Author: andrea Page 15 of 72

Silence is a rhythm too.

(Ari, you went too soon. You will be missed.)

I’ve always thought of Jim Jarmusch as the original poet of slacker ennui. Stranger than Paradise(1984) set a template for a slew of mumblecore copycats who followed in that film’s wake. (And, like the Energizer bunny, they’re still going.)

And yet, Jarmusch’s vision doesn’t neatly conform to cliché: his debut, Permanent Vacation (1980), sets a ghostly tone that would echo throughout later films like Dead Man (1995), Ghost Dog (1999) and The Limits of Control (2009), all of which follow an enigmatic drifter through an increasingly chaotic world.

Permanent Vacation is really two films in one: a ghostly tone poem about the collapse of civilization, and a dreary day (or two) in the life of an erstwhile beatnik with romantic delusions. Although the two coexist, and occasionally intertwine, neither adds up to a cohesive narrative. For moments at a time, however, the film makes good on its nihilistic title by becoming a post-apocalyptic horror film.

Jarmusch’s themes dovetail with those of No Wave cinema, but the film is in no way confrontational. Gently and almost dreamily, it drifts along, content to let the eerie and often chilling imagery speak for itself. It’s an odd tack to take, but the restraint pays off: an unshakeable end-times vibe clings to every shot.

Jarmusch and cinematographer Tom DeCillo use long, slow pans and wide-angle establishing shots of deep shadows and looming, hollow buildings to depict a landscape ravaged by —war? Poverty? Indifference? Bureaucracy? All of the above?

Our unreliable narrator for this 70-minute tour is Aloysious Christopher Parker. Known as Allie to his friends (although it’s not clear he has any), he dresses like a hepcat, listens to bepop and mumbles like a proto-hipster.

Effectively an orphan (his father is dead and his mother, institutionalized), Parker resists social ties, preferring instead to skitter sideways through life.

He’s got a girlfriend (sort of), but treats her with blasé disdain. (In a passive-aggressive display of payback, she mutilates and defaces the copy of Maldoror that he gracelessly gives her.)

This is not, however, a film of interiors (or interiority). Allie cannot be contained, and he spends most of the film on the streets, in a kind of waking dream.

The raw, apocalypse-now vibe of the film meshes with the work of Nan Goldin, one of Jarmusch’s peers and a fellow documenter of the night owls, artsy weirdos and freaks who populated the Manhattan’s crumbling lower echelons.

Goldin made her name with The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, a filmic slideshow that debuted at the Mudd Club in 1979. Goldin documented her tribe in what amounted to a family album set to music. She effortlessly captured the vulnerabilities of those (including herself) who thought themselves invincible. The initial euphoria of the scene gradually sank into hazy intoxication and then despair.

Permanent Vacation charts a similar trajectory, but Jarmusch —a Surrealist and dreamer— gives us a hopeful ending, something that Goldin’s all-too-real subjects don’t always find.

Goldin’s slide show closed with the haunting Velvet Underground song “After Hours.” In her plainspoken voice, Mo Tucker sums up the transcendent emptiness: “And if you close the door/The night could last forever/Leave the sunshine out/And say hello to never.”

The Lounge Lizards, “Bob the Bob” (from Downtown 81)

The Velvet Underground, “After Hours”

STILLS FROM JARMUSCH’S PERMANENT VACATION. CINEMATOGRAPHER: TOM DICILLO

The fine folks at Warp have posted a new Seefeel track called “Faults” —a teaser from their new EP that will be out on September 20. The band headline a much-anticipated one-off show at London’s ICA on September 16.

Judging by the torrent of snark on Soundcloud, the new track has met with divided opinions. “Rubbish,” “Magic.” “Boring.” Even former producer (and de facto band member) Mark van Hoenweighed in to critique the watery sound: “The drums don’t sound like a real kit, and the guitars don’t sound right.”

Is it fair to judge one song against fourteen years of silence? Because that’s what seems to be happening here: this isn’t about the song, but about a platonic ideal of a band that exists in the past. (Seefeel 2010 consists of original members Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock and new additions Shigeru Ishihara and E-da from the Boredoms.)

And in the now? What does “Faults” sound like? I’ve really fallen for it these past two weeks. Its shimmering, maze-like structure —with layers upon layers of sound snaking in and out of focus — rewards repeated listens. Sarah Peacock’s vocals still hover just this side of comprehensibility, saving them from preciousness. Like a Xerox of a Xerox of a Xerox, they’re slightly smeared around the edges — an imperfect reflection.

By contrast, the instrumentation is crisp, almost sharp. Guitars have snap and twang, which sets up a nice contrast to the glitchy percussion, which may be too cold and precise-sounding for its own good. Something eastern-sounding in the long, plucked notes — samisen? No matter. It’s enthralling.

What do you think?

25 YEARS OF AS220
In other news, I can’t wait for this year’s Foo Fest. AS220’s annual block party extravaganza is always fantastic, but this year promises to be even better: it’s their 25th anniversary! Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 14 and what promises to be a smashing all-day affair!

There’s a slew of bands I want to see, but none more so than hypnotic all-girl quintet Warpaint (Castlemusic by way of White Magic) and the original 99’ers ESG! I leave you with an entrancingWarpaint song that wouldn’t be leaving my stereo (if I had one), “Billie Holiday,” from their Exquisite Corpse EP (2009).

Warpaint, “Billie Holiday” (from Exquisite Corpse, 2009)

PHOTO BY ANDREA FELDMAN