Posts tagged 'Bizarre'
Solipsist
For the past few weeks I’ve been moving all my stuff from one place to another and, just days ago, finally procured internet in my new home. I still had access to the hive-mind via my phone but the lack of a physical keyboard and suitably sized screen during my leisure hours made keeping the site up-to-date a bit difficult. I’m kind of paranoid about not making all of you happy. I want to make you happy – no, I need to, desperately so. This is a fools errand I know, but there are forces at play beyond my control. The imperative to continually deliver fresh internets to you all is so ground into my psyche that any choice my consciousness might have had in the matter has long since desiccated into a dusty, shriveled husk that bares no resemblance to its former autonomy.
My obsession lies not in collecting hits, likes or followers but in generating a more difficult to quantify resource: genuine affection. I want you to like coming here. I want you to be pleased to see I have updated. I want you to come back. Why? I dunno. If I did the preceding paragraphs wouldn’t be descriptions of my damage but an excerpt from my manifesto and, since I don’t have one of those, it’s best if we press on.
Unless I’m missing something I think my motivations are, at their core, fairly simple: finding something that is awesome is, in fact, awesome. And sharing that awesome thing with others, sans any ulterior, self-serving motive is even awesomer. I like awesome. I crave it. I need that shit, man. Ergo, this website.
Wait, what the fuck are we talking about? Oh yeah.
So I come back from my little hiatus and see a whole bunch of great suggestions. It appears you guys like awesome shit, too! And you like the awesomer act of sharing it with others. This is nothing new to me but I like being reminded of it all the same. It just feels good. Genuinely good. You know, that super-warm feeling that inexplicably rises through your chest but evaporates the moment it’s consciously acknowledged? That.
It was brief and moving and authentic and great so thanks, bros and bro-ettes.
The suggestion bin was packed with it’s usual random succotash of trippy ephemera but there were seven suggestions for one video in particular and, as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, it’s the one attached to the top of this post.
Holy shit, it’s so good. It’s like a narration-less David Attenborough style documentary that looks as if it was filmed on the same planet that Wanderlust is from.
In creating SOLIPSIST, Andrew Huang struck a near-perfect balance between two approaches that are often at-odds: the nearly-impossible-to-duplicate-otherwise tactility of shot footage with the absolute-control wacked-out-ness that computer generated imagery affords. I think you’d agree that he’s straddled this fickle, narrow fence with a deftness that must make other directors jealous. Or, in the parlance of today’s youth, Mr. Huang’s got his swag on.
The making-of for this one is can’t-miss-fascinating so, once you’re done watching the film, make sure you give it a watch.
Massive thanks are due to Cosmo, Sarah, Hess, Diego Martintereso, zak standel, Sam Lillard and Garrett for making sure I didn’t miss this one. Word.
If you’ve got anything you’d like me to see, fill out this little form and share the love.
One more thing! If you haven’t seen Wanderlust yet, I recommend you do that next. Cheers!
[ SOLIPSIST ]
posted by respondcreate on Mar. 12, 2012 in Videos | tags: andrew huang, bizarre, colorful, hd, mind bending, nature, psychedelic, spiritual, trippy
Wood
NSFW Disclaimer: There’s some animated nudity towards the end so don’t watch this at work, OK?
We’re diggin’ this bizarre, monochromatic music video for The Dead Pirates created by Matthieu Bessudo and Simon Landrein. In addition to being a member of the band Matthieu is also known as Mcbess, a London-based illustrator whose work successfully combines a grab bag of influences from the early 20th century – like Elzie Crisler Segar‘s Popeye and Max Fleischer‘s Betty Boop – with a tight, sterile (but in a good way) and modern rock-a-billy aesthetic.
The attached is one of two videos produced at The Mill for The Dead Pirates. The other one, CH / CH, is quite a bit shorter but definitely worth a watch. Enjoy!
A big thanks is due to Drew for sending this one our way. Cheers!
[ Wood ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 24, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, hd, matthieu bessudo, mcbess, monochromatic, music video, nsfw, simon landrein, the dead pirates, the mill
The Fox
“I’ve grown a handsome tall tree, mother,
And I want to bear a fruit for you.
And I have carried your fears and your hopes, father;
They’re so heavy on my back, oh you should know.”
The process of becoming a person is a strange one; it is messy, inexact and crude. Anyone who tries to convince you that their maturation was as smooth, confident and intentional as an expertly executed golf stroke is lying. We are all tumbling through space, constantly trying on new masks and costumes hoping one eventually feels right. Someone once told me that you don’t know who you are until your late-twenties and, in my case at least, that’s more-or-less true.
