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sisabetToday is the day that marks the day that forever will signify this:
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drdawn is, and will always be, older than me.
Happy Birthday!
Oh, crap. Dawn - did you call me last night and ask me to bring you your b-day gifts over or did I dream that? I don't know.
I do know that I crashed out last night after making coconut rice, chicken in an apple bacon deglazed sauce and creamed spinach for supper and only just woke in time to watch "Welcome to Deathrow" a documentary on the creation and fall of the groundbreaking record label. Since I am posting thoughts on documentaries as I watch them - I guess I should talk about this one while it is still fresh in my mind.
Welcome to Death Row
Director: S. LEIGH SAVIDGE 2001
Synopsis: The rise and fall of Death Row Records and its founder Marion "Suge' Knight is the subject of this explosive documentary.
Copyright: © 2001 XENON ENTERTAINMENT
The first caption in the movie informs you that the creators of this documentary were unable to secure music rights for this film and that... well, it really hurts this project, overall, IMO.
If you don't actually play the music, then you fall into the same trap as the Senate Hearings and William Bennett and even Kurt Loder in the early nineties did - you just *tell* people that the songs were about anger, rage and hopelessness and life on the streets or you *tell* them the songs are about misogyny and ego and posturing and violence. You actually have to listen to the songs to understand that all of the above is correct, it is a "Yes, but..." answer. To reach an understanding of what they are talking about that is happening - this musical revolution (and I don't think that calling it a revolution 15 years later is stretching it by any means) you need to hear the music. A documentary on Motown, on Elvis, on the ever-lovin' Beatles -- what would it be without the music?
Actually, I don't think it could even touch upon this for exciting and riveting. Even without the tracks that Death Row laid out (and this is groundbreaking stuff, what Dr Dre was creating and y'all all remember when Doggystyle came out so don't even try to act like it was not a big deal. It was huge) the basic story of how Death Row records came to be -- how Dr. Dre left NWA, the resulting Easy E lawsuit, Suge Knight learning about the business as Bobby Brown's bodyguard and actually being someone that the artists like Dre felt they could trust (the record deal they were coming from at Ruthless - their contracts were a joke) - and Michael Howard holding the purse strings from his cell -- then you have Suge and Howard's attorney gradually squeezing Howard out of the picture, Vanilla Ice's constantly changing version of how Death Row got points in "Ice, Ice Baby" - you've got Dre focused and in the studion 24/7 making the "Chronic" and distributor after distributor passing on it, Interscope picking it up and selling 5 million copies (this is incredible if you consider that not one single track will get radio play. Well, maybe "Nuthin But A G-Thang" - I actually can't remember if it was a single or not), Suge becoming more and more visible and styling himself as a gansta from the streets when he wasn't. Y'all - Suge was Clarence and Clarence lives at home with both his parents and Clarence Parents have a real good marriage and well - actually Suge is Marion and I'm just having 8-Mile flashbacks --ignore me.
This documentary does a stellar job in putting everything together and making certain the viewer is not lost. So much happens, the entire thing could veer off at any minute into side stories that are tangentially related and sometimes the viewer is left wanting more, so it is a testament to the movie that it is able to maintain such a focus. We watch Knight become more and more enamored with his own press. There is a constant overlay of a phone conversation with Howard (from prison) as he talks about how if you are not from the streets and then you decide to act "street" like Suge did - you make big mistakes. You hear Howard tell about warning Suge about not exploiting gang symbols as the camera pans over a cover of Source featuring Knight standing in front of 2 Rolls Royces and wearing all red.
You see Dre falling into a creative depression and Tupac Shakur go from being one of the most literate and interesting artists of the early nineties to being a paranoid, manic, Knight-controlled mess. You see the East Coast/West Coast rivalry begin as nothing more than Knight and his New York counterpart Sean Combs play for press. Then you see that nothing can last in this chaos and the fall of everything is sad and riveting.
At this point - even without the music - the story and interviews are superb. You watch Dre realize he has to get out and pretty much leaving his own label to start over and make Aftermath. I would love to see a documentary just on this alone.
