Just arrived: a new documentary from Oscilloscope, The Garden, about the headline-making fight between a group of South Central Los Angeles community gardeners and some back-room-dealing city hall officials who tried to take the gardeners’ land away. The garden was originally given over to the community as a sort of concession following the Rodney King Riots, and over the next ten years grew into a thriving community-run garden — fourteen acres in all — serving a primarily Latino-American population.  The story would have been interesting enough just viewed through prism of the locavore movement gaining popularity through the country right now; but unexpectedly (for me, at least) this is a particularly gripping true-life tale, with a half-dozen unexpected plot twists and a number of nefarious, quietly corrupt political figures who play the role of heartless, self-serving bamboozlers to a T. Honestly, the straight-up evil nature of some of these guys is like something out of a cautionary, near-future science fiction book, and is a sobering reminder of the havoc that corrupt, conniving local figureheads can still wreak, even in the age of information. It all makes for exciting cinema, as tension boils over in the movie’s final act in a scene that eerily echoes the King riots played out at the beginning of the film.

And on a side note: What is the deal with Oscilloscope? Where did they come from? Why are they so awesome? Near as I can tell, Oscilloscope Laboratories was created by the Beastie Boys, but I have no idea what (if any) their involvement in the film side of things may be. Either way, this little production company has spun out a starling number of quality stuff in a very short period of time, many of them small, intrepid documentaries in the vein of The Garden. Among them: Flow, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, Unmistaken Child, and No Impact Man (which just recently completed its theatrical run at the Cable Car). They also gave a home to Wendy And Lucy, which I’ve written up previously on this blog. And their cache of upcoming films looks just as promising as everything we’ve seen so far. So who are these guys? Where are they getting the cash to put this stuff out? And where and how are they finding these films?

I first started working on this little diversion sometime right after the 2008 holidays, at a time when I found myself mindlessly resting on the couch in front of endless House marathons on the television, an activity that is for me comparable to standing on a windy building ledge tossing pigeons at the fire department. I made this little thing to cheer myself up, as I think I am too old to successfully hop a moving freight and head for L.A. to search for Bukowski’s ghost, too encumbered to follow Rimbaud and Gauguin into a tropical never land. I finished it the other night for much the same reason it began. It is full of sound and pictures, signifying nothing. If this video speaks to you in some way, it still may not be too late to get help.

2008

La canción perfecta para un domingo que no acaba nunca, para un fin del mundo lento y suave…

Y cuando el mundo haya acabado, celebrémoslo dándonos un apretón de manos con Charles De Gaulle:

¿Cómo será un niño del siglo XXX? Para seguirle la pista, el camino de baldosas amarillas es por aquí.

Scott Walker in shades, 1966

Just saw the documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man last night with my pal Danny P. I’ve been waiting for the film to get Stateside distribution for a while (it was completed a few years ago and has been cruising the festival circuit since) so needless to say I was pretty excited to finally see it. At one point a few months ago I almost broke down and bought the movie on dvd but, being a big-screen kind of person, I’m glad I waited. (I think a film-watching experience is almost always enhanced by seeing a movie in a room full of people–for instance, seeing the excellent Arlene Dahl flick Wicked As They Come last Saturday at the sold-out Castro Theater with 1,400 other noir-crazed people was infinitely more thrilling than watching it alone in my house on Turner Movie Classics—but I digress).

Anyways, 30 Century Man traces the career ot Scott Walker, one of the greatest pop singers you’ve probably never heard of. With his 1960s trio The Walker Brothers (not really brothers, and not really named Walker), Scott busted open the British pop charts with a string of top ten hits including the soaring Burt Bacharach ballad Make It Easy On Yourself and the peppy gloom-pop classic The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Any More, both number one singles in Britain in the mid-sixties. Both Scott and his nominal brother John were pretty young things and they quickly became the subject of much teenybopper love in the two years that they were topping the UK charts. Scott in particular was an object of desire, not only for his blond Beatle bob but for his sweetly melancholic baritone voice and his talent for imbuing banal pop tunes with a suffusion of emotion and depth. Through interviews and archival footage the film does a good job depicting the substantial Walkermania in the UK at the time.

The Walker Brothers, c. 1965

After the Walker Brothers broke up in 1967, Scott reached a creative peak in four solo albums that contained a mix of orchestral pop songs ala Dusty Springfield (he shared the same producer, Johnny Franz, with the equally brilliant, mercurial Springfield), Scott’s own self-penned, poetic musings, and several covers of the songs of Belgian music-hall singer/composer Jacques Brel. The first three of these esoteric collections climbed high on the British charts, but the fourth, consisting only of Scott’s own compositions, failed miserably. Scott’s career went into eclipse until 1981, when The Teardrop Explodes’ frontman Julian Cope (amusingly described in the film as “a foremost expert on Britain’s stone circles”) packaged several of Scott’s songs in a none-too-subtly titled compilation, The Fire Escape In The Sky: The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker. Suddenly, after nearly 15 years, Scott Walker was cool again.

