Results tagged “toddhaynes”

Inherent Vice: Bootleg Histories of Videotape and Copyright is a new book examining the history of analog videotape, specifically VHS. Essentially introduced to consumers as a "blank format," its aesthetic properties and technological flexibility immediately placed it at the center of a legal maelstrom. At first movie studios and other copyright holders resisted VHS, but after U.S. courts reinterpreted copyright law to protect fair use by consumers they changed their tune and found ways to exploit the technology. This of course led to the VHS explosion of the 80's and 90's (by 1998 about 96.3% of all American households owned at least one VCR). Although VHS is now an "outdated" format (perhaps soon to be joined by DVD), it radically changed not only how audiences watched things but what they watched. For the first time viewers were able to easily manipulate content, via time shifting, and even create their own. In other words, at the risk of stating the obvious, VHS paved the way for TiVo and YouTube.

Interview: The Movie Queens

The Reeling Film Festival is in its last days, but there's still time to catch what's sure to be one of the most fascinating movies in the program. Quearborn & Perversion, a new documentary by Columbia College alum Ron Pajak, tells stories of lesbian/gay Chicago life spanning the years 1924-1974. It's surely a beautiful irony of history: what is today the epicenter of the Viagra Triangle was, in the 50's, the epicenter of gay life;...

New York's finest (that's Sonic Youth, not the NYPD) make a stop in town tonight at the Vic. As anyone who went to their performance at the Goose Island Fest last summer knows, these guys (plus Kim Gordon, one of rock's sexiest goddesses) have still got it. Ever since adding Chicagoan/ Wilco producer/ musician extraordinaire Jim O’Rourke as the fifth man to their line-up, the group has seen remarkable restraint with noise and a welcome rediscovery of melody. Their latest release, Sonic Nurse, is one of the best records of the year and one of the strongest in the group's storied career. Also check out their recently released collection of videos, Corporate Ghost, including work by Spike Jonze, Todd Haynes, and a pair of videos in Pixelvision. Fuck yeah.