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Elegy From The Hearts (MIX DVD)
November 21, 2005

Elegy from the hearts (MIX DVD) by Jef Mertens is now available exclusively here.

Here are Jef's liner notes:

First cut.
I guess you could describe my new film as a mixed bag, as Jani puts it; It came to full realisation when Aaron Mullan provided me a mixed CD with the Sonic Youth songs.
I had already presented my ideas for the film to the band ... and they approved.

As opposed to my previous cut �Lovefields from a sonic dream�, which consisted mainly of live footage, I wanted to do something else.
Two ideas were already lingering: one � the first song had to be Teenage Riot and the clip had to be inspired by the original video from �88., so you get the footage of Haino and The Ex. Two � I was gonna involve some friends: some of them played a role and others I took along to shoot additional footage at some gigs.

After I finished Teenage Riot I was excited and yet at the same time I felt I had to move in some other directions as well. So i was gonna do a MIX DVD and include some other acts like Lightning Bolt and Chris Corsano and looked at my film as a mixtape.

Locations.
For Peace Attack i wanted to use protest as a symbol but not be dead serious; So my friend and I drank down some beers and laid down an unforgettable afternoon. The footage came out wonderful so we repeated the whole shebang at seashore the next weekend. One of my favourite clips.

Unmade Bed was inspired by Vincent Gallo. I read somewhere that he was gonna do the official video for this song and after seeing Brown Bunny I wanted to portray myself. My girlfriend did these shootings and she did a hell of a job. So yes, the guy with the hat is me, ukk.
Live footage from Amsterdam and Glasgow.

Last song: i was gonna end it with Brother James but chose Expressway instead. I had no footage of this song so I ended up weeding through my archives and slowed down the images for a more expressive feel. It�s a weird closer but it�s there.

The title? Think �Elegy� from the Poisoned Hearts.

Moshe

Sonic Youth, initially comprising of guitarist / vocalists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, guitarist / bassist / vocalist Kim Gordon and drummer Richard Edson, were formed in New York City in 1981. A product of the No-Wave music scene of the late 1970s, the group had their roots in abrasive, experimental music, with Moore and Ranaldo having previously worked with the experimental composer Glenn Branca. The band were joined in 1985 by drummer Steve Shelley, and have now recorded 14 albums together, as well as many side and solo projects. Their work has been consistently challenging and innovative, and they are widely regarded as one of the most intriguing and influential bands of their time.