What a great little piece about our own Gotta Groove Records!
"A fascinating look at how vinyl records are made, the film includes footage from the plant and features interviews with Slusarz, who talks about the virtues of vinyl, and Earley, who talks about how difficult it was to get the business off the ground back in 2010. The people who work in the plant explain their various roles in the process as they operate the machinery. "
Great history of Cleveland music, focusing on the Agora and WMMS. Fun stuff.
'Hello Cleveland!' Documentary Explores 70s Music Scene: UPDATE | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog
"'Hello Cleveland!' is making the rounds online, presenting a magical era of our city's past. The documentary highlights the unique elements of Cleveland's music scene in the 1970s. The Agora and WMMS both figure into the storyline heavily."
(Continued... 'Hello Cleveland!' Documentary Explores 70s Music Scene: UPDATE | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog)
How fun! Some bands on DFA that I really enjoy (shown here): YACHT, Holy Ghost, and of course LCD Soundsystem. Funny, no mention of the lawsuit however.
Before you catch The Last Bison at the Beachland tonight, swing by the Cleveland International Film Festival at 4:35 for this little documentary on the revolution of the music industry.
Downloaded - Cleveland International Film Festival :: April 3 - April 14, 2013
"In the age of iTunes and Spotify, the heated controversy over Napster seems like ancient history. These days the internet is where many people discover and buy music. But, before Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning developed the program in 1999, that concept was unimaginable. Their peer-to-peer file sharing service allowed fans to share their music with the world, giving listeners access to an enormous library of songs with just a few clicks. However, there was one major problem: the service was free, therefore violating copyright laws and drawing ire from record labels and artists (Metallica and Dr. Dre famously opposed it, both filing lawsuits against the company). In 2000, Napster was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which led to a complete shutdown. Director Alex Winter provides a fascinatingly intimate look at Napster from the inside, capturing Parker and Fanning as they bloomed from nerdy college students to technological revolutionaries. DOWNLOADED skillfully communicates the undeniable impact that Napster had on the music industry. – E.F."
(Continued... Downloaded - Cleveland International Film Festival :: April 3 - April 14, 2013)
I wanted to post about going to see Sound City at the Cedar Lee theater, because it really was a GREAT film. Even better than I was expecting. What I also was (pleasantly) surprised about was the album he's releasing as well (out March 12th). While it's not an artist list that would draw me to it, the making of definitely does.
Movie Review - 'Sound City': Music And Memories In An L.A. Landmark : NPR
"The first hour-plus of the film sticks close to a standard rockumentary template: a chronological history combining talking-head interviews with archival photos and video, with the addition of some slightly geeky audiophile technical discussions. Both of those could easily slip into dull mediocrity, but Grohl recognizes that filmmaking isn't so different from writing a good pop song: Take a familiar structure, throw in some nice hooks to keep things interesting and add plenty of personality and attitude, and a touch of indefinable artistic magic.
Grohl's jovial presence is the hook; playing interviewer and emcee as well as director, he's the catchy bit you welcome every time it returns. The star-studded interview list provides much of the personality and attitude, as does a fantastically tense behind-the-scenes video of Petty and his band laboring long hours to craft their breakthrough record.
The magical aspect is the alchemy created by Sound City's studio and its custom Neve mixing board; it's difficult to quantify, but you can hear it on every musical clip in the movie. That magical mixing board practically becomes the star of the movie."
(Continued... Movie Review - 'Sound City': Music And Memories In An L.A. Landmark : NPR)
In this time of film awards, something like this definitely has my interest. Original article below…
Dave Grohl Enlists Members of Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, More for Sound City Band
Dave Grohl's directorial debut, Sound City, a documentary about the storied recording studio, is headed to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah later this month. As Consequence of Sound reports, Grohl has formed a band in support of the film, comprising artists featured in the movie, which will make its live debut January 18 at Park City Live during Sundance. The band features the surviving members of Nirvana (Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear), plus members of Foo Fighters (Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett), as well as Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, Rick Springfield, Alain Johannes of Queens of the Stone Age, producer Chris Goss, Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Fear singer Lee Ving, Rage Against the Machine's Brad Wilk, the Geraldine Fibbers' Jessy Greene, and the Wallflowers' Rami Jaffee. Many of the artists appear on the the film's soundtrack, out March 12 via Grohl's label Roswell Records. Also appearing on the soundtrack (and in the film) are Paul McCartney, Trent Reznor, and Josh Homme. As previously reported, the Nirvana/McCartney track 'Cut Me Some Slack' that was debuted at the 12/12/12 concert was created for the film."
