Monday , November 16, 2009
Ghosts of Grunge Past: Gus Van Sant's "Last Days"
I'm always on the lookout for signs of grunge in fashion and pop culture in general; it's just one of those things that my mind likes to do when I flip through magazines or go to shows, kind of like a fashion parlor game of "Oh Look! It's Grunge!" (One of the enduring thoughts I took away from a rather epic Dead Meadow show recently: "Oh, lots of mountain man indie rock facial hair - how grunge!") So it's been with great interest that I've been reading the Cannes Film Festival coverage of filmmaker Gus Van Sant's newest film Last Days, whose story was inspired by the life and persona of Kurt Cobain. (If I have to modify Kurt Cobain with some sort of tagline explaining who he is, please, stop reading this.)
A look at the trailer reveals some moody, almost "heroin chic" cinematography courtesy of Elephant collaborator Harris Savides, gorgeous movie stars - Michael Pitt! Asia Argento! - and some very Nirvana-esque guitar strumming. (Not to mention an appearance by the perpetually cool Kim Gordon, bass player for Sonic Youth and personal inspiration through my teenage years.) I could go on and on about the interesting career of Van Sant, director of such American indie classics like My Own Private Idaho and Mala Noche, but since this is a fashion blog, I'm predicting a lot of fashion editorial inspired by Last Days - perhaps not in Vogue or Harper's Bazaar but in those thinner, pricey magazines with epigrammatic, enigmatic titles. I don't think grunge will ever go mainstream again (fashion retail-speaking, it failed the first time, remember?) but as the economy becomes ever so wobbly and our military involvement becomes more and more of a quagmire, more oppositional aesthetics will seep into visual culture. The early 90s are back in more ways than one.
+ Read an interview with Gus Van Sant on "Last Days"
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Posted by Kat in Pop Culture |
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