The Guestlist w/ Roy Robertson

The latest edition of The Guestlist comes from a man who needs very little introduction around these parts, as we've been so taken with Roy Robertson's blend of folk, prog, and chutzpah as of late. Sure, it hasn't been all that long since we were asking ourselves 'just who is this Roy Robertson character?' but since his full electric band made its live debut at NX35 he's quickly become one of our favorite local musicians. And we're guessing that by the time his The Moth & Moon LP comes out this summer quite a few others will probably be sharing our opinion as well.


"Songs That Sound Like Films" by Roy Robertson


The worlds of film and music are fluid and cooperate with each other, sharing many similarities. They are both able to reach the deepest parts of our emotions, to inspire us with new ideas, to keep us yearning for the nostalgia of times past and to help us question our beliefs on truth, beauty and all the important things that no one really understands. And so, I have chosen five songs (films) which represent all the essential qualities of a great film, doing my best at the same time to critique them in the manner appropriate for film.


5. The Beatles - She's Leaving Home

A film worthy of a primetime spot on the Oxygen Network, She's Leaving Home is a melodrama about a young girl who yearns for another life, one with magic and excitement. Set in a 60's home with tacky floral wallpaper from the 40's and wooden floors, the main character wakes early and leaves without saying goodbye to her loving, but hopelessly clueless parents who ask each other repetitively what they could have done wrong. They had given her everything money could... But perhaps what she longed for was something that money could not buy? Perhaps...


4. The Mars Volta - Soothsayer

A film with language and imagery as accessible as one in another language, Soothsayer is a strange one to describe. Set in the East, a call to prayer opens the film with an evil, omniscient string quartet playing a sly intro leading into the film. The story begins by dazzling the senses as the viewer is engulfed in another world were flashes of glittering plates and pans; heavily perfumed smoke rising from unseen sources, allowing for a complete immersion into the atmosphere. As the film progresses, the darker it becomes. The film ends as it began, with a call to prayer below a squirming quartet, having neither posed nor answered any question.


3. Bob Dylan - Simple Twist of Fate

Taking place one night, one very special night. A night in which fate is palpable; where nothing and no one can escape what destiny has planned for those involved. As the two characters sit together at dusk in the park, they feel both the awkward pull and distance of two new lovers. Very little light is seen at this point, merely the street lamps under which they walk and the neon light burning at the strange hotel they check into. In the morning, the fate, which she had felt the night before, would apparently only remain within that night as she leaves, looking forward to a day just as special and fateful as any other. He awakes with an empty feeling, that which weighs on the chest, not so intense to crush, but not light enough to take a full breath as he realizes she has left. He hopes she will find him again and sees whatever she had the night before once more. However, that night and every night is in the hands of fate; those unknown laws that govern the world of this film.


2. Bjork - Vokuro

The foreign film of the group, Vokuro is a motion picture where subtitles aren't necessary. The story is played out perfectly in the faces of the actors, the cinematography, the inflection of the voices, and the ambiance of the world they create. It is at once completely vague and absolutely clear what the film is about, which allows the audience to make their own conclusions about what the film means and what the characters' motivations are. It sends chills down the spine and remains essential and unclear. Art at its best is to allow room for exploration, not being told what is true but finding it out through one's own process.


1. Bob Dylan - Isis

Dylan is a master of film (obviously, he has two spots on a top five list). Although his flirtation with real film ended in considerable failure (Renaldo and Clara, 1978) his genius of lush imagery, dialogue, action and mystery should not be down played in the slightest. Failed romance, lust, adventure, greed, nostalgia, ceremony, betrayal are all themes of this film as it opens with the protagonist speaking of his failed marriage with Isis. Wrought with despair, he reinvents himself, cuts off his hair and travels to some unknown land to try and forget the memory of the tragic events that forced him to leave. He stops to wash his clothes in an unknown area where he has a chance encounter with a strange character whose quest is to find treasure up north. Against the protagonist's better judgment, he follows the strange man into the desperately cold canyons in search for gold and turquoise. Flashbacks of Isis and their failed relationship run through his mind during the long trek to the pyramids embedded in ice. After the strange happenings that occur during their expedition, the protagonist returns from his travels to find Isis and their dialogue and his inner thoughts close the film. (The Bootleg #5 version of this film is worth viewing).


=w=