Wish List Item #23: Spike Jonze DVD

Is there anyone cooler than Spike Jonze?

BMX riders can claim to be the first to know Jonze’s work, way back when he worked with Andy Jenkins at long forgotten “Freestylin” magazine. In 1991, he collaborated with skateboarding’s resident art-weirdo Mark Gonzales on the Blind “Video Days” skate flick. His unique photos were also turning up in Transworld Skateboarding. Along with Rick Howard, Jonze co-founded Girl Skateboards and firmly established his commitment to the sport. Not only is he still involved with Girl in a creative capacity, he is said to still “load and unload trucks” for deliveries. Mainstream audiences were finally clued-in with his direction of Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” video. Or maybe it was the Beastie Boys “Sure Shot” that first captured everyone’s attention. There are just too many other great videos to mention. But “Adaptation” seems like a pretty fitting culmination of what this guy is able to accomplish behind a camera. “The Work of Director Spike Jonze” may be a disappointment to some hardcore fans, because it excludes some classic videos from bands such as Sonc Youth and REM. But the oddities and rarities are there, such as that segment from the Girl “Mouse” video when Rick Howard is skating through a forest. Also included is “What’s Up Fatlip?,” a documentary about Fatlip from The Pharcyde. We’re also treated to “Amarillo by Morning” about two kids in Houston who want to be cowboys.

November 16th, 2003