Brighter Featuring Karen Black (2013)

The song does seem to deal with hell, or is it the hell of fame? Featuring the late singer/actress Karen Black and classic clips from her movies. Cass McCombs emailed me in late November 2013, says director Stephen Eckelberry, and asked if I would create a music video for Brighter! - the song he recorded with Karen in December 2012 - using classic clips from her movies. It struck me as an opportunity to explore a theme that interests me - the relationship of film and memory. We watch a movie and the images from that movie become part of our memory stream. Karen Black, who passed away on August 8th, 2013, after battling ampullary cancer, had a long and storied career filled with accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in "Five Easy Pieces" and a Grammy nomination for her contributions to the soundtrack for the Robert Altman-directed "Nashville". 'Brighter!' was the second collaboration between McCombs and Black, the first being her hauntingly memorable contributions to "Dreams-Come-True-Girl," a standout track on McCombs's 2009 album, Catacombs.