(Continued... Dave Grohl Enlists Members of Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, More for Sound City Band | News | Pitchfork)
Seeing Neil Young on Monday night at the Wolstein Center! Being the legend he is, he even has his own movie now - though I'm sure it's not the first - or the last. Mark this one off my bucket list.
I've been sitting on this trailer for a while. I don't know where this documentary has ended up - but with Cleveland's own Lighthouse and the Whaler just releasing their new album, just playing at the Grog Shop, and now going out on a national tour, I figured now is as good of a time as any. These boys are definitely making a name for themselves.
Knowing how much I love both La Blogotheque and the Pitchfork Music Festival, you could imagine my delight to see them converge in Paris. Watch the magic.
All the way back in February, I actually hosted a movie premiere in my living room. It was An Island which was shot by this great filmmaker named Vincent Moon. He's also shoots my favorite web video series called La Blogotheque. Well, he has a new project on Kickstarter. Check it out, and maybe even contribute. His stuff is worth it.
So I was just watching the new Destroyer video for Savage Night at the Opera, when as soon as it started, it looked eerily familiar...
A friend once showed me this cult French short film for which the director was eventually arrested... Clearly the inspiration, though not quite as dangerous. More details on the original film below.
C'était un rendez-vous: A Cult Film by Claude Lelouch
"Filmed in 1976, it has become a classic staple of cinéma verité, literally “truth cinema”, a style of film making that is closer to the unpredictable and unscripted nature of documentaries. Although the film is over 30 years old, it remains very controversial. When you realize that this movie was filmed while speeding through the streets of Paris and with absolutely no blocked roads or movie permits, you quickly understand why people always have such a strong reaction to it. Claude Lelouch eventually admitted that it was a foolish act of manly bravado, but he said that at the time he loved film more than he loved the law and that the movie would never be as exciting without that constant feeling of danger. "
(Continued... smidgy • C'était un rendez-vous: A Cult Film by Claude Lelouch)
Great Idea. More details here: http://www.nationalparksproject.ca
Great Lake Swimmers' Tony Dekker Has 'Kitchen Party' for National Parks Project - Spinner
"The basic premise was to make a short film and soundtrack based on the experience of the landscape, as one of thirteen different groups traveling to a National Park in each of Canada's provinces and territories. There was also a parallel film crew documenting the creative process of the filmmakers and musicians, filming at all hours. Creatively, there was free reign to interpret the environment, and to use a collaborative spirit to weave the project into a cohesive whole."
(Continued... Great Lake Swimmers' Tony Dekker Has 'Kitchen Party' for National Parks Project - Spinner)
So remember that screening of An Island I hosted last month? Well, part of the instructions were to take a picture of the group watching and submit them to the band. They posted all photos on their Flickr stream, highlighting a very interesting snapshot of people from all over the world.
Our contribution:
In between house concerts, I thought I would try something different...
In August 2010, French filmmaker Vincent Moon and Efterklang's 8 piece-live band met up on an island in the Danish country side. The objective was to shoot a film. A film with the same length as an album, and a film full of performances, experiments and collaborations.
Over an intense period of 4 days Efterklang collaborated with more than 200 local musicians, kids and parents, creating new performances and interpretations of songs from their Magic Chairs album. It was all filmed by Vincent Moon who same time conducted several filmic and musical experiments with Efterklang as his dedicated play mates.
I'm hosting a showing! Thursday, February 24th. Seating is extremely limited (it's my living room), so sign up soon! (teasers below)
Congrats on the Grog Shop's new website. A nice upgrade... And while we're talkin' about them - have you seen this little documentary?
