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😃
Extraordinary. Curtis was a BBC documentarian with a decided socialist streak who pieced together seven hour-long films about the disintegration of the Soviet Union (and subsequent rise to power of Vladimir Putin) in 2022 from random BBC archival footage, so that it could all be seen through the eyes of Russian people at every level of society.
Dystopian, creepy, banal, fascinating. A car crash in slow motion.
You can find it all on the YouTubes, with an incredibly varied soundtrack too.
And if you dig this, you can also track down his other earlier work, including “Hypernormalization,“ a similarly constructed documentary which argues that governments, financiers, and tech titans have, since the 1970s, given up on trying to model the complex "real world" and instead established a simplified "fake world" for the benefit of corporations. Anti-capitalist in excelsis deo. But well worth searching out. 👀
Dystopian, creepy, banal, fascinating. A car crash in slow motion.
You can find it all on the YouTubes, with an incredibly varied soundtrack too.
And if you dig this, you can also track down his other earlier work, including “Hypernormalization,“ a similarly constructed documentary which argues that governments, financiers, and tech titans have, since the 1970s, given up on trying to model the complex "real world" and instead established a simplified "fake world" for the benefit of corporations. Anti-capitalist in excelsis deo. But well worth searching out. 👀
Feb 12, 2024
Related Recs
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Newest series from [experimental BBC documentarian] Adam Curtis tackling the end of the 20th century in Britain is a gut punch, one of his bleakest and most resigned but still hilarious and fascinating as always. Seek out Hypernormalization (2019) if you’ve never seen any of his work. This ones on Youtube
Jun 24, 2025
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🎞On a big ol’ documentary kick and have been steadily working through Adam Curtis’s filmography.
More than being informative and engaging, they’re almost like multimedia collage pieces. I read on his Wikipedia that he cites Robert Rauschenberg as an influence and I definitely see and feel that. Beautiful stuff. Great soundtracks.
He goes in so many different historical, geopolitical, cultural directions and somehow it doesn’t feel insane or boring or overwhelming. It‘s almost relieving to have someone articulate so clearly the depth of the mess we have made.
Most of his work can be found for free on YouTube/Internet Archive. Proceed w caution, may contribute to feelings of anger and frustration.
More than being informative and engaging, they’re almost like multimedia collage pieces. I read on his Wikipedia that he cites Robert Rauschenberg as an influence and I definitely see and feel that. Beautiful stuff. Great soundtracks.
He goes in so many different historical, geopolitical, cultural directions and somehow it doesn’t feel insane or boring or overwhelming. It‘s almost relieving to have someone articulate so clearly the depth of the mess we have made.
Most of his work can be found for free on YouTube/Internet Archive. Proceed w caution, may contribute to feelings of anger and frustration.
Mar 16, 2025
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What if the truth is conspiratorial? These are always eye-opening and feel like a look behind the curtain. Wonderful needle drops here and there, too.
Jun 23, 2025
Top Recs from @coreydubrowa
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The man responsible for dozens of Teenage Symphonies to God
"Sad songs about happy things" (the first time, as a kid, I can recall the sweet/sour combo of melodies that could make you cry attached to songs about endless, bottomless love)
I've long since lost track of how many weddings and funerals I've attended that have featured this song; suffice it to say, "a lot."
God only knows what we'd been without him 🙏🏻
Jun 11, 2025
May 22, 2025
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Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s. Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha). For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s. Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha). For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️
Mar 27, 2024