BQE'nisqatsi?

The quest for a poet laureate of the BQE goes on. In the meantime, there's Sufjan Stevens' remarkable sight and sound piece performed at BAM in 2007. Comparisons to Phillip Glass's Koyaanisqatsi are inevitable and appropriate. At times the score sounds a lot like Glass (not a fave of mine), at others like Gershwin, especially when panning the BQE from the Manhattan side of the river--Woody Allen in reverse. The photography and editing are the real stars (not to mention the three Hoopsters). The 40-minute film presents a restless triptych of moving images from the BQE itself and surrounding neighborhoods. In the middle of the film there are some exhilarating speeded up sequences of getting onto, then navigating, the expressway. Mesmerizing and, for some, terrifying!

Here's the trailer. The film on DVD with separate CD of music only are available from Asthmatic Kitty Records (cover art above).