imomus | 5 seconds of FUN

5 seconds of FUN

What do people do when you ask them to make a sound for five seconds... but don't let them use speech or music? Find out by watching a short Quicktime movie (8.9MB) I shot today at the Future University (FUN).

The Japanese word for sound is oto, and 'Otto Spooky' can also mean 'a spooky sound'. I'm happy to report that the 'Otto Spooky' lyrics page is now up, for those disorienteers who lost their compasses and want to see the map.

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Look up the word ottosei.

Isn't "Otto Spooky" more like "spooky husband"?

Marxy

'Spooky Husband', lovely, I guess that's what a 'Poison Boyfriend' becomes when he grows up...

Fun! Did the lady third in have a guest spot on Point, I wonder?

:) Ha, brilliant movie!

Dear Momus,

totally of the topic, pardon me, but have you ever thought about abandoning your artist name Momus and starting a career as Mr. Nick Currie, like John Lennon quit being a Beatle after the disbandment?

C

Well, I do some things as Nick Currie, in a sort of parallel career -- writing for AIGA Voice (http://journal.aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=_getfullarticle&aid=927990), for instance. But I've never thought Nick Currie was a particularly good name. It sounds light, sharp, spicy, a bit silly. 'Momus' has a darker sound, with a mysterious, rather comical menace and otherness to it.

Thanks for the lyrics! I was wondering what was being said at the end of "The Artist Overwhelmed". It's quite creepy, actually- what's it from?

Excellent work on the album in general- in addition to the music I especially love the design.

~K

I found the voice on an excellent site (http://www.nipperhead.com/cylinder.htm) dedicated to old Edison cylinder and phonograph recordings. It's listed as 'Edison Advertising Record'. I slowed it down and selected certain phrases to make it into 'the voice of death'. Suddenly I had the idea that death is the ultimate recording medium, because artists often think of posterity almost the same way they think of magnetic tape -- a way to retain their words and songs and play them to people far away. It is a creepy thought; we're all communicating with the dead when we listen to recordings, and when we make them we are ourselves dead, and speaking to the unborn.

I love this!

this is great. kind of like those inuit vocal games, but with unsuspecting players.

E*Rock! Hello!

I was showing yesterday your movie to a friend, and describing to him your proyect he remembered the movie "lisbon story" by wim wenders. It is about a sound operator (for films) that goes to lisbon to record the sounds (and in a sort of way to catch gohsts). I know it isn't the best wenders, but, I, as a fan of Pessoa did enjoy it a lot. And then I remebered that practically all I knew about Japan was because of wenders' "Tokio Ga" and "Notes about cities and clothes". Those are two of my favorite documentaries. Did you see them? In those films I can find a sort of reflection very close to what you do in your blog.

I've seen Tokyo-ga and Notebook on Clothes and Cities. I must say I thought Tokyo-Ga was rather weak, but I remember liking Notebook a lot more. I think my Noboribetsu film was channelling / parodying Chris Marker more than Wim Wenders, though, and especially 'Sans Soleil'.

I saw Sans Soleil for the first time last weekend (really enjoyed it), I think your parody was spot on. And I'm glad I saw SS first or it might have been incomprehensible. Much like your fans commenting that they don't "get" your new albums, but I've grown up (so to speak) with DAT politics, Musique concrete and fieldy-folk musics - so it all makes perfect sense.
I like all the murals etc.

Even though the people weren't supposed to use speech, the first guy says, "Quack, quack." That's what I hear, anyway... or am I crackers?

Would he not know that English speaking ducks would say such a thing?

I would have punished him severely for his transgression, but he's about two feet taller than me, so I let it pass.

Isn't that the problem with AI scientists, you just can't get them to leave symbolic mode. Ceci n'est pas un duck!

fun fun fun, perhaps upload it to medicinefilms.com? it has to be under 2 megs though. exceptions are made sometimes...

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5 seconds of FUN

Otto Sei

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Oh!

nice sounds

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wim wenders

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Chris Marker

coin-coin operated

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