30 Century Man includes interviews with a veritable who’s who of edgy British pop singers—Jarvis Cocker, David Bowie (who also executive-produced the movie), Brian Eno, Marc Almond, Ute Lemper and a host of others—who speak admiringly of Scott’s singing and songwriting. The film utilizes the interesting technique of shooting each person listening intently to a Scott Walker song, their faces transformed by pleasure or emotion. As one who has been repeatedly captivated by Walker’s recordings, particularly Scott’s rich, lavish mid-sixties solo albums, I found these passages to be particularly effective in capturing his music’s ineffable allure.

The latter portion of the film focuses on Scott’s last three solo albums, starting from 1984 and released over a span of 22 years (!). During that period Walker’s music took a severe left turn and these collections are dark, haunting, and decisively anti-pop and anti-commercial. In the film Walker states that once he’s finished a recording he never listens to it again, and certainly some people feel the same way about this part of his oeuvre (a quick peek at Metacritic’s user comments of his last album, The Drift (2006) reveals only two ratings, 10 or 0, with almost no middle ground). 

Scott Walker wails, 2005

30 Century Man features an extensive interview with Walker who, for a renowned recluse, is very affable and articulate. Now in his sixties, Walker retains his Midwestern twang (he was born in Hamilton, OH) and resembles a grown-up Opie from The Andy Griffith Show. The film nicely intercuts Walker’s intelligent and straightforward commentary with footage documenting the wacky process of recording The Drift, which included a percussionist pummeling a slab of ribs, a metal garbage can being slammed on a large wooden box, and an orchestral string section being asked to replicate the sound of tanks approaching from fifty meters away. Subject matter ranges from the collapse of the World Trade Center to Elvis Presley’s dead twin to Mussolini’s mistress, who insisted on being shot with her lover.

Like Scott himself, 30 Century Man is coy about revealing the personal details of Walker’s life, instead focusing on his creative output. While some might find this a flawed strategy, in a mediaworld littered with Behind The Music and The Osbornes, I though it was a refreshing change of pace. In the end, it’s all about the music, and that’s fine with me.

Three phases of Scott Walker’s career:

Early

Middle

Late

Llevo dos semanas redescubriendo a los Walker Brothers y a Scott Walker. Todo empezó con un documental llamado Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, que nos descubre a un personaje que ha estado envuelto en un halo de misterio por su introversión (no concedía entrevistas, no dejaba que las cámaras entraran en el estudio de grabación), que hizo que su leyenda creciera a base de rumores e historias no siempre ciertas.

El documental (AQUÍ tenéis el archivo torrent por si queréis descargarlo –incluye subtítulos en castelano–), dirigido por Stephen Kijak, mezcla una entrevista a Scott Walker con imágenes de la grabación de The Drift (su último trabajo hasta la fecha) y entrevistas a músicos a los que ha influido o que han trabajado con él (Radiohead, Pulp, Marc Almond, David Bowie, Johhny Marr, Sting, Brian Eno, Alison Goldfrapp, etc.). Recorre sus inicios en solitario, la época de los Walker Brothers (que ni se apellidaban Walker ni eran hermanos) y su evolución hasta la actualidad. Es de lo mejor que he visto en mucho tiempo.

The Walker Brothers fue un grupo de gran éxito en los 60 (superaron en ocasiones a los Beatles en las listas). Scott Walker no comenzó como cantante, pero su voz grave, perfecta para las baladas, acabó convirtiéndole en la figura principal del grupo. Unos años después comenzó su etapa en solitario, con cuatro discos fantásticos: Scott, Scott 2, Scott 3 y Scott 4 (que quizá sea su mejor trabajo hasta la fecha, aunque también marcó un punto de inflexión en su vida). Después del éxito de Scott 3 decidió grabar Scott 4, sólo con composiciones propias. Esperaba que fuera un gran éxito, pero, por alguna extraña razón, el público no lo compró. A partir de ese momento, Scott comenzó un nuevo periodo en su vida, personal y musicalmente. Grabó discos que hasta el día de hoy no ha permitido que se reeditaran, prácticamente no se dejó ver y, sobre todo, fue evolucionando musicalmente de forma radical.

