05/07/08
Text: Nik Mercer
ZU33 Pictures is coming out with, possibly, it's greatest film yet, The Heart Is a Drum Machine. The documentary―in the traditional ZU33 style (see Moog―focuses on a simple yet integral and deep question. This time, that query is the modest, "what is music?" Interviews with musicians like Britt Daniel (Spoon), Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks), Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Jimmy Tamborello (Postal Service, Dntel), John Doe (X), the Dandy Warhols, Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle), Los Lobos, Kimya Dawson, Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, and [the proverbial] others were arranged to assist in answering the age-old inquiry.
The film ain't all fun and games―a flashy flaunting of ZU33's coolness―though... knowledgeable and weathered musicologists gave their time, too, to "explore in depth people's profound connection to music, how it shapes our very existence, and the science of the way music and the human body work together." That―and a Jason Schwartzman appearance―sounds just about reason enough for us to head on over to our nearest indie cinema or hip DVD retailer for a copy of the thing. (Don't ask us―or ZU33, for that matter―when the flick'll be out, though; no one knows! Post-production purgatory!)
