Norway is like New Zealand, but cold
Mar. 20th, 2009 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threeplusfireMy throat aches a little, as if I'm about to get sick. It's probably from close contact with all those filthy strangers at the theater last night. I'd forgotten that some segments of the metal crowd don't like to bathe over much. There was a girl next to me in line wearing ill fitting cut off shorts that threatened to reveal her ass at every step, and sandals that essentially appeared to be boots with the sides cut off. Shrilly she noted to her companion that her feet were bleeding form all the walking, so she must be someone attending SXSW.
(I so wish we could have gone to see the Decemberists at Stubb's but the pictures of the crowd made me glad we didn't.)
Anyhow, we sad a midnight showing of Until the Light Takes Us, which was a beautifully done documentary about the early black metal scene in Norway. (Website is here) The filmmakers were on hand to answer some questions and talk a bit after the show about the time they spent getting to know their subjects and shooting hundreds of hours of footage. The film itself is 93 minutes, but the rough cut was about four hours. I'm hoping they get a deal soon, because I'd like to get my hands on a DVD with some of this extra footage.
This documentary approaches the evolution and inception of the black metal scene and the events of the early 90's in a way that's fascinating. Before they introduce the church burnings, there's an intense set up with several people talking about protesting the encroachment of Christianity into their native heritage, the destruction of very old pagan holy sites, resisting globalization and Americanization. Their point of view on these rogalian efforts is set up long before the film shows what happened in the media, and the rest of the world came to see these events as some Satanic conspiracy. The filmmakers avoided sensationalizing their subjects, even at their most violent moments. (I am very curious to see if the extended interview footage addresses the stories about what happened after Dead's suicide.)
What struck me after leaving the theater was the abundance of similarities between the black metal movement and the grunge movement. Both occurred at roughly the same time, both eschewed "good production values" and had strong anti-mainstream culture stances. It makes me wonder if Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell and Kurt Cobain would have gotten along or it would have been akin trying to force two like magnets together.
It also reminded me that there was this wave of "Satanic" hysteria in the 80s and early 90s here as well, especially centered around child care. I remember as a kid how the falling apart shacks in the woods along DK Ranch Road, most likely used by hippies and teenagers to smoke dope and fuck, were known as the haunt of Satanists to my elementary school compatriots, and various acts of vandalism were attributed to "Satanists." It seems so bizarre in retrospect. I never went near those shacks, just in case. I was fine breaking into empty homes and roaming far from home but the very weirdness of those allegations and rumors kept me from that place.
Anyhow, the documentary is excellent and I highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance.
I never would have begun my rug cleaning project if I stopped to think about how a heavy rug was going to become ten times heavier when wet. Ugh. I worked on it for almost an hour and only managed to partially clean it. But I had to stop because I was feeling light headed and queasy from low blood sugar and strenuous scrubbing, scraping and washing. Eventually I'll have to finish the damn thing. Seeing how grimy the water became made it clear the rug needed a serious cleaning anyhow.
(I so wish we could have gone to see the Decemberists at Stubb's but the pictures of the crowd made me glad we didn't.)
Anyhow, we sad a midnight showing of Until the Light Takes Us, which was a beautifully done documentary about the early black metal scene in Norway. (Website is here) The filmmakers were on hand to answer some questions and talk a bit after the show about the time they spent getting to know their subjects and shooting hundreds of hours of footage. The film itself is 93 minutes, but the rough cut was about four hours. I'm hoping they get a deal soon, because I'd like to get my hands on a DVD with some of this extra footage.
This documentary approaches the evolution and inception of the black metal scene and the events of the early 90's in a way that's fascinating. Before they introduce the church burnings, there's an intense set up with several people talking about protesting the encroachment of Christianity into their native heritage, the destruction of very old pagan holy sites, resisting globalization and Americanization. Their point of view on these rogalian efforts is set up long before the film shows what happened in the media, and the rest of the world came to see these events as some Satanic conspiracy. The filmmakers avoided sensationalizing their subjects, even at their most violent moments. (I am very curious to see if the extended interview footage addresses the stories about what happened after Dead's suicide.)
What struck me after leaving the theater was the abundance of similarities between the black metal movement and the grunge movement. Both occurred at roughly the same time, both eschewed "good production values" and had strong anti-mainstream culture stances. It makes me wonder if Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell and Kurt Cobain would have gotten along or it would have been akin trying to force two like magnets together.
It also reminded me that there was this wave of "Satanic" hysteria in the 80s and early 90s here as well, especially centered around child care. I remember as a kid how the falling apart shacks in the woods along DK Ranch Road, most likely used by hippies and teenagers to smoke dope and fuck, were known as the haunt of Satanists to my elementary school compatriots, and various acts of vandalism were attributed to "Satanists." It seems so bizarre in retrospect. I never went near those shacks, just in case. I was fine breaking into empty homes and roaming far from home but the very weirdness of those allegations and rumors kept me from that place.
Anyhow, the documentary is excellent and I highly recommend seeing it if you get the chance.
I never would have begun my rug cleaning project if I stopped to think about how a heavy rug was going to become ten times heavier when wet. Ugh. I worked on it for almost an hour and only managed to partially clean it. But I had to stop because I was feeling light headed and queasy from low blood sugar and strenuous scrubbing, scraping and washing. Eventually I'll have to finish the damn thing. Seeing how grimy the water became made it clear the rug needed a serious cleaning anyhow.