La necesidad de un nuevo éxito hizo que los Walker Brothers se volvieran a reunir y, gracias a una versión de No Regrets (de Tom Rush), volvieron a entrar en las listas. En 1978 editaron Nite Flights, que incluía temas muy buenos, como el que daba título al disco (y que versioneó David Bowie en 1993). Scott reaparecería con Climate Of Hunter (1984), con estupendas canciones como Track 5 o Sleepwalkers Woman –está claro que Antony mamó mucho de Scott Walker–. En 1995 apareció Tilt, saludado por algunos como “el primer disco del siglo XXI”, pero del que opino lo mismo que dice Marc Almond en el documental: “es un horror”. En 2006 dio su última vuelca de tuerca y el sello 4AD le publicó The Drift, un álbum aclamado por la crítica, pero que es, desde mi punto de vista, en exceso experimental y muy difícil de escuchar (salvo, quizá, Cossacks Are).

He preparado para el blog una recopilación que incluye temas de casi todas las épocas, aunque me he centrado principalmente en la que más me gusta: los años 60 de Scott 1, 2, 3 y 4 (especialmente el primero y el cuarto), donde, por cierto, podéis ver cómo le marcó Jacques Brel (su mayor influencia musical). Hay temas de Walker para hacer, al menos, una recopilación triple, pero creo que me ha quedado un resumen muy apañado para disfrutar de lo mejor que ha dado (sólo he incluido dos temas de los Walker Brothers y el más actual de la recopilación es de 1984).

“He smelled of miracles
With stained glass whispers
You loved his laughter
You tremble beneath him once again”

Pinchad en la portada de la recopilación para descargarla. AQUI podéis ver la lista de las canciones. Espero que os guste.

I was glad to get to watch a DVD documentary of the great Scott Walker called ‘30 Century Man, a title taken from a track that appeared on Scott 3

I like the fact that instead of using only conventional interviews, director Stephen Kijak also films people listening and interacting to Scott’s albums. I could live without the thoughts of posers like Sting and Alison Goldfrapp but most of the interviewees have something interesting to contribute.

A notable absence is Julian Cope who did so much to raise Walker’s profile with the post-punk generation. Cope opted not to appear although he wrote a letter endorsing the project.

Still, if the film consisted only of talking heads basking in their own egos and repeating ad-infinitum what a genius Scott Walker is, this would be pretty tedious fare. The main coup is in getting the notoriously reticent Walker to talk so freely about his life in music and in a film crew being allowed into the studio during the recording of The Drift.

Walker is an impressive and highly articulate speaker so you get some genuine insights into how the twists and turns of his unique career have unfolded. You also get a flavour of the intelligence and intensity that make his work so remarkable.

He is frequently depicted as an uncompromising artist who turned his back on the world of pop for forays into the avant-garde. What came out for me is that this is only part of the story.

For instance, when the brilliant Scott 4 unaccountably failed to find an audience on release, Walker was persuaded to make a series of lighter albums of popular tunes and cover versions. He has refused to allow these to be reissued but the fact that he made them shows that at that time he was willing to moderate his output in a bid to match the popular taste.

Fortunately, for him and for us, he clearly reached the point when such concessions were draining and demeaning. Only then did the true artist, wizard and star flourish again to produce the stark, experimental and disturbing works like Tilt and The Drift.

I confess that I had missed that the fact that hints of this radical direction were evident in the opening four tracks of The Walker Brothers’ one-off comeback album, Nite Flights. Hearing them now, they sound very like Low-Heroes era Bowie but also the sound is of someone stretching the boundaries of conventional pop music. I am particularly happy to be make the acquaintance of ‘The Electrician’ from this album.

Brian Gascoigne who worked on the orchestration and keyboards for ‘Climate of Hunter’ and ‘Tilt’ tells how recording sessions were often fraught affairs because he expects such a high level of emotional and technical commitment in order to reach and cross the line between “chords and discords”.

The studio footage of for The Drift give some idea of the demands he places on his collaborators. He makes use of unconventional sound sources like barrels, boxes and thimbles and at one point he directs a musician to get a flat percussive sound from a slab of meat. You wouldn’t have been surprised if the braying effects had been produced by a live donkey.

All in all the film is well worth seeing as it deepens your understanding on Scott the man without destroying the enigma.

IMDb

RottenTomatoes

Scott Walker, one of the most talented, exciting and exceptional figures in the history of music, has been avoiding the attention of the media for ages. This film does not provide you with the much sought after information about his personal life (which I would have found very interesting, I admit), but instead focuses on his music, which, of course, is much more important. There are a lot of talking heads, mostly famous musicians and people from the music business, listening to Scott Walker’s music and describing their impressions and the significance it has for them. Naturally, the most fascinating thing about the movie is Scott Walker himself and the metamorphoses he went through in the course of his musical career, drifting more and more in dark and abstract directions. I would highly recommend the film to anyone who likes Scott Walker (if you do not know who he is, hear some of his music, preferably beginning with the 60s).

Not only was Scott Walker one of pop-music’s biggest enigmas, so is the DVD release date of the documentary on his life.

