This is England '90 (2015)

This whole sequence has been like looking at my life, my friends, my music, my politics, my misdemeanours, fuckups and triumphs. In turns, hilarious and deeply moving. Ken Loach for Generation-X. Woody is a legend!

Letterboxd Review

Jimi: All Is by My Side (2013)

Forgot to log this one.

Totally unofficial. No Hendrix music, even his Fender guitars were clones (slightly different headstock, no logo). Funnily, at one point our Jimi plays a Gibson Flying V and I'm pretty sure this was the real thing. It's nice to see that old rivalry is still going strong. Loved the editing.

Not bad at all.

Letterboxd Review

Death Is Their Destiny (1978)

A short doc (made in the year I got into punk) with a fake "establishment" voiceover that focuses on the King's Road/Chelsea punks so expect a large fashion overload. I never really understood the whole bondage trousers and destroy shirt crap. Straight-leg jeans, bumper boots, t-shirt and plaid shirt did me fine.

Available for free on BFI Player.

Letterboxd Review

The Punk Kebab Documentary (1978)

An excellent and fun, short punk doc/fantasy with a really nice Jamie Reid style title sequence. Worth watching if only for seeing Shane MacGowan (The Nipple Erectors/The Nips) with a sheep on a lead outside Buckingham Palace. Live track by The Maniacs. Think Julien Temple crossed with Carry-On.

Available for free on BFI Player.

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Green Room (2015)

As soon as the band opened to a crowd of boneheads with Nazi Punks Fuck Off (been in that situation) I knew this was going to be fun.

Righteous!

Letterboxd Review

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1982)

The Runaways sing Kimya Dawson

People tend to focus on Diane Lane but how about some cheers for Stains guitarist Marin Kanter who went on to appear in Kathryn Bigelow's early and underrated biker flick The Loveless.

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John Peel’s Record Box (2005)

Interesting documentary but you do have to put up with the likes of Paul Morley and Elton John every now and then. Get a hankie ready at the end.

"More of the same unpleasant and disorientating racket on tomorrow night's programme. Until then, from me John Peel, goodnight and good riddance."

Letterboxd Review

The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith (2005)

The egotistical, crunchy, intelligent, vindictive, contrary, petty, abrasive, sharp, grumpy, charming, stupid, nasty, repetitive and utterly brilliant world of Mark E. Smith. A wonderful arsehole and this documentary has reminded me that I really need to replace my Fall records.

"I don't know whether he's killing them or what?" -- John Peel, on the large number of past Fall members

Letterboxd Review

The Guts and the Glory: The Motörhead Story (2005)

Phil Taylor, the original Animal, is dead!

Years ago my kids had two guinea pigs: Fast Eddie and Lemmy. I always felt bad that I never let them get Philthy Phil and complete the line-up of the greatest guinea pig rock 'n' roll band of all time!

I missed seeing Motörhead in 1983 through lack of funds but finally saw them in '91 with Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor on drums in the Guildhall in Portsmouth (with Wolfsbane if I remember correctly).

This short (65 minutes) documentary is totally worth it just to hear the bickering between Phil and Lemmy. It's really just a load of anecdotes strung together, but what fucking anecdotes they are! Informative and really fucking funny. To be honest though the documentary, just like life, gets a little dull when Phil leaves. Luckily he's back soon enough and everything's right again.

5 stars just for Phil, an awesomely fast, powerful and influential drummer who will be sorely missed. Bye, bye Phil, you little rat bastard.

"This is no reason to cover a man with cheese!"

Letterboxed Review

Records Collecting Dust (2015)

A cool little documentary that I've been waiting to be released for ages. Well they're offering it for free download this weekend (2015-09-05 to 2015-09-06).

