Punk Visuals, Restored

November 2, 2019 5:53 PM

Ears, Eyes and Throats: Restored Classic and Lost Punk Films 1976-1981 Includes short films by Richard Gaikowski, DEVO's "The Truth About De-Evolution", The Residents's "Third Reich 'N' Roll", "Hello Skinny", and "One Minute Movies", and more. Full details by restorer Peter Conheim. Part of byNWR's You Ain't No Punk, You Punk issue.
posted by SansPoint (12 comments total)

First link is to a video titled "Trying Everything on the Menu at a Famous NYC Taco Shop (Ft Rick Martinez) | Bon Appétit".
posted by mistersquid at 6:01 PM on November 2, 2019

Oh good I thought I was losing my mind and kept hitting bon appetit
posted by Ferreous at 6:08 PM on November 2, 2019

Oh, nuts. This is the right video.
posted by SansPoint at 6:15 PM on November 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

Between this and the Ministry post it must be “ejs’s favorite bands day” on MeFi. I wore out my VHS tape of “The Truth about Devolution” from watching it so much as a kid. Didn’t learn about the Residents until post-college, so fortunately my CD-ROMs of “Freak Show” and “Gingerbread Man” held up for a while.
posted by ejs at 6:18 PM on November 2, 2019

when I saw hello skinny on "night flight" I almost wet my pants. it still freaks me out.
posted by hilberseimer at 6:33 PM on November 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

I had the same reaction to “The Truth About De-Evolution” when I was a kid. Now I just think it’s...odd.
posted by holborne at 7:39 PM on November 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Great to see MX-80 Sound here - whenever anyone disparages Indiana as flyover hick country, I point to them, Dow Jones and the Industrials, The Dancing Cigarettes, Last Four (4) Digits and the rest of the tidal wave of total mutant music that emerged it in the 70s and 80s. MX-80 later decamped to SF, but that's still pure Hoosier hysteria.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:01 PM on November 2, 2019 [6 favorites]

(ejs I still have my CD-ROM of Freak Show (Voyager Interactive, yes?) and once I learned how to access the folder with the videos in them w/o the Flash app, I used to play them directly. (AVI files, if memory serves.) Even back in the 00s they were already sooo wee, like the size of postage stamps on my 1280 x 1024 monitor. I can't imagine how tiny they'd be now.)
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 8:13 PM on November 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

I would like to apologize on behalf of DEVO for the use of the slur “Chinaman” by General Boy. It was there as intentional provocation coming from the old white establishment character, to be seen in opposition to the more progressive views of the young men in the band. Would have been best to just leave it out regardless.

I also wore out my VHS copy. The medical college version of Jocko Homo is better than the album version.

Q:Are we not men?
A: We are DEVO!
posted by Meatbomb at 4:17 AM on November 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

(listening to that MX-80 link posted above: good stuff. They don't make rock'n'roll like that anymore, eh?)
posted by spoobnooble II: electric bugaboo at 4:41 AM on November 3, 2019

Is Peter Conheim (the curator of said films) the same gent who used to show said films at punk film festivals in the Bay Area ages ago (along with vids for the Fleshtones and the Cramps' "Human Fly)? Definitely what I'd call a public service!

More importantly, will these ever come out on some form of Physical Media? (I know the Devo and Residents vids have, but stuff like Deaf/Punk seems to still be floating out there in the internet ether. Unless of course someone knows something I don't....)
posted by gtrwolf at 7:40 AM on November 3, 2019

Hmm, I'd love to watch these on our TV (a Roku) but don't see how I can watch it other than on a laptop...
posted by stevil at 9:58 AM on November 8, 2019