This seemed like a good idea - making a documentary by finding musicians and taping the truth about how they really feel.
But who'll care? Which musicians would make an impact regarding the theme of this film? What would strike a chord with folks who really want to know the answers to this question? Well, if you're waiting for an answer - still wait. 1970's 'After School Specials' plus actress Rosanna Arquette has combed New York (mainly) and found 80% of the musicians/singers/songwriters that folks almost have forgotten about and asked them for their thoughts. Musicans...and Yoko Ono.
This could have, and would have been interesting if there were a great deal of people we'd be interested in hearing deep inner most thoughts about the industry from from many sides of the spectrum but this was like looking at "the walking dead" on celluloid. And the questions, well, I wont be looking for a Rosanna Arquette talk show anytime soon. At least, I pray there wont be any.
This is something you can readily expect to see on VH-1 under one of their cheesy shows, but this would be best called: "Behind the Music with The Cryptkeeper". This is not to say Rosanna and her crew should have found ONLY young, popular musicians and asked them, they probably wouldn't know how to answer that question at this point in their quest for "bling". Which is why at this point it may have been better to go to the near dead to talk about it. Their careers are 'done' and they would have nothing to loose, whereas younger musicians still have commercial appeal and they wouldn't want to eat and spit in the same place.
But many of the people in this effort made me cringe... I saw the sickle behind many of them and felt this was their last chance to say something about the industry that they worked in on film before Charon came for them to take them down the river Styx.
Of course, I have to have half a brain here and think that those filmed wanted to be filmed and gave permission to be included in this documentary. This could be one of the reasons why we sat through an overblown, overlong episode of "The Dry and the Dusty" in the music industry with a few new folks sprinkled in and the few obligatory African Americans for this to look like a diverse event. If Rosanna Arquette didn't have an actress resume and the notorious Toto song "Rosanna" behind her, this documentary would have been laughed off the face of this earth by any other filmmaker.
Plus, I always cringe when they drag out Yoko Ono to talk about 'music'. I missed "The Beatles" years but thanks to other documentaries, films, TV Show appearances, etc., etc., etc., being rammed down your throat about them at every turn, there isn't much one can't know about them. I understand that Ms. Ono is/was an "artist" (atrist, a buzz word I will define, in my opinion, as a pretentious faux-intellectual, pacific rim type entities purposely scoping for burnt out/drugged out has-been musicians/producers/songwriters types to feed into an overblown ego when others wont just to finance their visions so they can sit at home and not ever get a real job), and her musings on "music" to me are about as helpful as an ant walking on an elephant's back. I'm glad Ms. Arquette, the actress, got to interview her because only an actress can say, "It is a honor to meet you" to Yoko Ono. I would suspect to Ms. Arquette it would be 'an honor' for her to meet and talk about music to Mickey Mouse too.
Many folks 60 years old and older may want watch this because many of these musicians interviewed are musicians/singers/songwriters that generation grew up with and may want to know how they're doing these days, be surprised they're still alive, may want to know how they felt about working in the industry in their day, and how their kids turned out when they weren't even home to see them grow up. Ms. Arquette gushing over them is always a plus for an ego booster, and we know these folks need an ego booster in their final days.
There are a few (a few, mind you) people interviewed by Ms. Arquette that might appeal to those between 35 and 49, but none that would draw in the under 34 crowed unless they were studying music theory and wanted to do an extra credit paper in oldies pop.
If you want to see 80% "The Dry and the Dusty" in the music industry on the east coast -- and Yoko Ono -- and want to know their thoughts as interviewed by a fading actress (another thinly veiled theme of this documentary to me, really) then this may be the film for you.
For others, please don't bother.
But who'll care? Which musicians would make an impact regarding the theme of this film? What would strike a chord with folks who really want to know the answers to this question? Well, if you're waiting for an answer - still wait. 1970's 'After School Specials' plus actress Rosanna Arquette has combed New York (mainly) and found 80% of the musicians/singers/songwriters that folks almost have forgotten about and asked them for their thoughts. Musicans...and Yoko Ono.
This could have, and would have been interesting if there were a great deal of people we'd be interested in hearing deep inner most thoughts about the industry from from many sides of the spectrum but this was like looking at "the walking dead" on celluloid. And the questions, well, I wont be looking for a Rosanna Arquette talk show anytime soon. At least, I pray there wont be any.
This is something you can readily expect to see on VH-1 under one of their cheesy shows, but this would be best called: "Behind the Music with The Cryptkeeper". This is not to say Rosanna and her crew should have found ONLY young, popular musicians and asked them, they probably wouldn't know how to answer that question at this point in their quest for "bling". Which is why at this point it may have been better to go to the near dead to talk about it. Their careers are 'done' and they would have nothing to loose, whereas younger musicians still have commercial appeal and they wouldn't want to eat and spit in the same place.
But many of the people in this effort made me cringe... I saw the sickle behind many of them and felt this was their last chance to say something about the industry that they worked in on film before Charon came for them to take them down the river Styx.
Of course, I have to have half a brain here and think that those filmed wanted to be filmed and gave permission to be included in this documentary. This could be one of the reasons why we sat through an overblown, overlong episode of "The Dry and the Dusty" in the music industry with a few new folks sprinkled in and the few obligatory African Americans for this to look like a diverse event. If Rosanna Arquette didn't have an actress resume and the notorious Toto song "Rosanna" behind her, this documentary would have been laughed off the face of this earth by any other filmmaker.
Plus, I always cringe when they drag out Yoko Ono to talk about 'music'. I missed "The Beatles" years but thanks to other documentaries, films, TV Show appearances, etc., etc., etc., being rammed down your throat about them at every turn, there isn't much one can't know about them. I understand that Ms. Ono is/was an "artist" (atrist, a buzz word I will define, in my opinion, as a pretentious faux-intellectual, pacific rim type entities purposely scoping for burnt out/drugged out has-been musicians/producers/songwriters types to feed into an overblown ego when others wont just to finance their visions so they can sit at home and not ever get a real job), and her musings on "music" to me are about as helpful as an ant walking on an elephant's back. I'm glad Ms. Arquette, the actress, got to interview her because only an actress can say, "It is a honor to meet you" to Yoko Ono. I would suspect to Ms. Arquette it would be 'an honor' for her to meet and talk about music to Mickey Mouse too.
Many folks 60 years old and older may want watch this because many of these musicians interviewed are musicians/singers/songwriters that generation grew up with and may want to know how they're doing these days, be surprised they're still alive, may want to know how they felt about working in the industry in their day, and how their kids turned out when they weren't even home to see them grow up. Ms. Arquette gushing over them is always a plus for an ego booster, and we know these folks need an ego booster in their final days.
There are a few (a few, mind you) people interviewed by Ms. Arquette that might appeal to those between 35 and 49, but none that would draw in the under 34 crowed unless they were studying music theory and wanted to do an extra credit paper in oldies pop.
If you want to see 80% "The Dry and the Dusty" in the music industry on the east coast -- and Yoko Ono -- and want to know their thoughts as interviewed by a fading actress (another thinly veiled theme of this documentary to me, really) then this may be the film for you.
For others, please don't bother.