaks in between.

Midnite Movies No.14

Somewhere between Surrealism and Disney this cartoon, "Bimbo's Initiation" got created. Wonderfully bizarre early animation.

From the mixed up files of Nikola Tesla

I watched "the Prestige" the other night, which is not nearly as good as it is long, but nonetheless Nikola Tesla via David Bowie plays a part in the goings on of the film which got me curious about Tesla all over again. I had done some rudimentary investigations into the man in the past, but I dug up this documentary on the subject of his invention of AC power.

Midnite Movies No.13

From the great Czech animator Jan Svankmajer; "Breakfast." That's pretty much all you need to know.

Joseph Bueys

A short documentary on Joesph Bueys specifically his "I Like America" (Coyote) piece.

Midnite Movies No.12

Some short film works by Duchamp, to whom everything currently recognizable (or not) as Art is indebted.

Dreams That Money Can Buy (feat. John Cage)


The Fall of the House of Usher


Anemic Cinema

Midnite Movies No.11

A quick one from everyone's favorite robots, Kraftwerk this one is called, of course, "the Robots". Enjoy. Gute Nacht.

Midnite Movies No.10

Here's a double shot of Clinic, one of my favorite new(ish) bands who can't seem to stop kicking out good albums. Both of these songs are off their new album Visitations.

Harvest:


If You Could Read Your Mind:


Gute Nacht.

Humanity Lobotomoy: Save the Internet

I'm sick of preaching to the choir. Anyone who is watching this video on the internet already agrees on this issue. It's no longer a question of that. It's a question of stopping these giants before they squash us out. Or we can all just look forward to becoming internet outlaws.

Cordyceps Plague

A Fascinating look at the devastating and bizarre cordyceps fungus.


Smart Now post on Cordyceps.

Midnite Movies No. 9

Crispin Hellion Glover, whom I had the pleasure of talking to, put out an album in the 80's called: The Big Problem /= The Solution, The Solution = Let It Be. From this album comes this song, and the corresponding video: "Clowny Clown Clown." ...It's something alright.

Anyway, the album is wonderfully bizarre, as are all of his books, and his film (which is merely the first part of a planned trilogy) What Is It?


More on Crispin can be found at his personal site Volcanic Eruptions.

And for you convenience here is the interview I conducted with Crispin in conjunction with the Chicago stop on his Big Slide Show.


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And what the hell, for your further enjoyment(?) here is the trailer for part two of the trilogy: It Is Fine, Everything is Fine


And Crispin performing a reading from his book: "What It Is, And How It Is Done."

He performs these readings beat for beat and gesture for gesture exactly the same each time.

He is a fascinating character who is much more Dali or Duchamp than McFly. Highly recommended if you can stomach it. There is a lot of really intelligent stuff lurking underneath all the outer weirdness, listen to the interview and read his essay in Apocalypse Culture II if you're interested in scratching the surface. In the meantime, good NITE!

Midnite Movies No.8

How about two videos from thee great Psychic TV for tonights Midnite!

Unclean:


And Godstar:



Also, for more self-vomit, dash your brains on the new AlTruistic Radio Podcast for all your weirdo-music nightmares, hopes, and dreams. Goodnight.

the History of Hacking

An interesting look into the early days (Mitnik, Wozniak, Draper, etc...) of Hacking, or as I like to refer to them: really intelligent people.

Midnite Movies No. 7

Here's three parts of a live show from one of the best and most original bands in history. England's This Heat. This band is really without equal. Somewhere between krautrock and Joy Division, but better. Dark, exciting, fierce, cool, pretty, and music still hasn't caught up to what these guys were pumping out in the early 80's. Enjoy these rare live clips, and if you like anything even remotely having to do with proto, post, or pre punk, then track these guys down.

SRL: Weird Weapons of WWII (with a cameo by me)

This is a segment from the History Channel's "Weird Weapons of WWII" featuring Mark Pauline from SRL demonstrating the "shockwave cannon" which was a failed bit of Nazi technology that was supposed to decimate aircraft with a powerful column of air. It never quite worked, as evidenced by the fact that at the end of the clip MYSELF and two of my good friends appear getting blasted by the cannon on top of Mark's Trailer. This was filmed two summers ago when I was out in San Francisco working for RE/Search.