Up until then we try desperately to make sense of the instincts, fears and desires that were imprinted into our fragile minds at birth or injected sometime after as the result of some inexplicably electric first-hand experience. We want to make our parents happy and then we relish their disapproval. We reject the social caste system but secretly hope we’re cool, forever longing for the approval of our peers. We love and we hate; we brood and we let go; we’re anything but still.
It’s a hard thing to fully encapsulate in few paragraphs of internet but that’s why we have music videos, right? If you haven’t noticed already, there’s another stunner from Sub Pop attached to the top of this post. It’s for a tune by Niki & The Dove, a two-piece pop outfit from Sweden whose sound is described by their aforementioned label as, “full of magic and light but with an unsettling darkness hidden beneath the surface.”
Yup. Sounds about right.
The visuals are from Sub Pop’s neighbors at WINTR who, I think you’d agree, knocked it out of the park. The out-there/colorful/abstract/geometric elements soar when tethered to the sweeping, baroque landscapes. The net effect is thrilling, like watching a kite pulled taut by the wind. Full-screen HD, y’all. Grab your headphones, crank the volume and enjoy!
Click here for more Sub Pop goodness on The Tripatorium™.
[ Niki & The Dove - The Fox [OFFICIAL VIDEO] ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 08, 2012 in Videos | tags: 3d, abstract, animation, bizarre, colorful, growing up, hd, music video, nature, niki & the dove, sub pop, wintr
Space Stallions
“As darkness is covering the multiverse, far away in the galaxy of the wild stallion, a spark of hope is born. Guided by the light of Mother Mustang, the Space Stallions must defeat the Demon of darkness, Destructo.”
File under: LOLWAT
Some fresh, silly, colorful, bizarre, wonderful and well-executed work by seven students – Thorvaldur S. Gunnarsson, Jonatan Brüsch, Ágúst Kristinsson, Arna Snæbjørnsdottir, Esben J. Jespersen, Touraj Khosravi and Polina Bokhan – from The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. Special mentions are due to both Friðfinnur Oculus Sigurðsson and Thomas Christensen who composed the music and sound design, respectively. How rad would it be if Space Stallions got picked up by Adult Swim?
Click here to see more films created by students from The Animation Workshop on The Tripatorium™.
[ Space Stallions ]
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 07, 2012 in Videos | tags: ágúst kristinsson, animation, arna snæbjørnsdottir, bizarre, colorful, esben j. jespersen, hd, jonatan brüsch, lolwat, polina bokhan, the animation workshop, thorvaldur s. gunnarsson, touraj khosravi
Hurting
“Gotta let this go;
Gotta field tomorrow on my own,
Your touch keeps on hurtin’.”
Back in September we posted a video by David Lewandowski that perfectly encapsulates one of our favorite flavors of internet: the ever elusive LOLWAT, comprised equally of parts silly and strange. We love that shit, bro.
Anyone who’s seen Tron: Legacy knows that David has talents beyond creating the fleetingly bizarre – he crafted the exquisitely rendered opening title sequence – so we were thrilled to discover that he recently directed a music video for Friendly Fires who, besides having a fantastic band name, write some super-catchy ‘choons.
David’s grandiose, hyperbolic visuals mirror and amplify the torturous experience, as described in the song, when an object your affection doesn’t feel the same way about you as you do of them. Love is a strange/alluring/wonderful thing and we’re willing to endure a lot of pain and bullshit for a shot at it.
There’s loads of fantastic visual touches sprinkled throughout, so keep your eyes peeled the whole way through. Serving suggestion: Full-screen HD with the volume way up. Enjoy!
A big thanks to William Doran, who first brought this to our attention two months ago, and to Joe Findlay who wrote us a couple of weeks back to remind us we hadn’t posted it yet. Cheers, guys!
posted by respondcreate on Feb. 04, 2012 in Videos | tags: bizarre, colorful, david lewandowski, friendly fires, good times, love, music video, trippy, wormhole
Weird Fishes
I was sick recently – the flu, I think – and the fever dreams that gripped me as I tossed and turned during my first attempt at sleep were truly bizarre. I would describe them as neither pleasant nor nightmarish but simply visions; strange, poignant and fleeting glimpses into another world. They were rooted in reality but wholly separate from it; vague narratives populated by people, concepts and places that I knew but presented in an entirely new context, overflowing with cryptic, I-can-almost-grasp-it-but-not-really messages.
