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Indie Ear is written by Brandon Kim. Drop him a line at indieear (at) ifc dot com

Music Flicks

The Beatles On Record

By Brandon Kim on 11/12/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

I am no scholar of The Beatles, and as I suggested yesterday, I'm more apt to play a Kinks record. Actually, I am more apt to play a Wings record than either - nothing but unbridled genius! Still, any new recordings of The Beatles, even if they are only conversations, hold a great deal of interest. The Beatles On Record is a new documentary that features 60 some songs, rare footage and images from The Beatles' archives along with so called "never-before-heard outtakes" of conversations from the original Abbey Road recording session. I have a friend, an old crusty DJ... MORE »

Out Of Our Minds / OOOM

By Brandon Kim on 10/13/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

Earlier this year Director Tony Stone impressed me (and many others) with his incredible DIY indie period epic, "Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America." He also wrote, edited and starred in the film, which involved looking brilliant head-banging in wolf pelts, getting raped by a beautiful native woman and having a colossal bare-assed shit on camera. It's an outrageous film, and one of the best I've yet seen this year. He returns with "Out of Our Minds" a shorter piece conceived with musician Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole/Smashing Pumpkins). Like Stone's "Severed Ways," music plays a central role in... MORE »

Fame

By Brandon Kim on 09/18/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

The original "Fame" from 1980 is legend, and as far as teen flicks go, it was fully awesome. It was all about being talented and ruling in New York. Mostly, it celebrated the glory of youth, "I's young, I's single, and I loves to mingle!" as Leroy put it. The film launched a TV series, a musical play and countless copies. It also won a pile of awards including two Oscars. Best Music, Original Score, and Best Music, Original Song for the title track, "Fame." So this 2009 updated remake due in theaters September 25th has a lot to live... MORE »

Chuck Prophet, swine flu, rock doc

By Brandon Kim on 09/04/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

San Fransisco singer and guitar slinger Chuck Prophet (of the 80's Paisley Underground scene'sGreen on Red) decided to skip town, gain some perspective and record an album about America's recession ills. The place he chose was Mexico city, for the energy and a studio that was "totally state of the art.... for 1957." What he and his compatriots didn't count on were the blow outs, brownouts, the major earthquake, or the swine flu pandemic. But it produced some rock and roll and everyone got out alive. Luckily they were filming too, and this documentary for Prophet's album ¡Let Freedom Ring!... MORE »

Royal Flush Festival: Film, Music & Art

By Brandon Kim on 08/28/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks, The Intersection

The Royal Flush Festival is playing its hand of independent film, music, and underground art this coming October 15th-18th at Anthology Film Archives and other venues throughout New York. Founded in 2005 as the E.Vil City Film Fest, it merged with Royal Flush Magazine (the music, art, and culture rag that looks like a comic book that I imagine conservative Christian parents confiscate from their daughters) and changed it's name. Along with some very promising films, highlights include a rock poster art show to coincide with the New York premiere of "American Artifact: The Rise of American Rock Poster Art,"... MORE »

Michael Jackson planned film about foster kids, Uri Geller, macabre Halloween release

By Brandon Kim on 07/22/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

Before he died, Michael Jackson's sad childhood was often neglected by media reports that favored focusing on what a weirdo he was. But Jackson's troubled childhood made him who he was and drove all those kid-centric movies, charities, and Neverland Ranch fun times. Rather than incriminating, his history seems to validate his good intentions, however ill-conceived. Further case in point, the King of Pop had recently "committed to co-direct and fund" a drama about foster children, tentatively called "They Cage the Animals at Night" [NYDailyNews] If you've never seen "Louis, Martin & Michael," a Louis Theroux documentary about his quest... MORE »

It Might Get Loud

By Brandon Kim on 07/20/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

You might not count The Edge, Jack White, or even Jimmy Page among your favorite musicians, but chances are if you're a red-blooded human being you've had a phase with at least one of them. As representatives of three different generations they are iconic characters and as guitarists, they are legends. They come together in "It Might Get Loud," a documentary on the electric guitar on the one hand, and a kind of awesome boyhood fantasy on the other (yeah girlhood too). (Jack White, Jimmy Page, The Edge. Photo by Eric Lee, 2008, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.) The film... MORE »

