Going into this, I didn't know a lot about Max Roach. I was quite amazed at the variety of approaches he explored with music over his decades. From be-bop pioneer in the 50's, to one of the foremost musical activists (with his wife Abbey Lincoln) of the 60's, to a Umass music prof and founder of the innovative M'Boom Percussion Ensemble in the 70's, to a pioneer in mixing live drumming with early hip-hop in the 80's, to later experiments with theatre and dance troupes in the 90's and 00's. A well-presented overview, with clips of interviews from people who knew him, mostly musicians and family. He lived large, and the world is better for it. There is also a clip of him in some African country at a ceremonial site, drumming with local drummers - not sure where that was, but i'd like to find out.
Reviews
13 Reviews
Stronger Than Bullets
(2017)
music and revolution in Libya circa 2010-2011
25 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Great look inside the music of Libya as revolution erupted and finally ousted Gaddafi. Gaddafi had collected all western instruments and burned them in bonfires, and suppressed any non-approved musical expression. But with the rise of the Arab Spring spreading to Libya, several musicians emerge, showing up on the front lines with guitar and voice. One popular musician gets shot, but others carry on the fight. Many shots of musicians recording all styles of music - rock, metal, hip-hop. With Gaddafi's death, there is massive celebration and plans for a music festival, but hopes are dashed as various other oppressive forces step in to fill the void. Violence rises again, and musicians are again driven underground.
New Wave Theatre
(1982– )
glorious peek into the LA underground 80's music scene
29 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Growing up in Montana, this was a lifeline to a whole world we knew little about. My best friend and I would religiously await each new episode, airing on the "USA Network" as part of "Night Flight", which was a weekend evening of music & cultural shows with a left-field bent. And New Wave Theater was the furthest out of all. Hosted by the verbose & mystic-minded Peter Ivers, with bizarre interludes of fake ads and slightly disturbing ramblings by altered humans, often with a post-apocalyptic bent. And of course the MUSIC!! Bands would play live in studio, and thus most were either from Southern California or touring through. Some bigger names in the punk and new wave scene - X, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, The Blasters, Plugz, Fear, Bad Religion, Suburban Lawns, etc., mixed with little-known but great bands like Rayonics, Unknowns, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, 45 Grave, Monitor, Andy & the Rattlesnakes, The Brainiacs, etc. And then there was some extreme performance art like Johanna Went, Snake Pit & Zam, etc. It was quite a wild ride some weeks. Some bands were kinda awful, but it was all part of the fun. Each band was always asked after their song "What is the meaning of life," eliciting varied responses. Sadly Peter Ivers was murdered, apparently during a home break-in by a random robber.
Rising Tones Cross
(1985)
rare glimpse into NYC avant-jazz in the 80's
23 September 2023
Combines some great snippets of music recorded at various venues plus musings about how this music is so insignificant in the land of its birth, and how the racial divide has left most black jazz players in poverty, and the fact that many can only sustain themselves by touring Europe, where the music is much more respected. Also musings about the music itself, and different approaches. Some great footage. My main complaint is that very few of the people are identified in the film, and you either already know who they are or have to guess. A lot of the footage comes from the Sound Unity festival, an early precursor to the Vision Festival apparently.
Timeless
(2016–2018)
great time travel / illuminati chaser show
8 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Overall, great twists and turns kept my interest every show, and the drops into different historical periods were an element that added a lot of variety. Especially seeing how they would adapt (as a white man, a white woman, a black man, etc.) in different historical periods. While there's a lot of "willing suspension of disbelief" over certain questionable choices or events, the time travel premise gives the writers a lot of leeway to throw inconceivable things into the mix. Sometimes, I just didn't understand why a character would make a certain choice, or how time travel could work as shown, but i'd get over it soon enough. I did find the last episode kinda disappointing, it seemed to wrap things up way too quickly, and I was left shaking my head, like woah, they really vanquished the evil network just like that? Oh well, that's partly a result of the idiots at NBC cancelling the show and making them wrap it up much sooner than they probably wanted to. Always seems like many of the best shows get canned in their prime.
20, 000 Miles on a Horse
(2007)
incredible journey
13 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
It's been years since i watched this, but i remember it being a very well-done doc of a few crazy people who dared to ride horses all the way from Tierra del Fuego to Nome, Alaska (I think that's the end point). It took years and a few horses died along the way. Columbia was especially challenging, with the dense jungle stopping most everything. And they encounter some remote native people who have legends about white strangers appearing upon horses. Then they get to Kansas, where the locals exclaim how beautiful it is while all they see is boredom. An epic journey, one which may never be duplicated.
