[Landline] Lines of transmission

Red Pine, Tenzin Palmo, Jordan Belson and the MC5

Greetings friends,

1. MOUNTAIN SOLITUDES

Egg on my face! Due to a weird editing/coding error, the title of Chinese Buddhist and Taoist literature translator Bill Porter’s 1993 book about his search for living hermits from those traditions in the mountains of China went missing in the last Landline. The book is Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits.

Also — what an oversight! I should have mentioned last time that a brand new documentary about Porter—Dancing with the Dead: Red Pine and the Art of Translation, directed by Ward Serrill—is currently being shown at special one-off screenings¹. It is not yet available to stream online. Here’s the trailer:

Acknowledgement of errors and oversights out of the way, let us continue along the mountain path to Cave in the Snow, an astonishing 50-minute documentary film about Tenzin Palmo, a remarkable English woman (birth name: Diane Perry) who became a Buddhist monastic at the age of 21, and then, in 1976, at the age of 33, went to live in a cave in the Himalayas. From her website:

Seeking more seclusion and better conditions for practice, [Tenzin Palmo] found a cave a couple of hours hike from Tayul, at 13,200 feet above sea level. The cave was enhanced by building enclosing walls, creating a living space around 6 feet square.

In the summer months supplies were delivered from Keylong and she grew turnips and potatoes nearby. She stockpiled for winter, when the cave was snowbound. She slept and meditated upright in a meditation box.

Despite many hardships and life-threatening experiences, Tenzin Palmo thrived in her solitary spiritual practice and lived in the cave for 12 years, from the ages of 33 to 45. For the first nine years she occasionally had visitors or took trips away from the cave, while the last three years were spent in strict retreat.

Here is the 2002 film, inspired by the 1998 biography of the same name:

Many more documentary films about hermits are available to stream at hermitary.com

The British Film Institute has an intriguing, wide-ranging list of Ten great films about recluses—fiction, nonfiction and other—that also might be of interest.

I’m sure there’s more good films out there on this subject of voluntary, productive seclusion/withdrawal by individuals. Share what you know with other Landline readers by replying to this email or (more efficient!) leaving a public comment:

2. URBAN GROUPMIND

Thinking about Wayne Kramer of the MC5’s recent passing² has, of course, sadly, unfortunately, led me to thinking about what’s possibly the greatest rock ‘n’ roll documentary film ever made, MC5 A True Testimonial, which was set for official release almost exactly 20 years ago…and then disappeared into a big mess.

Above: Two of the 22x17-inch spreads from the massive multi-article MC5 feature published in Arthur No. 9 (March 2004) on what we thought was the eve of the film’s release. Twas not to be! Photos courtesy Leni Sinclair. Design by W.T. Nelson.

This marvelous, deeply moving film is, apparently, unlikely to ever be legitimately issued—something I think I may never comprehend, no matter how many articles I read about it (and jeez, I think I've read them all!)³.

I screened A True Testimonial many times for friends in the ‘00s, back before my promotional DVD was permanently borrowed by someone, and just thinking about the film—about the absolutely outrageous story it tells, and the explosive, heartbreaking way it tells it—still makes me well up.

It wasn’t just me. Peter Margasak at the Chicago Reader had this to say, back in 2004:

[The filmmakers] uncovered unseen performance footage and talked to just about everyone ever associated with the band. [Director David] Thomas edited for maximum impact, meticulously matching studio recordings to silent performance footage in a way that brings extra spark and power to both. The movie makes a persuasive argument that the MC5 were the most exciting live band in rock history.

For an in-depth, properly enthusiastic review of the film, see The Seth Man’s 2002 review at Head Heritage. There are many other reviews available online, but his is my favorite. I encourage you to read every everlovin’ word.

And for a look at what the filmmakers were going for, see Steffie Nelson’s March 2004 feature-interview for the old Arthur Magazine: HIGH FIVE: Detroit’s visionary MC5 receive a film tribute that aims to rewrite rock history. Be sure to read to the end—it has a great, cosmic, truly heavy kicker.

I don’t know what has to happen for A True Testimonial to be released to the public. But, in the meantime, the entirety of this miracle of a film is currently up posted on a certain well-known archival website, available to stream and download, in two parts. You should be able to find it. If you aren’t, reply to this email and I’ll try to help you out.

3. A FRUITFUL PERIOD OF NEAR-SECLUSION

Untitled c. 1950. Oil, enamel, and wax on paper mounted to board in artist’s frame

I was stunned to learn recently that an official website for the late, underknown visionary filmmaker Jordan Belson (1926-2011) has been established through his estate. From the biography section of jordanbelson.info :

At the vanguard of the Bay Area art scene, Belson worked with his friend Harry Smith from 1948-52; they shared support and patronage from Hilla Rebay, one of the founders of the Guggenheim Museum, where Belson had his first exhibition of paintings in 1948. Belson also worked with Bruce Conner in 1953 at Lionel Ziprin’s Inkweed Arts when he lived briefly in NYC. Belson's 1957-59 "Vortex Concerts," staged with sound artist Henry Jacobs at the Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco, were an important influence on the multimedia "expanded cinema" of the 1960s, as was his singular body of film work. In the 1980s Belson renounced most public involvement in the worlds of the art and film, when he began a fruitful period of near-seclusion, which he maintained until his death in 2011.  A Guggenheim Fellow and Ford Foundation Fellow, Belson also twice received American Film Institute grants.

And what a beaut, what a resource, this website is. Cosmic, contemplative short films; pastels and paintings; interviews, texts and press clips; a one-hour audio interview…47 streaming minutes of Belson’s shimmering autoharp music, released posthumously on cassette… so much is here. Highest recommendation as digital-age contemplation aid! Be there now: jordanbelson.info

Thanks for reading — I had to testify!

Jay Babcock

Arizona

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1. The next one is April 21 in Seattle at the SIFF Cinema Egyptian. More info here.

2. With Wayne’s passing, drummer Dennis Thompson is the last surviving member of the MC5.

3. I’ve always suspected this 2004 Detroit Metro Times piece by John Sinclair, the band’s one-time manager, may get closest to the root(s) of the issue, but there’s no way of knowing. There’s also the aforementioned Margasak’s Chicago Reader piece, which diligently explores the technical/legal issues and maneuverings at great length. But keep in mind that these articles were filed 20 years ago, and much/nothing has happened since then, for reasons that evade me.