65daysofstatic Re-score 'Silent Running' on IndieGoGo

Bruce Dern, star of the 1972 Sci-Fi classic, "Silent Running" once said of the film, "The Conception of it is Timeless." I'm not sure what that means, but this past February the Sheffield band, 65daysofstatic performed a live scoring of it at the Glasgow Film Festival. The Band's electro-industrial, sci-fi infused math rock sound, reenergizes the film's forward looking, if slightly dated, reemergence into pop culture.

It's probably a more riveting live experience, but 65daysofstatic is releasing an album of the performance via an IndieGoGo campaign. An $11 contribution will get you the album download. Now you can finally give up trying to synch Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" to "The Wizard of Oz" and have your own private screening of "Silent Running." Just mute the movie and turn 65daysofstatic's score way up. You can even mouth in your own dialogue for Bruce Dern, Mystery Science Theater 3000 style.

The eco-hero of "Silent Running" undoubtedly resonates with a generation raised on re-cycling. That is probably why the film resurfaced from being a critical dud, yet still visually innovative film. Innovative in that anything Douglas Trumbull does is visually genius, but this was his directorial debut. It also made droids loveable creatures well before the hyper speed merchandizing of George Lucas. In fact, the original special effects in "Star Wars" were developed by John Dykstra, who got his start working on "Silent Running."

The film's premise follows an astronaut gardener tending to a biosphere aboard a carrier in space. The post-dystopian perfection of Earth has become complacent with homeostasis where everything sociological and ecological is status quo. The last remaining biodiversity incubating on the carrier gets orders to be scrapped and eco-heroism ensues. It's "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in a Kubrickian Toyland meets "WALL-E"

That last log-line is a bit unfair, as "Silent Running" is a film born from special effects maestro Douglas Trumbull, who got his start working on Kubrick's "2001." "Mystery Science Theater 3000" creator Joel Hodgson notes the film as his most direct inspiration to create the show. Hodgson once said "Bruce Dern did a great job, and it's such a great subject'"a hippie in space." Queen of the hippies, Joan Baez even recorded a song for the original soundtrack.

"WALL-E" creator Andrew Stanton notes "Silent Running" as a major influence, which is obvious if you've seen both films. It is also a noted influence on films like Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" and Duncan Jones' "Moon." With all that cultural precedence in line, a live scoring of "Silent Running" is a brilliant idea. While I haven't listened extensively to the music, the few teasers I caught grabbed my ears. It certainly sounds nothing like Joan Baez, unless you put her voice in a blender with meteorites, guitar strings and circuit boards.