It's not exactly easy to define the Mekons. That they are a group of musicians is beyond dispute. But they are also painters, entrepreneurs, leftists, cosmopolites, and occasionally cultural ambassadors. Perhaps it's safest to say they are a group of talented people who come together every so often to make interesting music and they have done so as a unit for over 30 years. (But they are not dancers, at least not lead singer Jon Langford. His prancing about the stage during one number would make the lumbering Orson Welles look like Rudolf Nureyev.) Oh, yes. They are all married. To each other. All of them. You'll have to see the film to find out how and why.
Their music is not easy to pigeonhole, either. It started out as punk, real punk, with nobody able to play anything, but has evolved into a sort of alt/country/folk with a pinch of rock and an aftertaste of punk. The musicianship is of a higher order with folks the caliber of Lu Edmonds and Susie Honeyman. And they are getting better with every new recording.
The documentary is well crafted with a sneaky narrative woven in. This film is an inspiration to creative people of all ages. It's heartening to learn that the artistic experience past age fifty is not all what Jonathan Winters would have called "the final glide pattern."
Highly recommended.
Their music is not easy to pigeonhole, either. It started out as punk, real punk, with nobody able to play anything, but has evolved into a sort of alt/country/folk with a pinch of rock and an aftertaste of punk. The musicianship is of a higher order with folks the caliber of Lu Edmonds and Susie Honeyman. And they are getting better with every new recording.
The documentary is well crafted with a sneaky narrative woven in. This film is an inspiration to creative people of all ages. It's heartening to learn that the artistic experience past age fifty is not all what Jonathan Winters would have called "the final glide pattern."
Highly recommended.