{"id":1143,"date":"2016-05-31T20:34:36","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T19:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shindig-magazine.com\/?p=1143"},"modified":"2016-05-31T20:34:36","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T19:34:36","slug":"never-lift-a-finger-adam-greens-modern-reinterpretation-of-no-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/?p=1143","title":{"rendered":"Never Lift A Finger \u2013 Adam Green&#8217;s modern reinterpretation of No Wave"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>THOMAS PATTERSON talks with ADAM GREEN about <em>Aladdin\u00a0<\/em>and its inspirations<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Perhaps more than any other city, New York is renowned for its experimental and underground filmmaking, from the riotous celluloid outpourings of Jack Smith to the avant-garde creations of Shirley Clarke, Jonas Mekas and Stan Brakhage. And more often than not, where far-out filmmakers go, wild and wonderful music can be found \u2013 think Andy Warhol and his Velvet Underground, or Harry Smith, famed for his <em>Anthologies Of American Folk Music<\/em>, who spent years working on his masterwork <em>Mahagonny <\/em>from his room at The Chelsea Hotel.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ADAM GREEN&#039;S ALADDIN - FULL TRAILER\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AGeo9oXwHKc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The apex of this underground film and music interchange came with the No Wave scene of the late \u201970s and early \u201980s, when likeminded filmmakers and musicians came together on the lower East Side to spew forth a glorious alternative movement which has rarely been equaled. Celebrated filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch and Susan Seidelman emerged from the slums of NYC into the wider cinematic world, whilst notorious and <em>outr\u00e9<\/em> shock merchants Nick Zedd, Richard Kern and Lydia Lunch \u2013 inspired by the works of Baltimore\u2019s John Waters \u2013 spearheaded the Cinema of Transgression, No Wave\u2019s snotty cousin. The soundtrack, meanwhile, was provided by the denizens of CBGBs and The Mudd Club, from Debbie Harry to James Chance and The Contortions to a fledgling Sonic Youth and beyond. Alas, rising rents and gentrification, coupled with mainstream success, sounded the death knell for the No Wave movement, and its anarchic spirit seemed forever lost.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Adam Green&#039;s Aladdin - Behind The Scenes Documentary\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ahrVPhE85BE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Thankfully Adam Green, acclaimed singer-songwriter and one time member of anti-folk act The Moldy Peaches, is here to pick up the reins with his wild and wonderful new film <em>Aladdin<\/em>. A <em>very<\/em> lose reimagining of the panto tale, <em>Aladdin<\/em> is a colourful labour of love, self-financed for $250,000 in a Brooklyn warehouse, set in a papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 world with papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 props, inspired by the filmmakers like Robert Downey Sr, and Alejandro Jodorowsky. As Green says, \u201cI guess <em>Holy Mountain<\/em> was one of my biggest influences. Jodorowsky, he\u2019s probably my biggest inspiration of all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Aladdin<\/em> also features a semi-all star cast that includes Natasha Lyonne, Penn Badgley, Devendra Banhart and Mr. <em>Home Alone<\/em> himself, Macaulay Culkin \u2013 according to Green, the man who acted as a satellite for other talent to jump in and help Green realise his unique vision.<!--more-->\u201cWhen Mac came on board is when I established my film community, mirroring the experience that No Wave filmmakers had. No Wave filmmakers were also from the East Village and I\u2019ve spent the last 20\u00a0years of my life living there,\u201d Green says.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an imaginative, surreal and defiantly singular piece of filmmaking, one guaranteed to divide viewers \u2013 although perhaps not as much Green\u2019s first cinematic effort <em>The Wrong Ferrari<\/em>, which was entirely shot on iPhones and featured actors reciting lines they were only given that morning; as Green says, \u201cIt was cool putting out a movie fast without any rules and then having an audience and not having to be part of any Hollywood thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Adam Green - &quot;Never Lift A Finger&quot; - (OFFICIAL VIDEO)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iEFKYccm9XM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Aladdin<\/em> then is a leap forward in filmmaking terms, but it\u2019s also an evolution in Green\u2019s music. Green wrote a soundtrack for the film that is not only a triumph of production, coming on like Jean-Claude Vannier meets Lou Reed, but features some of the deftest writing in Green\u2019s career. Like many of the best soundtracks, it works perfectly well as an album divorced from the movie too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe record company didn\u2019t want to call it a soundtrack because they didn\u2019t want it to be filed in the soundtrack section of a record store,\u201d Green laughs. \u201cEven I don\u2019t want that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, both the music and film of <em>Aladdin<\/em> are odd, crazy and rare works; perfect vantage points for delving into Green\u2019s fine back catalogue, and a New York movement that flourished 35 years ago but still inspires today.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NO WAVE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Five flicks to get you started<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-1145\" src=\"http:\/\/www.shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-1024x667.jpg\" alt=\"Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_(email)__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181\" width=\"750\" height=\"489\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-768x500.jpg 768w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-100x65.jpg 100w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-150x98.jpg 150w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-200x130.jpg 200w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-450x293.jpg 450w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-600x391.jpg 600w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Kern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-900x586.