It’s been a weekend of documentaries for me. Apart from 2 minutes of that X Factor shit which confirmed all my worst fears for the 2006 (in)human condition. First was a film entitled "Dreaming In America" about a Memphis band called Lucero. I hadn’t heard of them either until Mr Hagred flagged it up (Thanks Per). Anyway it’s about their struggle to exist in the shifting, all engulfing quicksand of the music industry. Can’t say that the music is too special to these ears (Sorta like DBT/Wilco americana/rock) but the logistics of the piece are way more interesting that that “Dig!” shite that people rave about. Made by Aaron Goldman, it reflects the band members persistence to make a living doing what they love to do.
Today, I went to see “An Inconvenient Truth”, which essentially conveys that if we don’t start rowing in the opposite direction to the way we're headed then, to use an expression Al Gore's missus won't like, we're fucked. It’s quite a powerful considering that it’s based on a lecture and powerpoint presentation. Al (Mr Tipper) is the man who wants us all to sit up and take stock. Don’t let his wife’s PMRC shenanigans make you lose sight of this. He comes over as sincere and driven to try and save the planet. Both this and the Lucero film are about taking a message to people a piece at a time. Town by town, person by person if need be. It’s not clear from AUT how people attend these lectures, do they BUY tickets like going to a concert? Is it in an academic context? But anyway, “Truth” is out here on September 15th. Try and catch it at an independent cinema rather than a multiplex. As an ardent recycler and hater of waste in any shape or form, I don’t have a lot of faith in much of my fellow denizens but they should feel free to do whatever it takes to prove me wrong. The redux version of the Naudet Brothers 9/11 footage that aired on Channel 4 last night was an incredible piece and rightly disturbing. It hardly seems like five years since all that and it still doesn’t seem real when you see it. That line in the sand, the erosion of rights right, left and straight down the central reservation. Probably just as well we can’t see where it’s all headed but you just know it ain’t anywhere upbeat.