Kickstarter

Synopsis: One day a young boy awakes to discover the world he knows is no longer. Now, on a journey to rediscover his past life he searches the city for clues to his existence.

The Back Story: 

Director Kelly Jeffrey, cinematographer for the 2011 film “No Is For Nihilism,” a documentary about the influential Canadian noise band Nihilist Spasm Band, was interviewing Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth about NIFN’s influence on their music.  While in New York, Kelly was also taking still photos. Lee was so impressed with the photos he ended up using one as the cover art for his debut rock album Between The Times and The Tides. He also credited it for being a motivation in completing the album.

“When I saw the photo it just said ‘album cover’ to me and I knew I had to create a set of songs to go with it. I already had a couple started and you might say the photo helped motivate me to complete the album, which is “Between the Times and the Tides” and comes out March 20.” 

Subsequently, Lee asked Kelly to choose a song off the album and create a music video for it.  Stranded was one of Kelly’s favorite songs off the album and so here we are. 

Stranded: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVUo0o262B4

The Story: Set to Lee Ranaldo’s “Stranded”, we see a young man lost and drifting through the city. Living in a self-created shanty atop a derelict New York City factory, he undertakes the quest of finding himself in a lost world.

The impetus behind this video is bringing to life a story that Kelly has been dreaming up for a few years. By capturing the essence of the wandering soul, this video evokes tension between the presences of being in matrimony with the evocative qualities of the song Stranded.

The aesthetic of the film will come to life through a mix of documentary and traditional narrative film styles. In working with predominantly all natural and available light, the intent is to use cinematography that is both simple and submissive to the story.  This and the post-industrial landscapes of New York City will become the backdrop that highlight the compelling visual narrative of the film.

The Event: The release of the film for Stranded will revolve around two events: one in New York City and the other in Toronto, Canada. By bringing together an interdisciplinary group of artists, designers and musicians the intention is to produce an “experience” that will accommodate the screening of the film.  Much like Lee Ranaldo’s latest performances, the premise is to engage and immerse the audience, beyond the conventional realm of observer, through their presence at the event.

We will be working with local and international artists to develop this event.  We are excited about the idea of creating a new kind of release, a new kind of relationship that connects the film, music and art world into one continual event.  We believe in the collaborative process as a way to compliment an extremely dynamic arts world that has always been subject to constant change and evolution.  It is our hope to create a music video that becomes a catalyst for an event that brings awareness and energy to the band, the video, the local arts community and the possibilities of cross platform promotion and collaboration.  

The Funds:  

Accommodations & Per Diem:  $  3,500

Travel/Van/Gas/Insurance:       $  2,000

Equipment:                              $  2,500

Art Department/wardrobe:          $     500

Post Production                        $  1,500

Total Budget                            $10,000

The Band:  “Lee Ranaldo recently released Between the Times and the Tides, a 10-song set that grew from a batch of acoustic ideas into a full-band production featuring Wilco's Nels Cline, Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley, jazz-and-jam organist John Medeski, guitarist Alan Licht, and former bandmate Jim O'Rourke.” Pitchfork

Lee Ranaldo on Between the Times and the Tides:  “Over the summer I pulled out a bunch of my acoustic guitars and was just fooling around and a whole bunch of songs just started generating, just kind of out of nowhere. Sometime in the late fall I started doing acoustic demos at the Sonic Youth studio and maybe around January, Steve Shelley and the bass player, Irwin Menkin, came in and started playing with me on some demos with a rhythm section, and it just kind of built from there, really. The three of us tracked most of the basics for the record, and then had all the different players that are on it come in after that and we mixed it in July.”  Rolling Stone.

Reviews:  

“The band treats Stranded with surprising subtlety and grace, and Ranaldo's voice conveys the perfect amount of vulnerability for such a lovesick tune.”  Pitchfork.

“Thing is, Stranded, a gorgeous, miss-you ballad, would've never made it to on a SY album, and if it did, it wouldn't swell and ripple with intergalactic pedal steel. Ranaldo longs for "your arms and your hips," but it would be hard to make the case that he's throwing any kind of wrench in the works. What he offers, instead, is impeccably structured psychedelic jamming unheard since, say, Dean Wareham's band Luna…”  Spin.