DANIELKAHN & THE PAINTED BIRD - PARASITES
DANIEL KAHN & THE PAINTED BIRD
On Myspace
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We just met Daniel Kahn the night before the shoot –with Geoff Berner being their special guest at the accordion festival. The idea of a video of these two artists together came up. Unfortunately everyone was low on time - the Canadian was heading back home early the next morning, a soundcheck and the concert put paid to this plan. But we were still lucky. Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird didn’t leave Vienna before the afternoon of the following day. We arranged to meet them around noon again in the yard of the Wuk. Despite the last uprises of hurricane Emma we decided to stay outside. They played a good half an hour and found themselves entertaining two (rather cheeky) kids and some people that were passing by from time to time.
SHOT 03/08
WUK
And some Bertolt Brecht inspired Verfremdungsklezmer...
“I think the human animal learns very, very slowly, if at all. The idea that if you don't learn from history, it will repeat itself, I think that it is a misconception. History repeats itself constantly, all around us. We are the same animal that we were thousands of years ago. But history is not one thing. There are people on different sides of history. It's like a lot of people make apologies for certain historical institutions. Because they say there is historical relativism. Slavery was part of normal life in the 18th century in America. So you can't blame people for not questioning it. This is an extremely cynical and reactionary attitude towards history. As long as there has been property, there has been slavery, and as long as there has been slavery, there have been slaves. And as long as there have been slaves, there have been people who felt that slavery was categorically immoral and have fought against it. Our attitude in saying that they didn't know right from wrong, that is bullshit. Yes, of course, I am haunted by the Holocaust. I am disturbed by people who aren't. And I am even more disturbed by people who think that it is only the job of Germans and Jews to be haunted by the Holocaust.” Daniel Kahn
DANIEL KAHN & THE PAINTED BIRD On Myspace
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