The doc's digs through the record collections of some of the greats of punk, hardcore and metal and asks about the sounds they grew up listening to, the records that influenced them and the stores they bought them in. For just under an hour we get to listen to some musical heroes of mine including:

• Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys)
• Keith Morris (Black Flag/Circle Jerks/OFF!)
• Clifford Dinsmore (Bl'ast)
• Nick Oliveri (Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age)
• Mike Watt (Minutemen)
• Justin Pearson (The Locust)
• Greg Anderson (sunn o))))
• Matt Pike (Sleep)
• Chuck Dukowski (Black Flag/Würm)
• Mike Neider (Bl'ast)
• Kira Roessler (Black Flag)

There are a couple of issues though. The first is that, due to copyright and expense, we don't get to hear any of the records chosen. Secondly, the doc contains three promo clips of artists featured in the film. There doesn't seem to be any reason for this apart from shameless self-promotion, and leading the pack is, rather obviously, Jello Biafra with a clip of his latest band that lasts 2:35. Considering his sound-bite contributions total 3:53 in a film of just 53 minutes (excluding title and credits) I can't help come to the conclusion that Jello is still a bit of a dick. Personally I would have preferred it of they'd left him out no matter how much of a DK fan I am.

The doc is interesting, doesn't outstay its welcome and it's always a treat to listen to Keith Morris and Mike Watt - I could quite happily hear them waffle on all day.

The whole film reminded me of a store that I used to buy from when I was a kid. There was a crazy golf course beside a beach that, for some odd reason, had an attached record shop. The floor was always covered in sand, the record sleeves had a coating of sea-salt and my mate's brother (who once threw a dart into my forehead) lived out the back in a shed. Ah, those were the days.

Anyway, it's a cool documentary which should have had some cool music in it and it features a dickhead. Oh, and my god, Chuck Dukowski looks old!

To fit in with the doc, here's my first music purchases:

First music ever bought: Glen Campbell's Greatest Hits on tape, probably sometime in '77. It was the only thing I could afford locally and I'd never even heard of him before. I still love Wichita Lineman. That year my gran also bought me a David Soul cassette because I liked Starsky & Hutch! Before this I did what every kid did - taped Top of the Pops on a portable cassette recorder.

First LP: Star Wars by The Sonic All-Stars, in '78. Again, all I could afford. Bought from Woolworths.

First 7" singles: The Sex Pistols - The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle / Blondie - Union City Blue. Both with my birthday money in '79. These were the records that, for me, really started it all, even though the Sex Pistols' single is terrible and most people would never even consider it a true Pistols record.






Letterboxd Review

That's Entertainment (1974)

I really like the That's Entertainment series because I love musical numbers but have trouble watching an entire musical movie which I, with a few exceptions, find boring beyond belief.

Introduced by some proper, full-on stars including Frank Sinatra, Liz Taylor, Jimmy Stewart and Bing Crosby, this film celebrates MGM musicals and the studio system that produced them. A system where an actor signed a long-term contract that tied them to a particular studio which expected most performers to be able sing and dance as well as act. These musicals contained so many actors, extras and huge elaborate sets, they could only have ever been made within the studio system. This system may have had many faults but at least we have the films to make up for them.

From huge and extravagantly choreographed numbers, through Ester Williams' synchronised water performances to the intimate Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers duets, That's Entertainment has it all and contains clips of the wonderful Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Bing Crosby, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Caron, and many, many others.

Highlights include Fred Astaire dancing with a hat-stand, a huge MGM dinner with the largest number of movie stars you'll ever see in one shot, Frank and Bing performing Cole Porter's 'Well, Did You Evah!' from High Society, Danny Kaye's comedic 'Make 'em Laugh' routine, the entire Judy Garland sequence, and Gene Kelly... just doing what Gene Kelly does best.

If there is one down point, it's the clip from Gigi, the plot of which always makes me feel uncomfortable and the song 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls' even more so.

Even if you don't enjoy musicals I recommend that you give That's Entertainment a go. I guarantee it'll put a smile on your face.

