cory strand - cremaster two: a reinterpretation.

Cory Strand - Cremaster 2: A Reinterpretation

6:44:44

104.08MB + 115.81MB + 117.64MB + 109MB + 112.37MB + 118.08MB

1. Compression Prelude

2. Seance

3. The Man In Black

4. The Ballad Of Gary Gilmore

5. Desert Hymn

6. Interlude Saline I

7. Interlude Saline II

8. The Executioner's Step

9. The Drones' Exposition

10. Postlude Retreat

honestly, I never thought I'd be sharing a CD-based release with all of you.

really, I thought it was totally beyond the realm of possibility. I mean, what comes out on CD that isn't also available either digitally or in a true analog format?

not much...except for cory strand's masterful soundtrack reworkings that break down music from films that we all know and love, and transforms those melodies into something else entirely.

this six-disc reinterpretation of jonathan bepler's cremaster two score was limited to five copies and they're all gone.

with regard to matthew barney's cremaster series itself, I have very mixed feelings. barney is an incredibly gifted visual artist, sculptor, designer, and performance artist.

except that he's not a filmmaker. and it shows.

his sense of pacing is terrible, his editing is boring and his camera work is utilitarian.

but goddamn is he able to create some stunningly beautiful tableaus.

the set decoration, prop design, wardrobe - it's all remarkable and incredibly evocative of other worlds most people could never imagine. because of all this, his films, to me, make for better trailers than full-length viewing experiences.

strand's reinterpretation of the soundtrack from barney's second cremaster film, as a whole, definitely leans more toward the ambient side of the spectrum - not dissimilar from barney's film. but there are some epic wall noise tracks on here, too. at nearly seven hours in length, it's all a lot to take in. but much like barney's work, I think that's the point. and also like the films, I don't love everything here - some of it's a little too ambient for me, but it's all about the experience.

and there's more than enough great HNW to make this an experience well worth your time. if you're interested in learning more about the cremaster films, definitely check out this book - it's out of print and thus not cheap, but it's filled with incredible imagery and, in my mind, makes for a better experience than the actual films - I've had a copy for years now and I definitely revisit it more than the films themselves. "the order," a segment from cremaster three, is also available on DVD.

for more of strand's work, check out his webstore and blog - many items are sold out but there are still plenty of reinterpretations of both modern and classic films available for purchase. if they're even half as thought-provoking as this one, they're more than worth the price of admission.




(buy something from altar of waste.)


(disc one.)

(disc two.)

(disc three.)

(disc four.)

(disc five.)

(disc six.)