Likewise - it would be nice to see a real, non Behind the Music Glossed, look at Tupac. I never realized just how obviously he was impaired emotionally and mentally toward the end. I don't know if he was ever diagnosed bipolar but we see some obvious manic cycling (or cocaine abuse, it is hard to tell) and for the first time in 7 years, I want to listen to Shakur. I forgot about how his music changed fundamentally and he went from being politically conscious to raving about nonexistent rivalries between rappers who were never really on the street - not the way it was being played. And Shakur was manipulated and just... wow. I think it would be an interesting case study to conduct at the very least and that is one good thing about workaholic confessional creative types: after they are murdered in cold blood in a crime no one seems motivated to solve, you can go back and listen to their discography and determine exactly when they started cracking up.
So, I think the movie was interesting, even though it could have been better, but it does give us the most indepth and accurate account of the rise and fall of Death Row Records. It also addresses where the money went (400 million and it all fell into the hands of a few white dudes that had nothing at all to do with any creative or marketing force), where the founders ended up (short version is prison...for kicking a dude) and the next time I watch this I will keep a running talley for how many times Kevin Powell calls Suge Knight and Sean Combs "entrepreneurs" - that is the only word he has for it. You'd think Vibe would have sprung for a thesarus or something since he has only been covering all of this since it happened. Get more words, Kevin!*
Welcome to Death Row is currently playing on Encore: True Stories and repeats will be aired on January 18, 26, and 31st. Next month is will be showing on Black Starz.
*Before anyone says anything - we all know he is from the original Real World. That is not relevant here - he is also an authority on hip-hop and urban culture... I just think he needs another word - it becomes ridiculous and obvious code for drug dealer and as we are not talking about Master P here (although he makes an appearance in an interview) and I don't think Powell means it to appear that way.
drdawn is, and will always be, older than me. Happy Birthday!
Oh, crap. Dawn - did you call me last night and ask me to bring you your b-day gifts over or did I dream that? I don't know.
I do know that I crashed out last night after making coconut rice, chicken in an apple bacon deglazed sauce and creamed spinach for supper and only just woke in time to watch "Welcome to Deathrow" a documentary on the creation and fall of the groundbreaking record label. Since I am posting thoughts on documentaries as I watch them - I guess I should talk about this one while it is still fresh in my mind.
Welcome to Death Row
Director: S. LEIGH SAVIDGE 2001
Synopsis: The rise and fall of Death Row Records and its founder Marion "Suge' Knight is the subject of this explosive documentary.
Copyright: © 2001 XENON ENTERTAINMENT
The first caption in the movie informs you that the creators of this documentary were unable to secure music rights for this film and that... well, it really hurts this project, overall, IMO.
If you don't actually play the music, then you fall into the same trap as the Senate Hearings and William Bennett and even Kurt Loder in the early nineties did - you just *tell* people that the songs were about anger, rage and hopelessness and life on the streets or you *tell* them the songs are about misogyny and ego and posturing and violence. You actually have to listen to the songs to understand that all of the above is correct, it is a "Yes, but..." answer. To reach an understanding of what they are talking about that is happening - this musical revolution (and I don't think that calling it a revolution 15 years later is stretching it by any means) you need to hear the music. A documentary on Motown, on Elvis, on the ever-lovin' Beatles -- what would it be without the music?
