Strange Parallel

A swan song for the factory age. Every autumn, a South America-bound colony of Vaux’s Swifts numbering in the tens of thousands enjoy a layover in a Portland, Oregon elementary school chimney. Sunset brings a vortex of swirling shapes, whose each tiny piece combines to form a hypnotic, ever-changing pattern; an equinoctial rhythm beats in every swoop of the organic overhead spiral. The defunct industrial chimney is our own demise, and yet the relentless, fluid choreography of the tiny migrants signals a new start, the turning wheel.

Heaven Adores You is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith. By threading the music of Elliott Smith through the dense, yet often isolating landscapes of the three major cities he lived in -- Portland, New York City, Los Angeles -- Heaven Adores You presents a visual journey and an earnest review of the singer's prolific songwriting and the impact it continues to have on fans, friends, and fellow musicians.

Documentary about the indie rock band Modest Mouse made around 1997, as they were recording their second album, The Lonseome Crowded West

One record producer, the creators of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and top indie rock artists come together to create a tribute album benefiting the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk School- the first accredited high school in the country for LGBTQ youth. "Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig" weaves the compelling, courageous stories of four students at this controversial school with a unique chronicle of the yearlong creation of "Wig in a Box," the album whose songs poignantly echo these teens' struggles and aspirations. Through a dramatic and vibrant combination of verite documentation, student video diaries and rare in-studio scenes of artists recording tracks, "Follow My Voice" offers a powerful and poignant look at this unlikely intersection of youth, gender and rock. Includes studio sessions from Yoko Ono, Rufus Wainwright, The Bens, The Breeders, Yo La Tengo, John Cameron Mitchell, They Might Be Giants and more.

This documentary follows six paperboys from Stillwater, Minnesota, showcasing interviews and scenes of them biking through their daily delivery routes. It highlights the shift in American culture, where adults are now taking on a job once dominated by young teens.

Billy Ruane, storied impresario of the 90s Boston indie music scene. Billy promoted shows and inspired cult-like followings of bands by the likes of The Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr., Pixies, Superchunk, Buffalo Tom, Elliott Smith, Pavement, and Sonic Youth. His gracious treatment of artists set new standards in music. But underneath Billy’s exuberant cartoon-like demeanor and Harvard education, was the pain of a man with deep trauma, who struggled with bipolar disorder and substance abuse, and was confounded by the weight of an endless supply of money.

In this documentary from director Justin Mitchell, the world of the U.S. indie-music scene of the 1980s and '90s is explored, specifically with regard to how it transcended clichés about where music was heading in that era. Taking its title from renowned independent cinema pioneer John Cassavetes, the black-and-white film takes a peek at several fringe bands of the period, including Sleater-Kinney, the Make-up, and the Hi-Fives, and their various attitudes toward the ever-changing business.

Making their first-ever ACL performance, Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker and Janet Weiss provided a setlist that spanned much of their discography. The group’s 2015 comeback LP No Cities to Love was represented by “Price Tag,” “A New Wave” and “No Cities to Love,” while the setlist also featured “Dig Me Out” and “Words and Guitar” off 1997’s Dig Me Out and The Woods‘ “Entertain” and “Modern Girl.”

BURN TO SHINE MANIFESTO 1) Gather local bands on one day to play live in a house or building that is going to be destroyed. 2) Each band plays one song and performs their song twice. 3) No overdubs. 4) Film the building's destruction. 5) Edit and display in chronological order. 6) That is all.

This is the third in a film series produced by Fugazi's Brendan Canty and directed by filmmaker Christoph Green. It features live performances by The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, Mirah, The Thermals, Quasi, The Gossip, Wet Confetti, The Planet The, Lifesavas, The Ready, and Tom Heinl. The crew travels from town to town filming bands performing in houses that're about to be demolished or burned to the ground. In one day they document the house, the bands, and the demolition, then put it together in a 50-minute movie and move on to the next town. Extras include an extended slide show of stills of the day's bands as well as stills of the destruction and film production.

The Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, with its 499-foot tall cooling tower that loomed over its otherwise bucolic Columbia river setting, is the only commercial nuclear power plant ever built in the state of Oregon, at the cost of $450 million in the 1970's economy (almost 3 trillion dollars in today’s money). [...] "Portrait #2: Trojan" is a sublime representation of the surrounding environment leading dramatically up to the moment of demolition. Sam Coomes’ flawless score provides stunning sonic context for the happy ending of the Oregon nuclear skyline. The film is an effective prescription in prevention of politically-triggered anxiety and depression in post-modern Cascadia.

LIVE 7/28/2000 Fuji Rock @ Naeba Ski Resort, Niigata, Japan

Filmed on the 2nd of September, 2000, Live at Bumbershoot Festival is one of Elliott Smith's most notable live performances to date.

Will Hunting is a headstrong, working-class genius who is failing the lessons of life. After one too many run-ins with the law, Will's last chance is a psychology professor, who might be the only man who can reach him.

In Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher meets a mysterious lost stranger who takes him on a life-changing journey of love and redemption.

In 1977, former real estate developer Tony Kiritsis puts a dead man's switch on himself and the mortgage banker who did him wrong, demanding $5 million and a personal apology.

In the 1820s, a taciturn loner and skilled cook travels west to Oregon Territory, where he meets a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two team up on a dangerous scheme to steal milk from the wealthy landowner’s prized Jersey cow—the first, and only, in the territory.

When Jay and Silent Bob learn that their comic-book alter egos, Bluntman and Chronic, have been sold to Hollywood as part of a big-screen movie that leaves them out of any royalties, the pair travel to Tinseltown to sabotage the production.

Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.

Suzanne Stone wants to be a world-famous news anchor and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.

A group of bored, disaffected New York City teenagers spend a day skating, smoking, drinking, partying, deflowering virgins, and getting into fights.

In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.

Justin Cobb, a teenager in suburban Oregon, copes with his thumb-sucking problem, romance, and his diagnosis with ADHD and subsequent experience using Ritalin.

Chance, a hapless Los Angeles musician is searching for the coveted Moletron synthesizer through the classified ad paper the "Southlander", and meeting interesting characters along the way.

Live for NPR Music Front Row. 23rd February 2015, on the first night of a two-night gig at the 9:30 Club, Sleater-Kinney went all-in with its set list. Tracks from the band's monster of a new album, No Cities To Love, felt natural alongside songs like "Oh!" and "Words And Guitar," obliterating the band's timeline by demonstrating a catalog that's always present, always on fire

Things are fucked up. Even before Covid! Get your panties untangled with some geologic time. "Realism, compassion, hostility, Mother Nature, rage, spirituality in your very unique hard working tough no apologies way making art Herstory Energystory. Really gnarly" -Chris Johanson