THE THRILL OF CREATION

7.5.11

4:50 pm

 

NOTHING beats the rush of creating something.

Something new, original, yours.

Having an idea and watching it grow into something you can share with and show others.

This weekend, I began shooting my video for They Might Be Giants' new single, Can't Keep Johnny Down.

Saturday was spent in LIC with Ray, Steve, Paul and Lauren, as well as Lauren's Scotsman, Brian, who provided the International flavor and credibility.

Everything went great, including one or two moments in which the camera picked up exactly what I saw in my mind, probably the most incredible feeling a filmmaker can have.

After the CKJD shoot, Lauren and Brian returned to my place to help lay down some guitar and mouth accordion on my song I wrote and recorded for Lisa's 30th Birthday.

It's called "Feal Not The Zombie" and I dare anyone to get her a better present.

Then the bar hopping in Brooklyn took place which was just as fun as it sounds.

God damn it I hate bars.

Yes, there was a Tardis in this bar, but still, it was a bar and fuck bars.

 

The next day was spent doing fuck all but beating Resident Evil 5 (nuts), eating Jersey tomatoes with Jersey mozzarella and Jersey corn as well as hot dogs and baked beans and finishing with some homemade peach pie, also from Jersey.

All this while watching Yes Man, which might have the laziest score work I've ever seen.

Basically, the guy that put the score together was a huge Eels fan and simply used ten or fifteen of their songs, just without the lyrics except for one exception.

It worked perfectly because Eels is a great band, but it was lazy as heck.

Which is fucked.

The movie itself was pretty solid once you got past the fact that it was a pretty bad movie.

Does that make sense?

In other words, once you embrace the fact that this is a by-the-numbers-Jim-Carrey vehicle, you can actually enjoy it.

Bottom line: Jim Carrey is still great and his comic timing remains excellent.

Rhys Darby from Flight of the Conchords did a great job being Rhys Darby from Flight of the Conchords.

And Zoë (I refuse to call her "Zooey" just because she wants to be different) Dachshund was as Hollywood Hipster as they could muster.

Lead singer in a quirky band (Munchausen By Proxy)?

Check.

Rides a scooter?

Check.

Teaching a jogging photography class?

Check.

Has no clear means of monetary support and is yet able to do anything her free-spirited heart desires?

Check.

Let's do this.

*flush*

 

Anyway.

Monday was the second, and hopefully the most strenuous, day of shooting.

I met Chris at Columbus Circle where we shot for a while, then Times Square, then Herald Square and then, finally, the top of the Empire State Building, which was actually pretty breathtaking except for every other person there.

In the course of these four or so hours of shooting, Chris and I must have seen a hundred thousand people.

No joke.

As a result, I have no interest in ever going to any of these places again...except for the fist annual DBO/NYC Fountain Tour 2011, taking place this weekend.

After the Empire State Building, Chris and I returned home, drank water, ate some chips and salsa and headed out for the second to last shot of the day at the LIC Piers, across the East River from Manhattan, then back to our apartment for the final shot: me on the roof, alternately playing, and not playing, a toy accordion.

After a delicious summer meal of black beans and fish tacos with all the trimmings, I began to import and then to edit.

And kept editing until 4:30 in the morning.

I must say, one way to determine whether or not you like a song is to listen to the same five second loop for forty five minutes before moving on to a different five second loop for another forty five minutes and so on.

If you have any inclination to hear that song again, you've got a good one.

I'm pleased to announce that I do not hate Can't Keep Johnny Down yet.

I have until the 15th to get this done and we'll see how things are then.

But, I still love It's Kickin' In, so I don't think it will really be a problem.

Very happy with the progress thus far.

About a third of the video has yet to be filmed, but nothing left is too difficult or too time consuming.

With any luck, Will will be able to get me a specific prop at the launch of the Last Space Shuttle Ever this weekend in Florida.

While it doesn't make or break the video, it would certainly add an air of authenticity to it and I'm allllll about the Authenticity.

The recording of The Grind Show has been put on hold until after the 15th as there is a deadline and the chance of winning a thousand dollars and a pizza* and Phil has only promised me butterfly kisses.

Not that there's anything wrong with Phil's butterfly kisses, they're delightful, but...pizza, you know?

If I finish the editing before the deadline, I will get back into it as I'm still stoked about TGS, even more so since our Mr. Tucker is in the process of writing the second book in the series as I type this.

Or at least as you read this.

Unless you are Phil reading this, in which case, get the fuck back to work.

 

Now, remember how I mentioned that amazing rush of creating things at the top of this mountain of blabber?

The worst thing ever is being somewhere where you are unable to work on the aforementioned project.

I.e.: here.

So, I'm just going to while away my time reading more of Simon Pegg's book and pray that it continues being funny so the seconds speed up a bit.

 

And finally, samples of each of the tracks on the new TMBG album, Join Us, have been put up on Amazon (:30 each) and iTunes (1:30 each!!!) and, after taking a tiny taste (all the Amazon, three of the iTunes), my fears have been allayed.

Way to go, guys, I knew you had it in you.

 

Okay.

Off like pants.