Actually, I don't think it could even touch upon this for exciting and riveting. Even without the tracks that Death Row laid out (and this is groundbreaking stuff, what Dr Dre was creating and y'all all remember when Doggystyle came out so don't even try to act like it was not a big deal. It was huge) the basic story of how Death Row records came to be -- how Dr. Dre left NWA, the resulting Easy E lawsuit, Suge Knight learning about the business as Bobby Brown's bodyguard and actually being someone that the artists like Dre felt they could trust (the record deal they were coming from at Ruthless - their contracts were a joke) - and Michael Howard holding the purse strings from his cell -- then you have Suge and Howard's attorney gradually squeezing Howard out of the picture, Vanilla Ice's constantly changing version of how Death Row got points in "Ice, Ice Baby" - you've got Dre focused and in the studion 24/7 making the "Chronic" and distributor after distributor passing on it, Interscope picking it up and selling 5 million copies (this is incredible if you consider that not one single track will get radio play. Well, maybe "Nuthin But A G-Thang" - I actually can't remember if it was a single or not), Suge becoming more and more visible and styling himself as a gansta from the streets when he wasn't. Y'all - Suge was Clarence and Clarence lives at home with both his parents and Clarence Parents have a real good marriage and well - actually Suge is Marion and I'm just having 8-Mile flashbacks --ignore me.
This documentary does a stellar job in putting everything together and making certain the viewer is not lost. So much happens, the entire thing could veer off at any minute into side stories that are tangentially related and sometimes the viewer is left wanting more, so it is a testament to the movie that it is able to maintain such a focus. We watch Knight become more and more enamored with his own press. There is a constant overlay of a phone conversation with Howard (from prison) as he talks about how if you are not from the streets and then you decide to act "street" like Suge did - you make big mistakes. You hear Howard tell about warning Suge about not exploiting gang symbols as the camera pans over a cover of Source featuring Knight standing in front of 2 Rolls Royces and wearing all red.
You see Dre falling into a creative depression and Tupac Shakur go from being one of the most literate and interesting artists of the early nineties to being a paranoid, manic, Knight-controlled mess. You see the East Coast/West Coast rivalry begin as nothing more than Knight and his New York counterpart Sean Combs play for press. Then you see that nothing can last in this chaos and the fall of everything is sad and riveting.
At this point - even without the music - the story and interviews are superb. You watch Dre realize he has to get out and pretty much leaving his own label to start over and make Aftermath. I would love to see a documentary just on this alone.
Likewise - it would be nice to see a real, non Behind the Music Glossed, look at Tupac. I never realized just how obviously he was impaired emotionally and mentally toward the end. I don't know if he was ever diagnosed bipolar but we see some obvious manic cycling (or cocaine abuse, it is hard to tell) and for the first time in 7 years, I want to listen to Shakur. I forgot about how his music changed fundamentally and he went from being politically conscious to raving about nonexistent rivalries between rappers who were never really on the street - not the way it was being played. And Shakur was manipulated and just... wow. I think it would be an interesting case study to conduct at the very least and that is one good thing about workaholic confessional creative types: after they are murdered in cold blood in a crime no one seems motivated to solve, you can go back and listen to their discography and determine exactly when they started cracking up.
So, I think the movie was interesting, even though it could have been better, but it does give us the most indepth and accurate account of the rise and fall of Death Row Records. It also addresses where the money went (400 million and it all fell into the hands of a few white dudes that had nothing at all to do with any creative or marketing force), where the founders ended up (short version is prison...for kicking a dude) and the next time I watch this I will keep a running talley for how many times Kevin Powell calls Suge Knight and Sean Combs "entrepreneurs" - that is the only word he has for it. You'd think Vibe would have sprung for a thesarus or something since he has only been covering all of this since it happened. Get more words, Kevin!*
Welcome to Death Row is currently playing on Encore: True Stories and repeats will be aired on January 18, 26, and 31st. Next month is will be showing on Black Starz.
*Before anyone says anything - we all know he is from the original Real World. That is not relevant here - he is also an authority on hip-hop and urban culture... I just think he needs another word - it becomes ridiculous and obvious code for drug dealer and as we are not talking about Master P here (although he makes an appearance in an interview) and I don't think Powell means it to appear that way.
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-11 08:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-11 08:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-11 10:50 pm (UTC)http://www.theonionavclub.com/review.php?review_id=6994
I think you would like Rabin's reviews in general, actually. He's really smart, with a dry sense of humor, and he reviews hip-hop artists from a wide range of styles and subgenres.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-11 11:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-12 01:19 am (UTC)