Play This at My Funeral
From the Archives
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Comedy, Music, Short Films, 17-Aug-2022
In three New York City vignettes, a handful of characters engage (both actively and passively) with the soundtracks of their current lives. Ray Smiling directs “Play This at My Funeral,” a film that revolves around music and corresponding moments of humor or enthusiasm. A Times Square Spiderman flirts with tourists accompanied by the sounds of Claude Debussy. At an outdoor basketball court, a man blares death metal through his headphones while a woman across the court watches him aggressively air drum. A non-English native speaker routinely blasts “Slob on my Knob” by the Three 6 Mafia, not understanding the raunchy lyrics. With brevity and effervescence, the film explores the intersection of music and life making a strong case the two are inseparable. We previously featured Smiling with his 2020 series, “Khaki is Not Leather,” a six part series exploring intimacy, desire, and sexual fantasies in digital interactions. -KA.
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