Silver Jews – “We Are Real”

Rachel Hays1 min readFebruary 21, 2011Add comment
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This last month was the two year anniversary of the end of the Silver Jews, one of my favorite bands of all time. I decided that the weekly comic is going to be exclusively illustrated lyrics for the foreseeable future, starting with songs from the very last Silver Jews show. David Berman picked his fifteen favorite songs from their catalog. This was the first, “We Are Real” off of their 2001 album Bright Flight. All words by David Berman (this is the first half of the song).

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Tim
Tim
10 years ago

We Are Real is from American Water in 1998, not Bright Flight.

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Early on in @WhatWeLeftUnfinished, a new documentary from filmmaker and visual artist Mariam Ghani mostlywindows -- a man in jeans and aviators strides towards a burning tank in the desert and throws a ruthless punch at the man who set off the explosion. It’s the sort of scene one might expect from a Tom Cruise movie — but in fact, this sequence is from Agent, a 1991 Afghan propaganda film. What We Left Unfinished resurrects five unfinished films, Agent included, to tell the gripping tale of Afghanistan’s turbulent political history from 1979-98. Amidst the tumult of that period’s successive coups, revolutions, and invasions, a cadre of filmmakers and actors forged strong relationships and lasting bodies of work. Ghani’s film thrums with genuine affection for these artists, who characterize their films as documentaries, love stories, or tales of redemption, but never mere agitprop. Yet despite an obvious love for its subjects, What We Left Unfinished is ripe with contradiction and paradox, often blurring the lines between fiction, fact, and memory.⠀ ⠀ Ghani expresses the hope that her subjects’ harrowing stories would inspire both empathy and self-reflection. “What I wanted to make was something that’s not just for people interested in Afghanistan but for everyone who’s interested in these questions at the heart of filmmaking and at the heart of art-making,” she explains. “Questions like, ‘What would you do if you found yourself in this situation that these filmmakers found themselves in? What kind of bargains would you make, what kind of compromises would you make, what risks would you take?’ I think those are the questions really at the heart of the film.”⠀ ⠀ ///⠀ ⠀ READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH MARIAM GHANI - What We Left Unfinished Traces the Turbulent History of Afghanistan Through Media" by Alison Smith: https://bit.ly/redefineafghani⠀ ⠀ This film will be screening soon through @nwfilmforum ~⠀ ⠀ #NWFilm #PacificNWFilms #AfghanFilm #AfghanFilms #FilmReview #FilmReviews #AfghanHistory #AfghanPolitics #MariamGhani #WhatWeLeftUnfinished #Afghanistan #Afghan
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FUGETSU-DO by Kaia Rose, United States, 2021, Documentary ~ Seamlessly blending the multigenerational tale of a family-run confectionary store with the cruel history of Japanese internment within the United States, Fugetsu-Do celebrates the art of making mochi, with equal parts respect for the past and hope for the future. Read all short film recommendations from ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: https://bit.ly/redefine2021aaiff ⠀⠀ ///⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This short film is one of our TOP PICKS from the 44th Annual Asian American International Film Festival hosted by @AsianCinevision in NYC ~ See them all: https://bit.ly/redefine2021aaiff⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ Proudly known as “The First Home to Asian American Cinema, the New York-based Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) entered its 44th year in 2021. Running from August 11 to 22, the festival was presented with a hybrid in-person and virtual model, which allowed for the many colors of Asian American and Pacific Islander voices to be elevated and seen across the country. Below is a quicklist of the best shorts of the festival, spanning a variety of identities, themes, and artistic styles.⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #NWFF #NWFilmForum #NWFilms #NWFilmmakers #NWFilmmaker #NWFilm #PacificNWFilms #FilmEducation #FilmWorkshop #PacificNWFilmmaker #PacificNWFilmmakers #APIFilm #AAPIFilm #AAPIFilms #APIFilms #AAIFF #AsianAmericanFilm #AsianAmericanFilms #TransFilm #TransFilms #LGBTQFilm #LGBTQFilms #QueerCinema #QueerFilm #QueerFilm#LittleTokyo #LittleTokyoLA @_kaia.rose_ @fugetsudo @golittletokyo
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