Negativ Test
Legendary experimental “sound collage” band and seminal media pranksters Negativland will be swinging through Albuquerque via San Francisco this weekend. The “It’s Normal for Some Things to Come to Your Attention” Southwest Tour is a multi-media event created in collaboration with “live cinema” visual artist SUE-C and with opening support from fellow media activist and “expanded cinema” artist Steev Hise. The group’s new audio-visual performance project is about “the world we live in, the minds that perceive it, and all of the evolving forms of media and technology that inevitably insert themselves between those two things.” It should be quite the treat for eyes and ears.
Negativland first formed in the late 1970s and is most famous for its association with The Church of the Subgenius and a headline-grabbing lawsuit from Island Records over the group’s sound-sampling parody of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” (They also, somehow, managed to mash up Chumbawumba, the Teletubbies, the Sex Pistols and the writings of early 20th-century anarchist Alexander Berkman in 1999’s The ABC’s of Anarchism.)
Negativland’s “It’s Normal for Some Things to Come to Your Attention” tour hits Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema (3405 Central Ave. NE) on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7pm only. Tickets are $20. You can get them in advance by going to bit.ly/3jzAFxa. For more info about the tour, go to negativland.com
Veteran’s View
The Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe is marking Veteran’s Day (Nov. 11) with the Veterans Journey Home Film Series. This five-film series spotlights “the emotionally rich stories and heroic contributions made by veterans.” There will also be a discussion with filmmaker Frederick Marx, the acclaimed co-maker of Hoop Dreams.
The matinee event (featuring the short films “Solutions,” “Ben” and “On Black Mountain”) takes place on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 1pm. The evening event (featuring “Kalani’s Story” and “LOTL”) starts at 6pm. The matinee and evening screenings repeat on Friday, Nov. 12, but with the film lineups swapped. General matinee price is $20. General evening tickets are $25. Veterans and active military get in free. To get your tickets in advance, go to jeancocteaucinema.com/events/. The Jean Cocteau Cinema is located at 418 Montezuma Ave.
Friendsgiving
If you grew up obsessively watching the sitcom “Friends” in the ’90s, then The Salt Yard West (3700 Ellison Road Northwest) has got the perfect lead-in to Thanksgiving for you.
On Wednesday, Nov. 17 starting at 7pm, Salt Yard hosts “Friendsgiving Trivia.” Gather a team of up to six “friends” (see what I did there) and register for free at bit.ly/3q71Anr. (Solo players are welcome as well.) Then show up for a night of food, drinks and endless questions about Thanksgiving episodes of “Friends.” (There were 10 of them, BTW.) Familiar with the Geller Bowl? Know who got a turkey stuck on their head? Remember who showed up one year as Rachel’s middle sister? This is the event for you!