§ – A Blue Rose

The work I do is usually lumped into the ill-defined space called “Transmedia.” It’s a term that’s hotly debated, with no clear agreeable definition, and nobody really likes it.

Alas, the need to label and define and categorize creative work is a constant.  For example, a stray joke made by a couple of house music producers turned into an entire subgenre called Witch House.

Witch House features downtempo music with heavy goth elements, as well as creative punctuation and syntax in their band names that makes Prince look like Strunk & White — i.e. oOoOO (pronounced “oh”), /// ▲▲▲ \\\  (pronounced “void”) and § (pronounced “Silver Strain”)

Witch House came to my attention through a compilation of songs and videos based around samples, themes and imagery from the witchiest TV show of all time, Twin Peaks.  While the quality of these tracks vary greatly, the one that stands head and shoulders above the others is §’s hypnotic video for A Blue Rose.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to have to brew some black coffee, buy a box of donuts and fire up a Twin Peaks rewatch.

(For bonus Twin Peaks-inspired music points, check out this video for Camper Van Beethoven’s “That Gum You Like is Back In Style,” wherein lead singer David Lowery explains how in the alternate universe where the record is set, Twin Peaks is the most popular TV show of all-time.)