#13 most beautiful: songs for andy warhol's screen tests

[mon-nid]

Dean & Britta · 13 Most Beautiful: Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests · 2010

El Museo Andy Warhol encargó a Dean Wareham y Britta Phillips que interpretaran canciones junto a las películas mudas de Warhol filmadas entre 1964 y 1966.

[saltlickmp3]

13 Most Beautiful: Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests - Dean and Britta 2010

One of my close friends and bandmates lent me her cd of this album (yes we swap cd, we are music nerds) and I was immediately entranced by it. It has the feel of the Velvet Underground in a way that seems to be equal parts homage and worship without being a direct carbon copy, in some parts sounding very 90s in a way I can;t quite put my finger on - it definitely does not sound like 2010 I'll tell you that.

Andy Warhol's Screen Tests were another one of his wacky little film ideas, which boiled down to 'put person in front of camera, push record on camera'. Pretty much everyone in the Factory, and most visitors, everyone from Edie Sedgwick through Mama Cass through Gerard Malanga through Bob Dylan through Salvador Dalí, was... subjected to one of these. All are shot in black and white, and they generally last for three minutes, though are played slowed down.

Dean and Britta were approached to make music accompanying 13 of the screen tests for a movie (which regrettably at time of writing I have not seen, will watch soon and update this when I have) and accompanying soundtrack. Each song is specific to a person, and the second disc (of the cd at least) is seven alternate versions/remixes, which I actually like better in some cases, although I did just read an article (from popmatters) saying that indeed some of the mixes, specifically Sonic Boom's, work better as standalone music that the versions that do go with the movie. They certainly do have a hypnotic quality to them. That there are 13 songs is significant - Warhol had two exhibitions called '13 Most Beautiful Men / Women'.

The songs are -

Silver Factory Theme (Billy Name)

I'll Keep It With Mine (Nico)

Not A Young Man Anymore (Lou Reed)

I Found It Not So (Mary Woronov)

It Don't Rain In Beverly Hills (Edie Sedgwick)

Incandescent Innocent (Freddy Herko)

International Velvet Redux (Susan Bottomley)

Teenage Lightning and Lonely Highways (Paul America)

Herringbone Tweed (Dennis Hopper)

Richard Rheem Theme (Richard Rheem)

Knives From Bavaria (Jane Holzer)

Eyes In My Smoke (Ingrid Superstar)

Ann Buchanan Theme (Ann Buchanan)

And you will not believe how much googling I just did to figure all that out.

Silver Factory of course refers to the period where the Factory was wallpapered in tinfoil. I'll Keep It With Mine is a non-album Dylan song covered by Nico. Not A Young Man Anymore is a Velvet Underground rare song convered so convincingly by Dean Wareham that I thought for a moment it *was* the VU on the recording - classic mid-sixties garage rock sound giving the indie treatment. It Don't Rain In Beverly Hills / no matter what they say / the pain never washes away is probably the most Edie Sedgwick song out there, beating even Patti Smith's Poppies, which was written for her. Teenage Lightning and Lonely Highways could fit nearly any teen road trip movie, and has definite fictional 1950s vibes, perfectly fitting a guy nicknamed Paul America. Knives From Bavaria is delightfully nonsensical and I have no idea what it has to do with Jane Holzer or her teeth brushing but it's a cool little song anyways.n

This album has a deep sense of sadness to it, despite the generally upbeat vibes. Maybe it's cause we know that so many of the superstars died young, or had a lot of bad stuff happen to them, struggled with addiction, or just that they are a footnote in history. Maybe it's because they stare at you, or avert their eyes, from the depths of time and the screen tests. Because, for a lot of us on here reading this, some of the people who this music was written for died before our parents were born. Some of the songs are genuinely tragic, and like the superstars themselves, the facade of glitter and beauty lies thin over emotion. The Factory and the people in it were some of the defining points of the sixties, and yet listening to this music, watching the screen tests, can at times fell like being let in on a secret about their lives.

