13 Most Beautiful: Songs For Andy Warhol's Screen Tests

great album

Truly is 13 most beautiful songs. If you were a fan of Luna you will like this however it is much more "arty" and a bit more slow core. My collection would be incomplete without this album. I understand there are two versions, one is a single disk and the other is the double, I have the double and it is well worth the effort to make sure that is the one you buy. Dean's songs are strong but every time I listen to Britta I fall in love. There is something so sexy about her voice and songs, and it doesn't hurt knowing how cute she is. I would begin to name some of my favorite songs however in the end I would probably end up just writing down the play list. Just buy the CD and enjoy.

Some of the best music and beautifully crafted tunes. Dean Wareham is genius and always has been a favorite since Luna.

The Andy Warhol Museum commissioned music's legendary indy pop sensations Dean & Britta, who's attitude, music and sensibilities are taken straight from the 1960s, with visionary eyes that Mr. Warhol himself would have taken a liking to, to score thirteen of his now infamous screen tests. From 1964 through 1966, in approximately 450 films, Warhol had the famous, near famous, and folks just off the street [never to be known], sit in front of a operator-less camera for three to four minutes. The idea was so radically conceptual and psychologically demanding that it was impossible for the true self of the person not to come out after a mere sixty seconds, and from there, it was just a matter of watching the persona, which folks tried to hold onto, crumble like so much dust, until at times there's nothing but an uncomfortableness left ... this is all due to the fact that people suddenly come to terms with who they actually are in this context. Finding they're just like anyone else, struggling to keep up the illusion, with no quarter given, and non taken.

Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips sat down and selected the thirteen films to be presented, having viewed nearly all, and succeed in this daunting task, creating a magical, effortless score that runs in time to each sitting, songs that not only support the visual, but enhance it like one hallucination morphing into another, impossible to separate, with each existing within the construct of the other. Most of those selected where the individuals who would have been found at the Factory on a daily basis, with the exception being Dennis Hooper, who was one of the first people to purchase a now iconic Warhol soup-can silkscreen at the L.A. exhibition.Read more ›

I must admit I had some prejudices towards this release. After purchasing the 13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol Screen Tests DVD (and seeing the live show) I didn't like the idea of a release independent of the visuals.

For those not in the know it was a project curated by the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh: come up with music to accompany 13 of Warhol's legendary screen tests. The results are pretty remarkable. The live show, that they frequently still perform, is mesmerizing and the DVD is a real labor of love with an outstanding hard cover booklet with essays from Dean and the museum curators outlining the process in great detail.

So why did I have some bias towards this CD release? The visuals and music work so well together; I disliked the idea of them being separated. Also, some obscure Luna (the band Dean & Britta previously played in) tunes are recycled - I just tend to dislike the practice of this.

Having said all that, this release is a favorite of mine; it's outstanding. The music really stands on its own and I have to say releasing this batch of songs separately was a good idea. Channeling a more mellow Velvet Underground with some modern overtones? If I must describe the music with what came before (most musicians hate this, but it's hard not to do) I think this description is well suited.

It's a 2 disc set with a handful of songs remixed. My favorites being It Don't Rain in Beverly Hills and International Velvet Theme; such beautiful songs! The whole release exceeds the sum of its parts.

Goes without saying if you are a fan of The Velvet Underground, Dean & Britta, Luna, thoughtful guitar music with some melodic glitch, etc. you are going to dig this. Check it out.