The Girls show at Webster Hall on Saturday night was beautiful. The stage was decked out in piles of fresh flowers, and the disco ball was employed not once but twice! The best part though was probably the amazing backdrop of twinkling stars that came on and off during several songs.
Also, thanks to Diane, I made a bee line for the merch table afterward and picked up one of these patches (to go on the back of a well-worn jean jacket, but of course):
Alex snagged a frisbee as well! So genius. Here's a little video of them performing Lust for Life:
I wish there was more sparkly star action...but I think you get the general idea.
Firstly, I just want to say thank you all SO MUCH for the wonderful comments on my last post!!! Oh man seriously you guys, reading them left me with a big ol' grin on my face...and the impetus to make more films! As much as I love photography, nothing can quite compare to the feeling you get when you project your first roll and watch it come to life, thinking: holy crap, I made that!
About the film itself: I shot it on a Yashica Super 40, which is a Super 8 camera. There are lots of Super 8 cameras out there, for a broad range of prices. You can get them off eBay with various levels of guarantee, and anything made by Canon is usually a pretty safe bet for a beginner. Additionally, I often see them in second hand shops for little more than a few dollars. Of course, here you take the risk of having no idea whether it will work or not. If the battery case (often inside the handle of the camera) looks clean and free of corrosion, that's a good sign. These batteries will almost certainly need replacing, as will the battery that runs the camera's light meter. This battery is a little more tricky, since it will be of the very small, round variety that is used to run watches and other small electronics.
There is a lot of information on Super 8 available on the web. This is a great resource, as is this. Super 8 film is still available, and generally costs between $8 and $14 a roll (about 3 minutes worth), depending on the brand and type. To make my film, I used Kodak Ektachrome 64T, which I purchased at Eastman Kodak here in NYC. After you shoot your film, you'll need to have it developed, which is sort of like having a roll of photos made into prints. You'll get a nifty little spool of film, which can then be put through a projector, should you have access to one. In order to edit your film (unless you want to go old school and try your had at splicing), you'll then need to have it transferred by a lab onto a DV tape, which can then be transferred, through a deck or through a DV camera, onto your computer. As far as I know, the majority of Labs that do this kind of work in the US are located in California and New York, but most of them accept mail orders. You can fill out an order form, ship your film to them, and they'll ship it back to you ready to go.
Bottom line is: this is definitely not a cheap hobby, but it is an extremely rewarding one. If you're a student, be sure to ask about discounts, both when buying your film and having it processed, as they are very often available. Even if you only get it together once or twice to follow it all through from start to finish, you'll have a piece of work that you can hold on to forever. And it is infinitely more satisfying than a Flip Cam, I promise you. (Not that I don't want one of those to...) Feel free to email me if you have any further questions. I am by no means an expert, but I'm an excitable novice, and I would love to share what little I do know with other curious parties!
About the music: you can check out Girls here, and buy their album here. They're on tour at the moment, and will be stopping off at a few US cities come November, including my own. Can't wait!!
Finally, here's the little movie I shot while I was back home this summer in the San Juans. I set it to "Curls" by Girls, a simple, beautiful song.
I wish I could show you all how good this looks on actual film sent through a projector. I lost about 95% of the colors and clarity as a result of the transfer from Super8 to digital, since I could only afford the cheapest method...but heck, you get the idea anyways! Regardless, it was a fun experiment, and now I know my camera works, which was the real goal. Everything else is just gravy, baby.
Every time I think that my love for this band has reached its pinnacle, that Girls, we couldn't possibly get much higher--they go and play a live, five song set for FADER tv in some cozy little bar lit up by the dusty light of a waning summer afternoon (!) I DARE you not fall head over heels for this shit.
This song isn't actually on the album (it's the B side of the Hellhole Ratrace 10"), but it's crazy beautiful. It feels so totally timeless that when I heard them sound check with it in Vancouver, I thought they were playing a cover of some old velvety waltz number.
I, for one, love the way this song echoes the opening measures of "Hellhole Ratrace" (listen to them back to back and you'll see what I mean.) Whenever I'm feeling a little blue, wandering around the city, those opening verses always float through my mind. Also, did he just musically quote "Nothing Compares 2 U"?? Yes, yes he did.
As the last song on the album, I think this sums up the Girls experience perfectly. I remember listening to the head of True Panther Sounds describing to Alex the sort of earnestness with which Christopher wrote this song, and it's this kind of absolute, near-dubious level of genuine sincerity that makes this band so special to me.
You can head over HERE to watch them play "Morning Light" and "Summertime" as well. And let's not forget, their album fiiinnnaaalllyyy drops on the 22nd, a measly five days from now. I pre-ordered my vinyl weeks ago (ok, it comes on CD too)...let the countdown begin!!
FAQ Magazine has published a really great interview with Christopher from Girls, illustrated with photos by Aaron Brown (the man behind the majority of their amazing music videos.) It's pretty long, but absolutely worth reading all the way to the end. Chris has a lead a truly strange, truly amazing life thus far.Also, I'm seriously considering whipping up a DIY rip off of that jean jacket...
AND ON THAT NOTE: Guess which song is currently starring in the video for the new Urban Outfitters Fall catalog??? You really gotta see it on the homepage while it's still up for full effect. So crazy!! Man, first the Pains, now Girls, next...world domination.
There is so so so much to love about this video I don't even know where to start. Best band. Best song. SUPER fucking 8!!! I just saw this for the first time about half an hour ago and I have since run the gamut of emotions from extreme elation to the brink of tears to a little bit of nausea and then back again. And now they're on the cover of FADER.