I really love this album, and though I don't know it particularly well, it has a profound impact on me and I will be listening to some of the songs on this for a very long time.

[sandpebblesband]

An invigorating trip through Sand Pebbles album art extravaganza!

#9: Dean & Britta / Sand Pebbles* – Dean Wareham Australian Tour Sand Pebbles Split 7" 45 released by A Thousand Records, 2011

Dean & Britta – I'll Keep It With Mine (Sonic Boom Remix) / Sand Pebbles – Occupied Europe (Take Me Across The Water)

A rare split single that celebrated Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips appearing in Australia with their 13 Most Beautiful: Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests (with us supporting).

D&B’s side was a unique mix from Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3/Spectrum) of Bob Dylan’s ‘I’ll Keep it With Mine’.

Sand Pebbles side housed the single version of ‘Occupied Europe [Take Me Across the Water].

The artwork was put together by Dan Milne with Britta in hat and a blue version of the Dark Magic artwork.

[5-star-songs]

“Teenage Lightning (And Lonely Highways)” -- DEAN & BRITTA

This began life as an outtake from Luna’s 2002 LP, Romantica, but for whatever reason it didn’t achieve its full potential until Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips re-recorded it for 13 Most Beautiful, an album of songs they performed as part of a tour in which they played music while the audience watched a series of Andy Warhol screen tests.

If a project like that sounds unbearably precious, don’t worry. The song itself is simple and direct. ��Rest your head upon my pillow/put your hand inside my pants” is as succinct a depiction of the teenaged conflation of romance and desire as I’ve ever encountered, and the music manages an equally profound trick: it sounds full of wonder while simultaneously on the verge of falling apart.

[documentaryoncinema]

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol además de ser un icono del pop del siglo XX fue también cineasta, cineasta experimental pero cineasta como otros en el mismo género, y entre 1963 y 1968 produjo más de sesenta películas.

Andy Warhol en IMDb.  Filmografía.

‘Andy Warhol documentary’, VO.

'Blow job', Andy Warhol, 1963, VO.

Mediometraje de 35 minutos en el que muestra un plano de DeVeren Bookwalter supuestamente felado por el cineasta Williard Maas. 

En 'Empire', una película de ocho horas de duración, presentó el Empire State Building al amanecer. Warhol ignoraba las convenciones usuales sobre la duración de una película, por ej, en 'Eat', presentó un hombre comiéndose una seta durante 45 minutos.

★ Vídeo.

'Andy Warhol: A documentary film', Ric Burns, American Masters, 2006, VO.

'Cine y arte: Documental sobre la vida y obra de Andy Warhol', texto de EnFilme. En Wikipedia.

'Scenes from the life of Andy Warhol', Jonas Mekas, 1982, VO.

'Moe in bondage', Andy Warhol, 1966, VO.

'Sleep', Andy Warhol, 1963, VO.

Segmento. En su totalidad presenta a John Giorno durmiendo durante seis horas. En 1962 Warhol asistió al estreno de una composición estática de LaMonte Young titulada 'Trio for strings', a partir de la cual creó una serie de películas estáticas como 'Kiss', la citada 'Eat' o la misma 'Sleep', para la que contrató al propio Young como compositor.

En 1964 dirigió y produjo 'Batman Dracula' sin contar con la aprobación de DC Comics, propietaria legal del personaje y fue proyectada únicamente en exposiciones. Warhol se confesó un gran admirador de la serie y afirmó que pretendía realizar un homenaje personal al superhéroe. Se la considera la primera representación de Batman en la estética camp. La película estuvo perdida hasta 2006 con la proyección del documental 'Jack Smith and the destruction of Atlantis', Mary Jordan, 2006 (Wikipedia) en el que aparecían fragmentos de la pieza original.

En 1965 produjo 'Vinyl', adaptación de la célebre distopía de Burgess y 'A clockwork orange'. Otros rodajes eran improvisados y registran encuentros entre los habituales de la denominada Factory, como Viva, Edie Sedgwick, Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn, Ondine, Nico y Jackie Curtis. El legendario artista underground Jack Smith aparece en la película 'Camp'.