Self-Puke

I'd like to think that I aspire to being more than a cross-referential regurgitron, but there comes a time in every man's life when he does something so great that he is forced to face facts. That day has come early for me, because Idiot Fiction has gone VIDEO, and I believe I can lower my unassailably high standards for one evening to spread the excitement. Here it is. It's about Robocop.

Why We Fight

A phenomenal and revealing look into the evolution of America's Military Industrial Complex starting with some sage words from Eisenhower up till the present. A top notch documentary, and even more fantastic that the film makers have published the entire thing on Google Video. Progress? See for yourself.

Resonance Effect

Here's another interesting video displaying the physical properties of sound.

Midnite Movies No.6

Great Live cut from the great Gang of Four. This one's called To Hell With Poverty.

Reubens Tube

Physical audio-visualization that brilliantly illustrates the movement of sine waves.

Midnite Movies No.5

I know it seems like this is all I do anymore, but the weather has turned again, so I'll be bored and indoors tomorrow, so we can all get back to learning something. In the meantime, here's "No Business" by Negativland.

Midnite Movies No.4

Here's a video from one of my favorite old Kraut bands, Amon Duul II. Be warned, it's REALLY psychedelic.

Midnite Movies No.3

Beauty is the enemy: by cEvin Key and Genesis P Orridge. Should be fairly self-explanatory, but as a :: WARNING :: this video may be very difficult to watch for some people. The animation at the beginning shows you pretty much exactly what to expect, but the actual footage is still pretty startling, so be warned.



The song and video refer to an ancient mystic proverb: In order to be Whole, one must bring the sum of your parts into accord, as opposed to separate, working against each other, dependent upon external influences for support.
As long as we are in this state of un-wholeness, we will be nothing more than the sum of the machine, merely imitating life rather than living it. Incessantly struggling in our own self manifested Hell that we mistake for Heaven.

Here also is a link to the original film that the footage is from, and a Wikipedia article on the nature of the experimments and the film.

Hyperland

Excellent old Douglas Adams documentary on hypertext, tv, and the internet. Dated, but somehow still amazingly timely.

Burroughs

On the subjects of mind control, hallucinogenic drugs, conspiracy theories, paranoia, and early industrial music, here's a documentary on the great Bill Burroughs for you all.

Midnite Movies NO. 2

Here's No.2 in the Midnite Movies Series. This installment by the boys at 23 Skidoo who were label and ideological mates to the early Throbbing Gristle, Clock DVA, and Cabaret Voltaire. VEry powerful band, who is a lot more "enjoyable" than the early efforts of many of their contemporaries (not to say "better").

Vegas El Bandito


Kundalini

Codename: Artichoke

Everybody loves a good conspiracy, so here's a great one with CIA mind control experiments, assassination, brainwashing, Nazi concentration camps, and memory manipulation.

Midnite Movies No.1

I've decided, since I'm usually up at this late hour, and since there should be an outlet for not necessarily "smart" stuff on this venue, that at midnight (or thereabouts) I will start posting weird stuff that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with anything except being mind expanding. So gear up, suit up and strap in cuz here's MIDNITE MOVIES NO.1

This first installment is two great old videos from one of my fvorite, and one of the weirdest bands of all time, the Residents kind of a musical version of David Lynch for the uninitiated. These guys are great, and these two videos are perfect for kicking off this new segment. So enjoy, and take care. Good (mid)nite!

Hello Skinny


Picnic in the Jungle

Nice Guys Finish First

Before he was the opponent of God, Ridhard Dawkins was actually a very brilliant evolutionary biologist. This is a wonderful documentary in defense of his seminal book, the Selfish Gene.

2600 NY Hackers

Doc exploring the NY 2600 Hacker culture from it's history in the MIT model train club up through (nearly) present day. An interesting look at an important culture.

The Story of 1

A delightful and illuminating documentary about the history of the number one, which turns out to be a history of humans, math, and conquest. Filled with interesting tidbits of information and narrated by Monty Python's Terry Jones. Excellent doc if you've got some time.

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: Rishard Feynman

Feynman was one of the most eloquent physicists/ scientist of our time. If you are unfarmilliar with him, watch this video and take pleasure in finding things out.