15/09/2007
INSIDE THE SMITHS
TIBB STREET FILMS
DVD OUT NOW
FAT FREDDY’S DROP: FANTASTIC VOYAGES VOLUME 1
DVD OUT NOW
Here’s the thing: I know absolutely nothing about music. I used to know loads when I was younger but somehow in the last five years I’ve lost quite literally all of my CDs with the exception of ‘Slippery When Wet’ by Bon Jovi and a copy of ‘Jeremy Clarkson’s Drivetime Rock’ that came free with The Sun in 1998. Bit of a problem really considering I write for a music magazine. If they ever find out about it I’m fucked.
So I was a little panicked yesterday morning when I received a bunch of music DVDs to review. These included a film about Fat Freddy’s Drop, who I’ve never heard of, and The Smiths, who I’ve sort of heard of.
The Smiths, you might not be aware, were a band in the 80s who made musical songs. Also, I sat next to two guys in primary school called Nathan and Peter Smith. Nathan had really bad eczema and bits of it used to fall off into my pencil case. This, however, isn’t really relevant.
 ‘Inside The Smiths’ is a documentary about Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke, the drummer and bassist in the band. They recount the journey they made from forming the group in 1982 up until 1987 when Morrissey left to star in ‘Men Behaving Badly.’ That was him right?
The main lesson to be drawn from the film is, if you’re going to be a musician, for fuck’s sake don’t be the drummer or the bassist. Hardly anyone will know who you are while you’re in the band and fucking no-one will know you afterwards. It’s all a bit sad watching these two washed-up rock stars reminiscing about the time when they used to be somebody and touring the world in economy class to go to shitty little Smiths nostalgia nights like an indie rock version of Pat Sharpe. You kind of wish someone would just take them aside and enrol them on a Learn Direct computer course so they can make something of their lives. Sad.
I get the impression that I might really like Fat Freddy’s Drop. They’re a funky kind of jazz-ska group thing (See! I literally don’t know what I’m talking about) from New Zealand. Sadly the DVD is let down by its impenetrable menu system which tells you nothing about what’s on it or how you get to it. I managed to find a couple of music videos that were quite good and, bizarrely, a recipe section, but that’s about it. There could well be a three hour musical remake of ‘Silence of the Lambs’ on the DVD for all I know, but I’m fucked if I could find out. Maybe you’ll have more luck. |
