Pitchfork

Josef Kaplan & Ryan Schreiber report:
When it isn't being employed by noise terrorists to flesh out their obscure, limited-to-500 full-lengths, the Moog keyboard enjoys languishing in total obscurity. Though its notorious rise to fame in the 1960s left it drug-addled and jaded by too many nights under the lascivious fingers of Rick Wakeman, the squelch machine saw a resurgence in popularity with mid-90s lounge acts who appreciated the silliness of its bleepy past, as well as the flexibility of its bubble sounds.

But just as it began preparing for its pension, the Moog has returned to the spotlight, surprising no one: An upcoming documentary by Hans Fjellestad, monolithically titled Moog, plans to shed some light on its creator, the hilariously named Bob Moog, as well as the tube-powered keyboard's status as an essential component in aiding electronic music to move outside the exclusive realm of freeway-worshipping Germans and into the realm of pillow-worshipping agoraphobes.

The soundtrack will be provided by longtime Moog devotees such as Stereolab, Devo, Money Mark, The Moog Cookbook (whose cheers could be heard from 50 miles away at the time of this story), and Moog innovators Perrey & Kingsley, as well as N.E.R.D., Tortoise, Meat Beat Manifesto, DJ Spooky, The Album Leaf, and, no shit, Electric Skychurch. Clips of the film show Bob Moog at work constructing various instruments, playing arcade games, and relaying his philosophies on the metaphysical connection between musician and circuitboard. Moog is scheduled for theatrical release at the height of summer, with a DVD to follow courtesy of Plexifilm.

It doesn't end there: On April 1st, 2004, San Francisco's legendary Bimbo's 365 Club will present MOOG FESTIVAL! Probably the first of its kind, Moogfest will feature performances from such Moog-happy maniacs as Mix Master Mike, Money Mark, Tino Corp, The Album Leaf and 33, and, perhaps to blow the audiences' minds out, will screen sneak peaks of Fjellestad's documentary while the festival is simultaneously shot for appearance in the film. Fuck Spike Jonze: This is everything meta ever aspired to.