The documentary film: “Scott Walker: 30 Century Man” premiered in Europe and the UK in October of 2006, It premiered and, as far as I know, was only shown in the US at SXSW 2007. Amazon.com has no record of the film. Netflix lists it, but with an unknown release date. As far as I know, it has only been released on DVD in Australia and Spain, which seems totally arbitrary. Anyway if you, gentle readers, have any info on this films release date, please let me know. <p>

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Scott Walker as I was until I heard the song 30 Century Man in the Wes Anderson filmThe Life Aquatic in 2005 and immediately fell in love with his voice, here’s a little background information on Scott Walker.

Sorry, I tried, but am unable to sum up Scott Walker in anything less than an essay which I don’t care to write and you probably don’t care to read. I found this on Scott Walkers bio page at 4AD’s website:

Scott Walker is considered one of the ultimate cult artists in popular music, it is hard to think of another American who had such an impact on rock music as a whole while being almost completely unknown to his countrymen as Scott Walker.

The list of artists featured in the documentary can also give you an idea of the scope of Scott Walker’s influence. In addition to Walker himself, interviewees in the film include David Bowie, Radiohead, Jarvis Cocker, Brian Eno, Damon Albarn, Marc Almond, Alison Goldfrapp, Sting, Dot Allison, Simon Raymonde, Richard Hawley, Rob Ellis, Johnny Marr, Gavin Friday, Lulu, Peter Olliff, Angela Morley (arranger of Walker’s sixties’ recordings as Wally Stott), Ute Lemper, Ed Bicknell, Evan Parker, Hector Zazou, Mo Foster, Phil Sheppard, and Peter Walsh.

That being said, if you are still intrigued, go check out this Wiki article here.

Trailer for the documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

Excellent stop action fan video for 30 Century Man.

Catherine Wheel were a four-piece alternative rock band from Great Yarmouth, England. The band was active from 1990 to 2000, experiencing fluctuating levels of commercial success, and embarking on many lengthy tours.

Download:

-Wishville (2000)

-Adam and Eve (1997)

-Happy Days (1995)

-Chrome(1993)

-Ferment (1992)

-30 Century Man (1992)

Web: Myspace Page

Eu quero este DVD!

Scott Walker: The Outsider Sensibility and Creative Visions of Identity

Scott Walker has been described as one of the greatest living avant-garde artists, with hardly any other American musician having had greater influence upon rock music, while at the same time remaining almost completely unknown to his countrymen. Walker grew up in Texas, New York City and Southern California, but he became a celebrity in England during the mid 1960s as part of the Walker Brothers band. This was at the time when young American audiences were going wild over British pop-music groups. The Walker Brothers were a vocal trio who wed soaring vocal harmonies, lush soundtrack arrangements and a patently somber worldview into a uniquely theatrical package.

Scott Walker’s voice was perhaps the most beautiful male non-soul voice of that era, and an increasingly free-thinking “Beat” attitude was at the core of the group’s appeal. Although the Walker Brothers became huge in Europe and claimed a fan club bigger than even The Beatles, Scott Walker’s eccentricity cast a dark cloud over the band’s public image. Scott began to write increasingly complicated interlaced music, and its sense of bleakness was intensified by his mix of translated Jacques Brel tunes with his distinctly arty and pained original numbers. By 1969, his works were failing to appear on music charts at all.

An increasingly elusive Scott Walker slowly withdrew from public view. His voice began to lose some of its former pop-music sense of majesty, a reflection of his new interest in the experimental synth-driven avant-garde, which he helped revolutionize to major critical success, but only minor public attention. Walker seemed to vanish, while artists as diverse as David Bowie, Brian Eno, Julian Cope, Bryan Ferry, Ultravox and Marc Almond became fiercely ardent supporters of his unique body of work, citing him as a primary influence on their careers. Gale Harold (the actor in Queer as Folk) served as an Associate Producer, along with David Bowie as Executive Producer, of the new acclaimed documentary about the influential artistic vision of Walker’s experimental musical works, 30 Century Man.

The ongoing show of support by the more widely-known artists helped to keep the shy Walker’s reputation alive until he appeared again in 1995 with a new album, a work that was both formidable and deeply disconcerting, completely stripping away the dark romanticism that had once filtered some semblance of light through in his work. However, in person Walker doesn’t appear to fit the common stereotype of a tortured artist. After many years, he has completed a new album, The Drift, and in recent interviews about the recording Walker comes across as plainspoken, unpretentious and honest.

The videos presented below include a short British trailer for the new documentary about Walker (30 Century Man), a longer film clip that includes interviews with him, and a music video of a song Jesse from his new album.

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Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (UK Trailer)

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Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (Documentary Studio Scenes)

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Scott Walker: Jesse (From Walker’s New Album, The Drift)

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