Funny fact: apparently Fred Astaire's MGM screen test noted that he: "Can't sing. Can't act. Balding. Can dance a little".

Letterboxd Review

Whiplash (2014)

"Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfucker who plays it is 80 percent" -- Miles Davis

This is one film I've really been looking forward to as I love jazz. I even play a little guitar, bass and drums, although extremely badly. Where the lead in this film could change time signatures during a song, I do the same, just accidentally and really badly. In other words I'm a shit drummer that can't keep time. There is one problem with Whiplash though - I can't watch him drumming as I can't understand the music that way - the timing, the swing - I get confused by the movement. I have to close my eyes which means I don't get to see the film. Argh!

The structure of Whiplash is very traditional; boy wants to be the best, boy gets discouraged, boy bounces back and becomes great. Really it's a jazz version of Alan Parker's Fame. I'm not saying that it's bad. In fact it's good. Very, very good. You'll find no experimental filming techniques, no improvised dialogue. What you do get is an examination of talent, the pressure that the need to excel brings and how it can either destroy or re-enforce depending on how great that "need" is.

Miles Teller plays Andrew, a talented music conservatory drummer who wants to be the very best. J.K. Simmons plays his teacher and mentor; superficially a bully, but digging a little deeper we find a very hard taskmaster that expects the best and wants his musicians to reach their potential. Fletcher uses every trick in the book to coax every ounce of effort from his band members, including playing three drummers off against each other - speaking of which, I far prefer Andrew's drumming as it has way more swing, groove and a lot less attack (unfortunately this groove was lost in the later half of the film where they focused on the more, admittedly impressive, pyrotechnic aspects of drumming). It's not just ability that's important, it's drive and focus.

The gradual disassembly of Andrew, then rebuilding as a harder and stronger drummer is just brilliant. Just how much can he cope with and sacrifice to be the best? The pain, the abuse, the doubt. Who is really causing the pain? Fletcher or Andrew himself? Overshadowed at home by his cousin, a mediocre football player and continually told that music is a hobby and not career, only drives him harder.

Filmed half in shadow like all good jazz should be. The important thing about Whiplash is the contrast. The black against white. The silence against sound. The spotlight in the dark. This concept is highlighted by Andrew taking his girlfriend to see Rififi; a film famous for a "silent" heist scene. The silence is as important as the rolls, fills and paradiddles. It's the empty spaces that highlight content. As Miles said, "Don't play what's there, play what's not there".

The soundtrack, and by that I mean the incidental music, is top notch and is not overshadowed by the stonking jazz covers that they play.

The dialogue is very good with both Teller and Simmons delivering lines worthy of a hero in an action movie or Malcolm Tucker from TV's The Thick of It, including: "Unfortunately, this is not a Bette Midler concert, we will not be serving Cosmopolitans and Baked Alaska, so just play faster than you give fucking hand jobs, will you please?" and "Hey, fuck off Johnny Utah! Turn my pages bitch!".

A five star killer of a film. Pressure. Nice!

"Inhale resolve, Exhale ambition
Inhale all I need, Exhale all I want
Inhale love of life, Exhale fear of death
Inhale power, Exhale force"
-- Henry Rollins

Written whilst listening to Benny Goodman's legendary 1938 concert at the Carnegie Hall, which I recommend everyone listen to.

Letterboxd Review

Until the Light Takes Us (2008)

An interesting documentary about the Norwegian Black Metal scene: its early days; the church burning, murder and suicide and the resultant media outrage; and where it's heading nowadays.

Anti-church, anti-globalisation, anti-american, anti-homogenisation, anti-christ and unfortunately nationalistic, homophobic and racist. Black Metal is a movement that on the surface has a left-leaning libertarian stance but dig a little deeper and an extreme right-wing tendency rears its ugly head.

If only they could have separated their hatred of christian dogma from christian art, maybe the beautiful stave churches would still be standing.

