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Movie the velvet underground 20217/5/2023 ![]() ![]() Holding our ground on that stage that night was, in part, a dare and a declaration to ourselves. Our band also had little to no concern for traditional song structures as we shunned traditional bass playing, guitar chords, and a recognizable drumbeat. The Velvet Underground was always pushing the sonic possibilities of rock beyond any recognizable form to enter a near-transcendent realm of sound during the band’s best musical moments. However, while watching Todd Haynes’ new documentary about t he Velvet Underground, I realized that perhaps that fan’s comment wasn’t so off the mark. That was like very Velvet Underground.” At the time, this seemed like a huge disservice to the band, which had always been one of my favorites. A member of the audience who miraculously endured the entire set told me, “Wow. I remember feeling an equal measure of embarrassment and pride for finishing what we had started. The bass often provided unexpected counterpoints to the miasma of feedback I created through my amplifier and digital delay pedal.Īfter wallowing in our noise and holding our ground for another ten or so minutes., we both walked off stage. As a result, they unlocked sonic possibilities from their instrument that those with any musical training would have dutifully avoided. One thing I particularly enjoyed about our sound was that our bassist had no training. In a later debriefing over beers, we both figured this might be our first and last gig, so we should make the most out of it. The bassist and I, however, refused to abandon our posts. With a healthy dose of embarrassment and self-respect, our drummer and two singers fled the stage around ten minutes in as the music devolved into a cacophonous wall of sound. None of us could recall how any of the songs progressed, often leaving the five of us playing different sections of the same song at once or one of us shifting to a new riff from another song out of pure frustration despite not finishing the first one. Either way, he was hooked to our sound and landed us an opening slot barely a month after we formed. We landed such auspicious beginnings due to our drummer striking a friendship with a local music manager who either heard us practice in our basement or at an open mic night doing covers. We had written four or five original songs that extended our set to a hefty 15 minutes. The Belcourt Theatre does not provide advisories about subject matter or potential triggering content, as sensitivities vary from person to person.īeyond the synopses, trailers and review links on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDband as well as through general internet searches.During the brief moment I played in a punk band in the early 2000s, we had a completely unwarranted first gig bestowed upon us, opening for a popular underground band at our college campus. In short, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND is a documentary that meets the Velvet Underground eye-to-eye and enriches it.” - Finnuala Halligan, Screen Daily The film features in-depth interviews with the key players of that time, combined with a treasure trove of never-before-seen performances and a rich collection of recordings, Warhol films, and other experimental art - creating an immersive experience into what founding member John Cale describes as the band’s creative ethos: “how to be elegant and how to be brutal.” “Haynes, the uncommonly sensitive and provocative director of CAROL, I’M NOT THERE and FAR FROM HEAVEN, among others, isn’t here to give us a blow-by-blow account of the New York band that was adopted by Andy Warhol’s Factory scene.THE VELVET UNDERGROUND is an exemplary doc, doing a virtuoso job of weaving archival footage, still photos and talking heads into a freewheeling trip through the band’s world.” - Steve Pond, The Wrap “Haynes deals with the band on the level they wanted (as musical poets, innovators and influencers) with admiration, but not uncritical reverence…. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND shows just how the group became a cultural touchstone representing a range of contradictions - the band is both of their time, yet timeless literary yet realistic rooted in high art and street culture. ![]() The Velvet Underground created a new sound that changed the world of music, cementing its place as one of rock ’n’ roll’s most revered bands. Reel Proud: A Film Seminar for LGBTQ+ High School StudentsĪll screenings: Video introduction from NPR music critic and correspondent Ann Powers.
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