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>The Foreigner<\/em> (1978; dir. Amos Poe)<\/p>\n<p>Director Amos Poe had already established his bonafides with <em>The Blank Generation<\/em>, his 1976 documentary chronicling the NYC punk scene that featured performances from Talking Heads, Television, Patti Smith et al, when he set about making his first full-length narrative feature <em>The Foreigner<\/em>. Starring Debbie Harry and downtown fixture Patti Astor, the movie is a zero budget thriller that helped kickstart the No Wave movement.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Opening from The Foreigner (1978)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oCM5zJRgB2I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0Vortex<\/em> (1982; dir. Scott B and Beth B)<\/p>\n<p>Directors Scott B and Beth B were some of the most audacious filmmakers in the No Wave scene, thanks to terrifying Super-8 productions like <em>Black Box<\/em>. This, their most ambitious project to date thanks to a $70,000 grant, is a film noir pastiche starring Lydia Lunch and now-respected character James Russo, with music provided by various doyens of the downtown scene including Richard Edson, drummer for Sonic Youth and Konk and the guy who takes Matthew Broderick\u2019s car for a joyride in <em>Ferris Bueller\u2019s Day Off<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vortex Black Box Disco\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qVmaXFfszXo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Geek Maggot Bingo<\/em> (1983; dir. Nick Zedd)<\/p>\n<p>Nick Zedd penned the manifesto for the wild and bizarre Cinema Of Transgression, working alongside compatriots like Richard Kern, and creating grisly flicks such as <em>They Eat Scum<\/em> and getting arrested in Sweden for cinematic crimes in the process. This, his 1983 schlock masterpiece, stars Richard Hell as punk rock cowboy The Rawhide Kid, and features papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 props, thus presaging Adam Green\u2019s <em>Aladdin<\/em> by over 30 years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1144 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bscap0002ur.jpg\" alt=\"bscap0002ur\" width=\"512\" height=\"368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bscap0002ur.jpg 512w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bscap0002ur-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bscap0002ur-100x72.jpg 100w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bscap0002ur-150x108.jpg 150w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bscap0002ur-200x144.jpg 200w, https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/bscap0002ur-450x323.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Downtown 81 (<\/em>2000; dir. Edo Bertoglio)<\/p>\n<p>Although not released until 2000, <em>Downtown 81<\/em> is probably the truest snapshot of the No Wave scene, produced and written by former Warhol acolyte Glenn O\u2019Brien, starring artist Jean-Michel Basquiat with appearances from such disparate characters as Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, former-Yardbirds manager Giorgio Gomelsky, DNA, Tav Falco, Feb Five Freddy and, um, Kid Creole &amp;\u00a0The Coconuts.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Downtown 81 - Trailer\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X6GoKk-iMOs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>Blank City<\/em> (2010; dir. C\u00e9line Danhier)<\/p>\n<p>An oral history of the No Wave scene as told by the people who were, including Jim Jarmusch, John Lurie, Steve Buscemi and Thurston Moore, <em>Blank City<\/em> is an excellent documentary chock full of footage of a now long-lost NYC, when artists lived in slums in the East Village and could make movies with film stolen from the drugstore. The movie premiered the same week as Green\u2019s <em>The Wrong Ferrari<\/em>, thus psychically linking Green with the No Wave moment.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Blank City Official Trailer\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CS_YCPCKe0w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<span class=\"synved-social-container synved-social-container-share\"><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F1143&#038;t=Never%20Lift%20A%20Finger%20%E2%80%93%20Adam%20Green%E2%80%99s%20modern%20reinterpretation%20of%20No%20Wave&#038;s=100&#038;p&#091;url&#093;=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F1143&#038;p&#091;images&#093;&#091;0&#093;=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shindig-magazine.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2FKern__Drug_Bust_on_13th_Street_email__1981__silver_halide_print__8_x_10_in._20.32_x_25.4_cm_CNON_57.181-1024x667.jpg&#038;p&#091;title&#093;=Never%20Lift%20A%20Finger%20%E2%80%93%20Adam%20Green%E2%80%99s%20modern%20reinterpretation%20of%20No%20Wave\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F1143&#038;text=New%20post%20on%20our%20site\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Share on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-share synved-social-size-24 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-mail nolightbox\" data-provider=\"mail\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Share by email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Never%20Lift%20A%20Finger%20%E2%80%93%20Adam%20Green%E2%80%99s%20modern%20reinterpretation%20of%20No%20Wave&#038;body=New%20post%20on%20our%20site:%20https%3A%2F%2Fshindig-magazine.com%2Findex.php%3Frest_route%3D%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F1143\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:24px;height:24px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"mail\" title=\"Share by email\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-share\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" style=\"display: inline;width:24px;height:24px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/48x48\/mail.png\" \/><\/a><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THOMAS PATTERSON talks with ADAM GREEN about Aladdin\u00a0and its inspirations Perhaps more than any other city, New York is renowned for its experimental and underground filmmaking, from the riotous celluloid outpourings of Jack Smith to the avant-garde creations of Shirley Clarke, Jonas Mekas and Stan Brakhage. And more often than not, where far-out filmmakers go, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,7],"tags":[279,280,281],"class_list":["post-1143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-music-videos","tag-adam-green","tag-aladdin","tag-no-wave"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1143"}],"version-history":[{"count":-4,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1143\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shindig-magazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}