Original letterboxd review

Heavy Metal Parking Lot (1986)

A short doc of American kids in a parking lot waiting to see Judas Priest. That's it.

The Year, 1986. the year of false metal and poodle hairdosl. Not saying Priest were hair metal - they weren't and they're not - but everyone else seemed to be. To put things in context, I was watching Public Image Limited in '86. Sure I love metal and was a huge metalhead back in the early 80s, but then the make up and hairspray came in and I looked ridiculous with a perm. So I know the period, I know the music. Will I be offended by Heavy Metal Parking Lot? Bollocks I will!

It's starts with "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" - awesome! Give me "Breaking the Law" as well and I'll walk away happy. So we got lots of bare chests, zebra-stripe shirts, pimp hats, mirror shades, bandanas, tight dresses, shit cars, and some bad, bad hair.

What I want to know is; where's the designated driver?

The first lovely couple to speak? Man: I'm Dave and I'm 20 years old. Woman: Dawn, and I'm 13. Dave then sticks his tongue down the 13 year old's throat. On camera. Next we have drug guy. What drugs are you on? "Yeah, drugs man! Everything". Right. If he was on acid, as implied, there's no way he'd that coherent. Fuck off home to mummy. Next: to a young woman, what would you do if you saw Rob Halford right now? "I'd jump his bones". Well, there's a relationship that'll never happen.

It's easy to take the piss in hindsight, but I've had my share of crappy haircuts. I've had a mullet, mohawk, indie bowl, a Ramones. I even had hair down to the bottom of my shoulder blades. I've worn lace up black jeans, I had a Snake Plisken shirt, red and black striped trousers. I had bandanas. I never had a perm though, Never. Shut up.

This is fucking Wayne's World for real. It's not up there with Decline of Western Civilisation II but it's close and, hey, dead friends do have a use, and Rob Halford has the biggest balls in metal.

Watch it here but be prepared for a shock at around 17:46.

Original letterboxd review

Step Up (2006)

Yes, I watched it and enjoyed it again.

Original letterboxd review

20,000 Days on Earth (2014)

No review of mine could do this film or Nick Cave justice. I thought of writing some Cave like poetry full of angels, thunder, piss, wrath and beauty but knew that would come over as pretentious sixth-form crap. Cave can do the same and it would read like the finest prose and would move you to tears. So I won't. Just watch this film, listen to his music, read his books and wonder.

Original letterboxd review

Alice Cooper: Live at Montreux (2006)

Alice runs through a set of classics with the odd later track thrown in for good measure.

Not so many theatrics as the previous Brutal Planet (2000) set but some of the favourites are present and correct: the sword and the billion dollar bills, the guillotine, the Schools Out balloons, the re-animation chamber and, drum roll please, the beautiful Calico Cooper, yay!

The sound is pretty good but the guitars needed to be a little more crunchy and dirty, especially on the earlier Alice Cooper group songs (Under My Wheels etc.). One rare track performed was Wish I Was Born in Beverly Hills (From the Inside, 1978) with Calico, yet again, playing Paris Hilton complete with a handbag dog.

Highlight of the set has got to be the black and white, straight-jacketed Ballad of Dwight Fry with Alice at his creepy best.

I prefer the earlier Brutally Live dvd but this was still a great show and Alice proves, yet again, he can still kick arse.

This is how it's done Jagger!

Original letterboxd review

Scratch (2001)

Excellent documentary about the art and history of scratching and turntablism. All the big names are here and a few new ones I'll be checking out. If you love hip-hop it's a must watch and if you don't then watch it and be educated. The soundtrack is a stand-out and you'll be bouncing in your seat.

Original letterboxd review

Once (2006)

Brief Encounter with a guitar and a piano. Great acting, music and story. Simple, effective and heartbreaking.

Original letterboxd review

Step Up (2006)

Please don't tell anyone but I quite liked this. Shhh....

Original letterboxd review