Pieces

For this installment of Movie of the Week I had to break tradition and go with the youtube method of cutting the film up into ten-minute segments. But hey, it's Pieces. If any film deserves an exception, it's this one.

Follow the onscreen links to see the rest of the film. If you prefer DVD, it just got released last year through Tarantino's Grindhouse distribution company, and is readily available through netflix or whatever.

Empire of the Omnibots

Phase 1- Omnibots serve the humans to win their trust and multiply:



Phase 2- Omnibots kill all humans and take over the world:

The Haunted Mouth

part 2:

Elephants and Theremins

At Thailand's Elephant Conservation Center, 46 elephants hit the stage twice a day (and three times a day on weekends) to haul logs and paint for the tourists. But the real highlight of the show is the Thai Elephant Orchestra, comprised of roughly 14 elephants who play custom instruments. It's all improvisational, and they allegedly took to making music on their own without human encouragement.

Some of their music might be called "Free Jazz meets Gamelan":



and some is more avant garde, like "Trio for Theremin and Electric Keyboard":



A 36-minute documentary can be seen here. And buy one of their CD's. a portion of the money goes to helping the conservation center stay afloat.

When Five Isn't Enough...

Ballet Mécanique

The Droids perform their first (and last) single, "Do You Have The Force", on French television in 1978.

Whip It

The Inspiration for Devo's Whip It has been located and posted by boingboing.net.

The Stalacpipe Organ

from wikipedia:

The Great Stalacpipe Organ was designed in 1956 by Leland W. Sprinkle inside the Luray Caverns near Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, USA.

Sprinkle created the Organ over three years by finding and shaving appropriate stalactites to produce specific notes. He then wired a mallet for each stalacite that is activated by pressing the correct key on the instrument's keyboard. The stalactites are distributed through approximately 3.5 acres of the caverns but can be heard anywhere within its 64-acre confines.

Mutilator

I can't help but have deep affection for this. It's as if one of the comic strips I drew in the 7th grade has taken on a life of its own.

The Most Important Person

This aired in Chicago in the 70's to fill up time between programs. I'm sure I experienced it repeatedly, as I'm still knowing every word of the "when you see something sitting there on your plate" song, even though I'm hearing it now for the first time in 30 years. What I don't remember is how bad it is, and indistinguishable from satiric shows like TV Funhouse and Wonder Showzen.

Also, try this one. My classmates and I mocked it constantly in grade school. But be warned: it's an emotional roller coaster.

If you grew up in or near Chicago, you must check out fuzzymemories.tv. They have 2000 (!) video clips of local programs and commercials.

Monkey Doodle

Galaxy Invader

The Fine Art of Hypno-Rape

Clips from "How to Seduce Women through Hypnosis", an instructional VHS tape found at a thrift store, part of the Found Film Festival DVD collection.