The attached reminds me of those sweat-soaked, unsettling hallucinations so I thought it was only fitting to share it here on my webzone.
It was created by Tobias Stretch – who we’ve featured before – as an unofficial music video for a little group called Radiohead (have you heard of them?) whose tunes, for me at least, are always a bit perplexing so the pairing is just right. Enjoy the ride!
Cheers for sending this one in, Kelsey Guerra!
posted by respondcreate on Jan. 24, 2012 in Videos | tags: bizarre, colorful, ethereal, hd, music video, nature, radiohead, stop motion, tobias stretch, trippy
Two Against One
“I get the feeling that it’s two against one.
I’m already fighting me, so what’s another one?”
The first suggestion to check out the attached came from Dave Hughes (of Off The Air fame) back on January 9th with the second ping, from Hartwell Millett, hitting our inbox just a few days later. Another 48 hours passed and then Zak Standel wrote in with the message, “how about you watch it and then write why its cool on the main page.”
OKLOL
The roster of talent on this one is deep. On the music side of things you’ve got a choice cut from Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi‘s latest project, Rome, with a guest appearance from Jack White (NICE). The trippy, bizarre and dark visuals are provided by the tag team duo of Chris Milk and Anthony Francisco Schepperd who we’ve both featured before: Chris directed the exquisitely bizarre Who’s Gonna Save My Soul? for Gnarls Barkley and Anthony helmed two of our all time favorites, Wail to God and The Music Scene.
Jack’s dark, ominous delivery is caramel-smooth which, as it effortlessly intermingles with the warm, cinematic and slow-plodding production, sets an emotional tone that gets further accentuated by Anthony’s signature forever-morphing animation style and Chris’ acerbic tendencies to push the bizarre. It’s not very long – only two minutes and change – but it doesn’t feel that way which, in this case at least, is a good thing. Headphones on, volume up, full-screen HD and, above all else, get comfortable: the forecast calls for multiple viewings.
A big thanks to everyone who wrote in! Cheers!
posted by respondcreate on Jan. 16, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, anthony francisco schepperd, bizarre, chris milk, danger mouse, daniele luppi, dark, hand drawn, hd, jack white, monochromatic, rome, trippy
topo glassato al cioccolato
Warning! (Kinda) NSFW: There’s some brief shots of hand-drawn nudity in this one so you might not want to watch it at work.
We’ve been getting loads of great suggestions recently and have been slowly-but-surely passing them through our mental baleen, reserving only the tastiest bits of internet to pass along. Sam Lillard sent this fantastic morsel of bizarre, dark animation by Donato Sansone (a.k.a. milkyeyes) our way back in the beginning of December and it’s a shame we didn’t post it sooner. I’d recommend watching it late-night in a dark room with the volume way up as the sound design by Enrico Ascoli greatly enhances the unsettling, high-definition visuals. Thanks, Sam!
[ TOPO GLASSATO AL CIOCCOLATO ]
posted by respondcreate on Jan. 12, 2012 in Videos | tags: animation, birds, bizarre, dark, donato sansone, enrico ascoli, hand drawn, hd, horror, milkyeyes, monochromatic
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, friends! I first saw this very-apt-for-the-site bit of animation on December 27th of last year and have been saving it ever since to share with all of you today. It’s from a series of five short idents created by Matt Layzell, Bishoy Gendi, Michael Gendi, Jonathan Harris and Daniel Boyle of Treat Studios for E4, “to surprise people with something really anti-christmas, and transform something boring into something amazing.” All of them are fantastically bizarre and definitely worth a watch:
Oh, and a big thanks to both Harry Peppit and Sam Lillard who sent these our way via our suggestion box and Facebook wall this past September. Cheers, guys!
[ Reindeer ]
posted by respondcreate on Dec. 25, 2011 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, christmas, colorful, hd, layzell brothers, lolwat, matt layzell, reindeer, treat studios, trippy
Dan Dan
Whoa. The needles on our patent-pending Dope Meters™ were pinned deep in the red for the entire duration of this fantastic music video for Misteur Valaire as directed/created by Corentin Bachelet, Gilles Cortella, Augustin Clermont, Adrien Jalade and Juliette Grandjonc, a.k.a. Paf Paf, a group of independent French CGI designers. Full screen and headphones, dawg; this one deserves your undivided attention.