The Extraordinary Tale of William Buckley: The great untold story of Australia's Robinson Crusoe
(2010 TV Movie)
"civilized" person goes indigenous, and back again
30 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Quite a rare look at an english man who had to adopt an aboriginal lifestyle after escaping from enslavement by english guards. He was convicted of a petty theft of cloth, and shipped off to a remote part of australia to help settle a post for england. Many other prisoners also tried to escape but all others turned back after facing the harsh conditions and little edible food. Buckley endured and nearly died before being found by aborigine people, who mistook him for the reincarnation of one of their own and thus took him in. He lived with them most of 30? Years, though by the end he was alone again after many brutal exchanges between competing aborigine groups, the last of which killed all his companions. He finally discovers a group of 3 englishmen who have landed on shore, and thus must deal with confliciting loyalties, re-learning how to speak english in the process. He tries to make peace between the aborigines, who want to kill the english, and the increasing number of english who are coming to the shores. Eventually he gives up and as expected learns of the destruction of the aborigines by the gun-powered english. While I have long known of the savagery of the so-called "civilized" world, the savagery of many indigenous people is no better, as they steal from and kill opposing groups, and steal women as possessions. Most humans, whether "civilized" or indigenous, seem to be brutal, selfish, and greedy. But what a rare tale of someone who got to deeply experience both worlds.
inexplicable change of mind for everyone based on a one minute investigation
30 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
In their very brief and surface-level investigation, the doctor and tuvok find one possible piece of "evidence" to support 7's claims of being assaulted and memory-wiped, but when that one piece of evidence seems to not be conclusive, they all suddenly decide that Corin must be innocent - what??? That was the flimsiest investigation possible, not even following up on their own suggestion to look for alterations in the laboratory or hidden sections. It took all of 1 minute. I know, they can't take too much time in a 40 minute episode, but for the crew to all suddenly change their mind based on this is rather absurd. They should view this as a still-open case, needing more evidence to convict, not a declaration of innocence. Sometimes the glossing over of important points is a little too much to handle. If someone I knew was claiming to have been raped and this passed for a thorough investigation I would be really pissed!
how George and drugs screwed everyone while creating a funk empire
22 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Why is it that a lot of the greatest musical visionaries are real a-holes? This doc is full of ex-bandmembers who have many tales of George not paying them, getting them hooked on drugs, messing up their careers outside of his band, pimping the women, and making sure no one got much credit for their contributions. George, Bootsy, and Bernie Worrell are not interviewed at all - maybe they're the only ones who got a fair shake.
Pfunk sure made some awesome music, but couldn't George have treated his collaborators with some respect?
Pfunk sure made some awesome music, but couldn't George have treated his collaborators with some respect?
let them attack some holodeck creations!
15 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A somewhat disturbing episode with some rather hilarious moments. While it's not fun to see people getting attacked by giant blobs and slowly dying, let us review the hilarity: first, the Tak-Tak are one of the more absurd and comical species yet, who communicate with a kind of "interpretative dance" with words. Second, i can't believe no one has mentioned the comic genius of Janeway creating a holodeck beach party so that the macrovirus blobs will be attracted and go to attack them - never has a beach party turned so bad so fast! With the blobs all feasting on the party-goers, they are in one place so Janeway can blow them all up. And all is saved! Hurray!
Desolation Center
(2018)
LA police brutality drives punks to the desert
14 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Out of adversity came creative out-of-the box thinking. Partly due to the harshness of LA police, and partly just a great idea, they take creativity way outside the box of LA. And it had far-reaching impacts, directly inspiring people associated with Lollapalooza (Perry Farrell was an enthusiastic attendee and performer with his first band Psi Com), Coachella (I believe the founders also attended a desert event), and even Burning Man (John Law said it was one of his inspirations to encourage taking Burning Man out to the desert). So even though only about 1,000?? People actually attended one of these events, they reverberated much farther. And luckily, the producer had excellent and adventurous taste in music, bringing some of the more adventurous LA bands (Savage Republic, Minutemen) together with those from much further afield (Sonic Youth, Einsturzende Neubaten, Survival Research Labs). I'm guessing they also inspired the more EDM-oriented events that happened out in the desert in the 90's? Lots of great footage of the actual concerts, plus great interviews. Ending on a sad note, the final concert was actually in LA, and while they played, D Boon of the minutemen was killed in a traffic accident. The end of an era ...
Star Trek: Picard
(2020–2023)
as good or better than any in the franchise
12 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I can't believe so many people are panning this, i really don't get it. Although I was skeptical at first, and wouldn't have watched it if my partner (who had already watched it) convinced me to, I gave it a chance because I am a Next Generation fan. I was pleasantly surprised. Intriguing plot, characters mostly well done (though I was a little annoyed by Dr. Agnes Girardi). As with any Star Trek episode, there are many moments of "how did they do that?" - things that do not make logical sense without further explanation. I guess you could say that about a lot of sci-fi. Lots of "willing suspension of disbelief." And I was a little annoyed that they magically duplicated Picard at the end, making all that "grieving" unnecessary. But overall, very well done and held my attention throughout.
great look at a tight punk community
13 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Didn't know much about this scene, but discovered some great post-hardcore bands (like On The Might of Princes) and was a little envious of the community they were creating through house shows with a packed throng of sing-along kids, kickball in parking lots, etc. Of course not all is honky-dory, like disappointment when On The Might of Princes signs to a major label, leaving the DIY crowd feeling left in the dust.
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