'Viny', Andy Warhol, 1965, VO.

Su producción cinematográfica de más éxito tanto de público como de crítica fue 'Chelsea girls' en 1966, una película innovadora que se exhibía con dos proyectores de 16mm funcionando simultáneamente. Cada película tenía su propia historia y ofrecían una lectura simultánea de acontecimientos aparentemente inconexos. Desde la cabina de proyección se regulaba el sonido para darle a una de las proyecciones cierta preponderancia sobre la otra. Esta multiplicación de imágenes evocaba los trabajos de serigrafía de Warhol de principios de esa década, en los que se superponían diversas capas de información. La influencia de esta división de pantalla con el valor multi narrativo que implicaba tuvo una gran resonancia posterior.

'Chelsea girls', Andy Warhol, 1966, VO.

Visión conjunta de ambos films. Voz en off rusa.

'Chelsea girls', Andy Warhol, 1966, segmento, VO.

Otras de sus películas importantes son 'Bike boy', 'My hustler' y 'Lonesome cowboys', un pseudo western de bajo presupuesto en el que Warhol se interpretaba a sí mismo, y han trascendido más como documentales de la subcultura gay de aquel momento.

Su última producción como director fue 'Blue movie' y la polémica desatada alrededor de la película causó que su primera proyección fuera en Nueva York en 2005, más de treinta años después.

Con posterioridad al atentado sufrido en 1968 Warhol se volvió más reticente a la producción de películas. Su colaborador y ayudante de dirección, Paul Morrissey, llevó las producciones del colectivo de la Factory a un terreno más convencional y narrativo, con producciones de serie B y películas de tono contestatario como 'Flesh', 'Trash', y 'Heat'. Todas estas películas, incluyendo las versiones de Drácula y Frankenstein, iban dirigidas a un público convencional adulto, más que a los sofisticados espectadores que habían apreciado sus films.

En estas últimas interpretó Joe Dallesandro, a quien algunos han querido catalogar como una estrella de Morrisey y no una auténtica estrella de Warhol, pj en 'Blood for Dracula', también conocida como 'Andy Warhol's Dracula' dirigida por Dallesandro y producida por Andy Warhol y Andrew Braunsberg.

'Sangre para Drácula', 1974, Paul Morrisset, VOSE. Con cameos de Roman Polanski y Vittorio de Sica.

'Poor little rich girl', Andy Warhol, 1965, VO.

'13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol screen tests', Andy Warhol footage, 2009, VO.

'Modern Masters. Andy Warhol. King of pop', BBC, 2011, VO.

'The Velvet underground & Nico: A symphony of sound', Andy Warhol, 1966, VO.

Warhol filmó a la banda ensayando y el resultado es la película 'The Velvet underground & Nico: A Symphony of sound'.

Esta filmación fue usualmente proyectada durante los primeros shows de la banda. Paul Morrisey ideó un espectáculo con shows de luces, bailarinas y proyecciones en el cual la banda tocara. El espectáculo se llamó 'Exploding Plastic Inevitable' y llevó a la banda a tocar en diferentes lugares a través de Estados Unidos.

[mujerdelhampa]

Dean & Britta - Not A Young Man Anymore [The Velvet Underground cover]

[sandpebblesband]

An exhilarating trip through Sand Pebbles album art extravaganza!

#6: A Thousand Wildflowers, released on Double Feature, 2009

Despite being an Australian band, our first album, Eastern Terrace, was only released in the US and Europe. Then the next three (Ghost Transmissions, Atlantis Regrets Nothing and Ceduna) were only out in Australia.

Luna’s Dean Wareham was keen to do a compilation of those three Aus albums for US/Europe and beyond on his label, Double Feature.

Art-wise it was put together by Dan Milne and the inspiration came from Andy Warhol's Flowers series. This fit perfectly with Dean & Britta who were just about to release 13 Most Beautiful: Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests.

Grew up buying/listening to compilations, it’s nice to have a good one in the catalogue.