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Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell
Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell, an excerpt

Matt Wolf paints a hauntingly beautiful portrayal of Arthur Russell’s life through rare photo and video archives, and intimate interviews with his parents, lover, and many musical collaborators. 

Arthur Russell was an American musician and composer whose work spanned many musical genres such as rock, pop, classical, folk, and experimental. He operated in an odd fashion like a mad scientist who would lock himself up for days until he came up with the perfect composition. He created euphoric music that was an assault to the senses that were bizarre at the time, but as music lovers listen to his work almost 40 years later it is futuristic. 

The film starts in the monotonous landscapes of Oskaloosa, Iowa, where Russell’s story begins. Wolf uses interviews with Russell’s parents Chuck and Emily, to show how deeply embedded music was in his life. So much so, that he eventually runs away to San Francisco and finally to New York. A series of video footage is used to give the audiences a deeper look into the inner workings of Russell’s mind.

The featured 90 - Second Cinema clip opens in the middle of “Go Bang,” a musical collaboration between Russell and Lola Love. Wolf gets very creative in this scene because of the lack of archival material available at his disposal. He does not use any video footage of Russell in the studio. Instead, he interprets Russell’s presence through music, commentary, and scenes of people dancing and children having fun.

Wolf interviews Bob Blank and Lola Love, producer and performer respectively. They talk about Love’s first meeting with Russell. She describes Russell as the “funkiest white boy,” she’s ever met.
Wolf juxtaposes Love’s commentary while “Go Bang” is playing in the background. As she discusses the making of “Go Bang,” the song plays in the background as a mere whisper. As she talks about how Russell wanted her to “get crazier,” the song becomes more prominent and creates anticipation for something extraordinary.

Wolf also reconstructs Russell’s presence by creating a collage of scenes and sound. He uses quick cuts of people dancing in an underground disco, psychedelic lights, and children beating a rainbow colored piñata to the beat of “Go Bang,” creating a sense of excitement and chaos. 

The clip continues with an interview with Will Socolov, an entrepreneur who financed Loose Joints (an alias used by Russell for his dance music work) where he outlines his admiration and frustration with the composer. He portrays an endearing side of Russell through his quest for perfection. When Russell claims that “Go Bang” was ruined at the hands of another, Socolov proclaims, “Arthur, you’re out of your ####### mind, people are going crazy here.”

When it comes to music, Russell’s total abandonment is truly profound, and brilliantly rendered leaving audience members craving for more.

~Christine Liu

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