Wait, it gets better: Misteur Valaire’s complete discography is available for whatever you feel like paying. So, you know, grab some spare change out of the cushions of your couch and pick up some great ‘choons. Enjoy!
[ MV (Misteur Valaire) - DAN DAN (Création collective) ]
posted by respondcreate on Dec. 22, 2011 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, colorful, electronic music, french, golden bombay, hd, misteur valaire, music video, paf paf, space, trippy, wormhole
Accumulonimbus
“Natural and man-made objects on a spin cycle accumulate, disintegrate, and multiply. Created by stop motion animating clay on glass, the film is a meditation on motion and the life cycle of matter.”
Some very nice abstract, morphing stop-motion animation and sound design from the talented Andy Kennedy. If you’re interested in seeing how he put everything together then be sure to check out the making-of page on his website. It’s populated with lots of broken images but the process videos and text still load properly though so it’s definitely worth checking out.
[ Accumulonimbus ]
posted by respondcreate on Dec. 20, 2011 in Videos | tags: abstract, andy kennedy, animation, bizarre, claymation, electronic music, hd, monochromatic, nature, stop motion, trippy, wormhole
Bronx Sniper
“No one gets out of here alive,
In the melee there are many ways to cry.
Who knows where the gunshots are coming from;
Those who’ve been picked off aren’t saying much.”
File under: LOLWAT
Sub Pop Records: Purveyors of fine tunes and rad music videos. Corey Adams and Alex Craig bring the bizarre with some fantastic direction that channels Mister Heavenly‘s signature ‘doom wop’ vibe. It’s deliciously whacked-out-weird. Enjoy!
[ Mister Heavenly - Bronx Sniper (OFFICIAL VIDEO) ]
posted by respondcreate on Dec. 12, 2011 in Videos | tags: alex craig, bizarre, corey adams, hd, lolwat, mister heavenly, music video, ravenhouse ltd., sub pop, violence
Scale It Back
“To memorize a pack of cards I create a story in my head where each image represents a pair of cards.”
Accountant Ben Pridmore is the 2004/2008/2009 world champion in memory sport, a relatively new way in which primates compete to see who can memorize (and recite back accurately) the most information. He utilizes, among other techniques, visual thinking which leverages, “the part of the brain that is emotional and creative to organize information in an intuitive and simultaneous way.” It’s another example of how our brains are incredibly malleable abstract reasoning machines, capable of iterative self-reconfiguration to better solve complex problems.
This music video by Ewan Jones Morris & Casey Raymond depicts one bizarre narrative that Mr. Pridmore developed for memorizing a deck of cards and it’s fascinating peek inside his award-winning grey matter. The choon is dope, too; DJ Shadow is one of my all-time favorites. Preemptive Strike was frequently spinning inside my Discman at college, the perfect companion for long walks across campus and all-night paper-writing sessions. I whole-heartedly recommend you check it out.
posted by respondcreate on Dec. 05, 2011 in Videos | tags: ben pridmore, bizarre, brain, casey raymond, dj shadow, ewan jones morris, hd, memory, music video, trippy
Supernatural
Gabriel Rud wrote in with some monochromatic, twitchy, morphing visuals he created for Argentine composer, Daniel Melero. It’s as if you’re peering into an electron microscope, witnessing the birth of some strange new organism.
[ Supernatural - Daniel Melero (2011) ]
posted by respondcreate on Dec. 02, 2011 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, daniel melero, gabriel rud, monochromatic, music video, organic, trippy
Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared
File under: LOLWAT
Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling created this potent dose of bizarre with plenty of help from their talented friends at THIS IS IT, “a collective of illustrators, animators, artists and designers based in London.” Click here to see a full list of who-did-what.
Cheers to Pvt Engle for sending it our way. Enjoy!
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 17, 2011 in Videos | tags: becky sloan, bizarre, dark, hd, joseph pelling, kids, mind bending, puppets, this is it, trippy
The External World
Ann wrote in with a hyperlink to this 57 second long animation that David OReilly (remember ??????) made for Tim & Eric’s Saint’s Row promotional short film, “Professor Genki’s Super Ethical Reality Climax” accompanied by a single sentence, “you could definitely file this under lolwat”. Her categorization was dead on and we initialized our patent-pending Post To The Internet™ sequence as we figured it’d be something most of you would enjoy. One of the steps involved in the aforementioned ritual is checking if the artist in question – in this case David – has anything better that should be posted instead. He does!