Soul Power

By Brandon Kim on 07/08/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

Zaire, Africa, 1974. An epic clash took place between reigning heavyweight champion George Foreman and living legend, Muhammad Ali. Ali had been stripped of his title and banned from boxing in 1967 when he'd been drafted by the army after the outbreak of Viet Nam, refused to go on religious grounds, and sensibly added "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong." But the supreme court had reversed the '67 conviction and all converged on Africa for Ali's shot at redemption, the big struggle, the "Rumble in the Jungle" as it became known. (Manu Dibango in "Soul Power," courtesy... MORE »

ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES - THE FILM

By Brandon Kim on 06/25/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

The concert festival, All Tomorrow's Parties, began in 1999 in England in answer to lame, corporate sponsored events (at say Reading or Glastonbury). It's brilliant locale is some kind of very British Holiday camp, at Camber Sands, East Sussex. Since '99 it's expanded to the US and if you were lucky, perhaps you were at Kutshers Country Club, Monticello, New York last year. But ATP is cool beyond it's idyllic locations, it's curated by a different artist/band each year so not only is it diverse but you get to check out what bands people like Devendra Banhart or Vincent Gallo... MORE »

1991: The Year Punk Broke

By Brandon Kim on 05/05/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

I tend to lean more Paul McCartney than J Mascis, but early 90's rock has a special place in my somewhat charred heart. So it was with great joy I went up to the Walter Reade theater in Manhattan last night for a screening of Dave Markey's tour documentary, "1991: The Year Punk Broke." Remember when Nirvana was still new, before they were blasting incessantly from frat house windows across the country? I'd never seen it before, and if it was off my radar, maybe it was off yours too. Set during a tour through Europe with Nirvana and Dinosaur... MORE »

MUSIC FLICKS: Wayne's World

By Jim Shearer on 04/17/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

Last week, Lips and Rob, of the underappreciated--yet highly influential--metal band, Anvil, got their day in the spotlight when the documentary, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, received rave reviews from various media outlets (the movie may also help score them a record deal). The last time two jean-jacket-wearin', hard-rock-lovin' buddies received this much attention from the world of film and music was back in 1992, when Wayne and Garth (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) captured the heart of heavy metal in Wayne's World, which I still believe is one of the greatest movies about music ever made.... MORE »

MUSIC FLICKS: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

By Jim Shearer on 04/10/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

Ever see the movie about the legendary metal band that gives unprecedented access into their personal lives? The one where a whole bunch of good ol' fashion drama unfolds as they work on their latest album? Nope. I'm not talking about Metallica's Some Kind Of Monster. MORE »

MUSIC FLICKS: Cadillac Records

By Jim Shearer on 03/23/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

I remember hearing a lot about Beyonce Knowles gaining a few extra pounds for her portrayal of Etta James in the film Cadillac Records, and then of course, I remember her singing James' signature tune, "At Last," at President Obama's Inauguration Ball--and who could forget the quasi feud that followed (James said that Knowles was going to get her ass whipped for singing her song, but later reneged, claiming she was just joking around)? I didn't hear much about the movie--released last December--that brought about all these juicy headlines, so this weekend I decided to Netflix Cadillac Records.... MORE »

MUSIC FLICKS: Meeting People Is Easy.

By Jim Shearer on 03/02/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

This weekend I decided to revisit Radiohead's stylized 1997-98 tour documentary, Meeting People Is Easy--or as the DVD's packaging reads: A film by grant gee about radiohead. MORE »

MUSIC FLICKS: The Rocker

By Jim Shearer on 02/23/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

I meant to see The Rocker when it hit the big screen last year, but a couple weeks after its release, I couldn't find a theater (in freakin' New York City) that was playing it. Um, that's not a good sign. MORE »

MUSIC FLICKS: American Hardcore

By Jim Shearer on 02/10/2009
Filed under: Music Flicks

American Hardcore follows the history of punk rock/hardcore music from 1980-1986, and as most of the interviewees in this documentary will tell you, that was the genre's most volatile and pure era. Some of the underground luminaries interviewed even suggest that punk rock died in '86--an issue that can be debated from now until 2086. MORE »

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