Director of the documentary has passed on
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/13/malik-bendjelloul-dead_n_5319001.html
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 13 May 2014 22:36 (ten years ago) link
saw that.
have to admit the documentary (and rodriguez's music) left me almost completely cold. the worst kind of music doc IMO, just a bunch of talking heads saying "this guy is so great, he's like... bob dylan." also the narrative was obviously a bit too perfect, eliding and moving things around for the benefit of a really canned, can-see-it-an-hour-in-advance drama. and IIRC you don't actually get to hear more than 20 seconds of a rodriguez tune before someone starts talking over it. which is all for the good, i suppose, given that rodriguez was a pretty 2nd-rate singer-songwriter.
oh well, it's always sad when someone so young (my age, exactly, in fact) dies.
― espring (amateurist), Wednesday, 14 May 2014 00:23 (ten years ago) link
As for why not Makeba or Masekela
? b/c south african boomers listened largely to rock music just like their american and british counterparts ?
there is no lack of attention paid to makeba and masekela and their role as ambassadors for SA's anti-apartheid movement. they are surely household names in 10,000x as many homes as sixto rodriguez, which is the way it should be.
― espring (amateurist), Wednesday, 14 May 2014 00:25 (ten years ago) link
south african white boomers i should note
i always feel like an asshole when people are like, "omg, did you see that rodriquez doc, what an amazing story! and the music is incredible--he's better than bob dylan!" and i just kind of sit there squirming.
it reminds me of that moment in luis bunuel's "las hurdes" when there's a shot of a doctor inspecting a young girk's perfectly-fine set of teeth and the narrator says something like, "these people suffer from a total lack of dental care, as you can see from the atrociously deteriorated state of this young girl's teeth." and most people are like, "oh, yes, i see, very bad teeth." i guess if everyone interviewed is saying "oh my, he was so incredible--like a bob dylan who disappeared off the face of the earth" enough people in the audience will just buy that no matter what they are hearing.
― espring (amateurist), Wednesday, 14 May 2014 00:34 (ten years ago) link
I finally saw this, I thought it was pretty good but it def could have used more of him and his family.
― akm, Wednesday, 29 October 2014 16:12 (nine years ago) link
RIP
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 19:03 (nine months ago) link
I am listening to Cold Fact - "I wonder how many times you had sex" interesting line
― | (Latham Green), Thursday, 14 December 2023 17:21 (five months ago) link
always figured it was a "sexual liberation" thing, the joy of being blunt
but it's a dumb line and one that instantly made me suspicious of some of the hyperbolic claims abt his songwriting prowess
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 15 December 2023 14:33 (five months ago) link
I am susceptible to believing music is better when it is hyped by critics - I guess depending on the critic
― | (Latham Green), Friday, 15 December 2023 15:44 (five months ago) link
true, I was thinking about the blurbs/talking heads in the doc saying stuff like "he was better than dylan"
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 15 December 2023 16:27 (five months ago) link