Reptilian Brain: The Movie

For the sequel to Unemployment Polka, I drew on a bunch of sound and image sources. Credits + specs for Reptilian Brain YouTube music video:

Most of the images come from Machinima filmmaker Lowe Runo, who posted clips on the copyright-free Prelinger Archives.

Beast From 20,000 Fathoms also makes a cameo appearance.

Female vocals by Jesse Maltin and the excellent Vikki Gurdas. were excerpted from my Wrecking Ball musical.

Robot vocals filtered through Final Draft "speech" tool.

Harmonica and other stuff by me.

Recorded on Garageband and mixed on LogicPro laptop recording software.

Video was stitched together on Apple's iMovie editor.

Badly translated movie review

Going through old stuff, I decided to Google-translate my review notes for the opening scene of a 2010 action movie from English to Spanish to Swedish to Swahili and back again:
Eyes guys playing cards
When the walkie talkies comes near we hear: "attack abortion"
They are trying to save the Spanish-speaking children on the bus. Bad guy has a knife in the throat of children
Guys eye children from the bus.
Yellow fire catches up to Bush School, which crashes into mountain.
Losers and the children walked through the jungle and get on the helicopter.
One of the children has a teddy bear.
Jet fires on helicopter. Crashes. "Cobra One - Kill! Teddy bear on fire."
People lose their identity

p.s., It's The Losers

French director words of wisdom

Just got off the phone with renown French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier. He used to work for a tyrant director and says he likes to take the opposite approach. "I am the boss. I don't need to prove I'm the boss." Yes.

A Winter's Song

Busy winter, I've recorded 13 new songs in various stages of completion. Some are for my new record Idolizer coming out in the spring. My classmate Jim Ferguson wrote lyrics for a few of the tunes, which we had the excellent Vikki Gurdas sing in late January. Another song, I've sent to former bandmate J.D. Dragus for guitar contributions, and I'm messing around with the "Machinima" images for a robot dance tune called Reptilian Brain.

Also collaborating with Lonnie Gordon, the great Bronx-born L.A.-by-way-of-London soul singer, pictured above,

Whee!

Keith Richards and Stephen Sondheim

Over New Year's weekend, I read Finishing the Hat and Life, which represent two totally different approaches to songwriting by Stephen Sondheim and Keith Richards, but with one common goal: great songs. Both have deep respect and detailed awareness of their forebears, and each are fanatics for the right rhyme, in Sondheim's case, and guitar riff, for Richards. Inspiring stuff.

Reptilian Brain Machinima Re-Mix

Settling in with Stephen Sondheim's brilliant new book Finishing the Hat for the holidays after uploading version one of my Reptilian Brain music video featuring images remixed from Machinima artist Lowe Runo: Reptilian Brain_version_01.

Re-mixing Mania

I'm having fun with the Prelinger Archives. The site allows you to download copyright-free film clips, so I patched together a bunch of old home movies from the 1938 Worlds Fair and used it as a music video for my "Unemployment Polka," now on YouTube.

I am also stitching together a bunch of animated "Machinima" characters for a new song called "Reptilian Brain." Robots, aliens, girls and guitar players all go into the mix.

Stay tuned for completion!