The masthead of his website reads: ANIMATION, 3D, INTERNET, EPHEMERAL DRIVEL, FLEETING DISTRACTION, NONSENSE, CATS ETC and, according to that rubric, The External World delivers. It’s seventeen minutes of seemingly-disparate-at-first-but-eventually-interconnected infinitely bizarre vignettes. It’s awesome.
I should mention that an HD quicktime of this film is available for download if you’re willing to part with about $5. The purchase has no real value and is essentially ceremonial as The External World is freely available on both Vimeo and the ‘Tubes but, I decided to buy it anyways. Why? Well, for one, supporting art just feels good man. I also want to affirm this type of behavior and do what I can to fund whatever David will create next. Maybe you’ll consider doing it, too? In the meantime: enjoy the weirdness.
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 13, 2011 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, cats, colorful, david oreilly, hd, lolwat, mind bending, trippy
Welcome to Kitty City
Hey! Guess what?! cyriak has a new video! A big thanks is due to both David Chitty and Hess who wrote in to let us know. Enjoy!
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 13, 2011 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, cats, cyriak, fractals, trippy
The sculpture of AJ Fosik
“Working three-dimensionally has just always been more satisfying; I’ve always had the urge to build…I find, for me, it’s easier to express my ideas building things; actually making something.”
AJ Fosik creates fantastic, intricately detailed sculptures from wood, paint and nails. There’s not much more to say beyond that; his work speaks for itself. There’s two fantastic videos on the ‘tubes about AJ you should check out:
The first shows him at work – from the initial sketches to the final coat of paint – on the bust that adorns the cover of Mastodon‘s The Hunter. The second, an interview done by kwalitymedia, has AJ describing his motivations, inspirations and overall creative process.
A big thanks to lolo for writing in and introducing us to Mr. Fosik…cheers!
[ AJ Fosik ]
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 04, 2011 in Pictures | tags: art, bizarre, colorful, nature, psychedelic, sculpture, trippy
Polarity Song
“Life can be so overrated but you are so entertaining’.
I won’t be manipulated just so I can get on through to your green grass under skies.
There’s no one like you; there’s no time like now…
Embrace the polarity of life and all the good and bad we share.
Engage the mystery of why we are the love in life we live.”
Do you guys remember Synesthesia? It was a super weird/rad little music video we posted back in February filled with food, cats and LOLWAT directed by Terri Timely. If you haven’t seen it yet, go on ahead...we’ll wait patiently until everyone’s ready.
This – Terri’s latest – is a collaboration with knit/crochet/craft/‘soft sculpture’ super-hero, Sarah Applebaum and, like Synesthesia, is suitably far-out. It depicts a hidden world populated by crochet-knit-mummy-wrapped bipeds within a typical thrift store/flea market who abduct dispassionate shoppers as they browse through an assortment of discarded detritus from the late-70s/80s/early-90s. The surface aesthetic could easily be categorized (and summarily dismissed as) ‘hipster kitsch’ and, though I’d concede the assessment, there’s an earnestness there – no doubt helped by the Caleb Pate and Nephi Evans’ lyrics – that squashes any cheap forays into self-indulgent irony. There’s redemption here; from within this impersonal commercial wasteland comes salvation whose identity springs not from aesthetic but from source: it’s the hand-crafted things that provide the creative energy and warmth.
Oh and it’s super-fucking strange, too; we love shit like this. The music is dope as well. Top marks to Seventeen Evergreen for creating original, compelling tunes and to Lucky Number Music for supporting this kind of art. Enjoy!
If you’re into this you might want to check out Lighthouse, too. Just sayin’.
[ Seventeen Evergreen - Polarity Song ]
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 04, 2011 in Videos | tags: art, bizarre, colorful, craft, dance, hd, lolwat, lucky number music, music video, sarah applebaum, terri timely, trippy
Homunculus
“Taking its title from the Latin word for “Little Human”, the piece is an associative mashup between the two concepts behind the word: The first being middle-age alchemical beliefs that “little men” could be spontaneous generated from dead or decaying matter. The second being Carl Jung’s usage as a personification of pure id…more”
Set phasers to bizarre; this short film, directed by Sam Stephens and created by Hydra – the in-house collaborative directing team at NYC-based Humble TV – provides an ample, potent dose of weirdness. Enjoy!
[ Homunculus ]
posted by respondcreate on Nov. 01, 2011 in Videos | tags: animation, bizarre, decay, hd, horror, humble tv, hydra, koven smith, time lapse, trippy