"THE EYE VOLUME 1"

Brainwashed
Although I've been contributing to The Brain for only two years, I've been a fanatical reader and avid surfer of Brainwashed for nearly eight years, and just because I work for the site now doesn't mean my enthusiasm has faded. So, I was obviously excited last year when The Eye made its first appearance with an impressive 35-minute documentary on Emil Beaulieau. Initially, I wondered how anyone could possibly hope to keep up the daunting schedule of producing a documentary every week. Amazingly, confounding adversity, each week since has brought a brand new episode to readers. I have nothing to do with the conception, direction or production of The Eye, so I can say this without fear of impropriety: The Eye is without peer; there is nothing else on the web doing anything even remotely as interesting as this, and it's all for free. This DVD-R, released as a fundraising effort, collects five episodes of The Eye, including the aforementioned debut episode profiling "America's Greatest Living Noise Artist." Through an engaging montage of amazing live performances and numerous interviews with the ebullient Beaulieau, his friends and cohorts, the doc builds an intimate profile of the artist that illustrates clearly why Beaulieau is a legend in noise circles. "Antony: The Androgynous Zone" is a spellbindingly minimal short film that captures Antony (sans the Johnsons) performing a rare solo piano recital in Boston, as well as sitting for a revealing interview about his work, his influences and his creative methods. "The Dresden Dolls: Brechtian Rock n' Roll" is an in-depth feature on Boston's punk-cabaret duo on the eve of their recent success. Delectable siren Amanda and adorable gothboy Brian sit for an informative and humorous backstage interview about the origins of the band. The Dolls performances excerpted throughout are top-notch. The other two segments feature equally fascinating sketches of unsung post-rock groups Pele and Tigersaw. Sound and picture quality are first rate throughout the disc, far better than having to contend with that little Quicktime window and computer speakers. A brief trailer for The Eye DVD-R series is also included on the disc, with tantalizing glimpses of episodes featuring Out Hud, Coil, Wire and others. I can only hope that the future volumes may bring some of these artists to my home theater.