See Hear Podcast

Back in 1980, I recall going to the cinema to see a new film, The Blues Brothers. Music and car chases…..what wasn’t there to love? The critics hated it because….ya know….that’s what they’re paid to do. A few years after initial release, it became THAT cult film that everyone watched – on TV, on video or at late night cinema screenings (in Melbourne, it became an audience participation phenomenon similar to Rocky Horror). The question is how did the film get made? Welcome to episode 115 of See Hear Podcast. Kerry, Tim and I welcomed to the show journalist and author Daniel De Vise. He’s written a great new book called “The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic”. As the title implies, it’s not just about the making of the film (although a large part of it is devoted to that subject). Daniel did extensive research to talk about the early lives and characters of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. They were a part of the new North American comedy movement

There's a song performed by Peter Allen that seems to be more relevant than ever: Everything Old Is New Again. Film plots are recycled, songs are recycled (through covers or the same chord structures).....and the media we use to play those films and songs are back in fashion. Records have been popular again for a while, some people are rediscovering VHS, and as this month's film focus shows us, the Compact Cassette is the new medium of choice for music recording and listening. Welcome to Episode 114 of See Hear Podcast. In 2016, Zack Taylor released a film called “Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape” which looks at the humble invention which meant so much to those of us who grew up with the tape as a dominant medium for music listening (and recording music and audio letters and.....) The film features a new generation who were probably not born or at least cognisant of the tape singing its praises. Importantly, the director also sought out Lou Ottens and his colleagues who invented the compact cassette in the

Back at episode 110 of See Hear, Tim, Kerry and I had a round table discussion (Broadway Danny Rose style) about Denny Tedesco's 2015 documentary, The Wrecking Crew. That film was about the session musicians of the 1960s LA scene that made the “name” performers sound great. These session musicians were not known by name outside of that community until their achievements were lauded decades later. What happens in the 1970s when the next generation of LA musicians want to have the ability to play with lot of different artists AND have the joy of being part of a BAND rather than just being part of a pool? You get Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel and Russ Kunkel rewriting the rules. Welcome to episode 113 of See Hear Podcast. Unlike the members of the Wrecking Crew who were originally trained as jazz musicians, and fell into rock and roll to earn a living, the new generation of musicians had grown with rock and roll, loved The Beatles, and wanted to play with songwriters that they admired – as well

When you think of American folk songs of the 60s, you'd think of political injustice, civil rights, hardships due to economic burdens, and war, right? Or do you think about the comforts of food always being laid out on the table, boundless optimism 'cos “its THAT kind of day” or kissing at the end of an optical illusion caused by the dispersion of light in water droplets? 'Cos both work, ya know. Welcome to episode 112 of See Hear Podcast. In 2003, Christopher Guest released A Mighty Wind, the third of his mockumentaries – not counting Rob Reiner's “This Is Spinal Tap”. He had an ensemble cast all highly skilled in improvisation weave the story of what happens when 3 folk groups reassemble for a tribute concert dedicated to their recently deceased manager. Personal frailties, egos, catch phrases, rivalries and decidedly non-issue songs are all focused on in this very funny film. Tim was unavailable, but Kerry and I were joined by her daughter Sarah Fristoe. We debated the accusation that Guest's comedie

Musicians, artists, actors and authors (and any other creatives I haven’t nominated) have long taken pseudonyms. Maybe a more exciting name will sell an image, maybe it’s to have some semblance of privacy, maybe it’s to separate themselves from their past, …any number of reasons. Avant garde art collective The Residents took things beyond name change – they maintained complete anonymity. Welcome to episode 111 of See Hear Podcast. The Residents are a band, multimedia artists, theatrical performers….and anonymous. Long time fans claim to be aware of their identities, but putting that aside, the band subscribed to the Theory of Obscurity that maintains that better art is created when the artist is anonymous and free of audience expectations. The band has always performed with masks and not given names….not even pseudonyms. They’ve been creating music for over 50 years, and have released multitudes of albums – original compositions and deconstructions of 20th century standards from the likes of The Rolling S

Most working people have that day gig – accountant, engineer, admin, hospitality. The job pays the bills and puts food on the table. We don’t tend to think of being a musician as a day job category. Welcome to episode 110 of See Hear Podcast. Through the 20th century, there was always some group of musicians who had that “day job” status – playing for corporate functions, teaching people to instrumental skills, and being the faceless people providing the grooves and melodies behind your favourite records. Remember the shock you felt realising that the Beach Boys weren’t playing their own instruments on Pet Sounds? Or The Monkees? The collective of Los Angeles session musicians who became known as The Wrecking Crew (via drummer Hal Blaine’s autobiography) provided the music for tons of songs that music fans consider pop pantheon. There were other collectives of course – Motown had the Funk Brothers, Stax had Booker T and the MGs, and there were the collectives in Muscle Shoals and Nashville. Film maker Denn

There was a time when the rock and roll star appearance in a film ostensibly as themselves (or a variant) was a given. Think of the films of Elvis Presley or Cliff Richard. Before the Warholian expression of 15 minutes of fame became a thing, the pop music film was a way to make the most of the latest populist puppet’s time in the sun – script be damned, musician’s longevity be damned. “Let’s just give the kids what they want and reap the benefits before the next pretty face we can exploit”. I’m sure that was the studio mantra. The Beatles were gonna be part of that machine….yet something different happened. Welcome to See Hear Podcast episode 109. The Beatles got signed to a 3 film deal with United Artists, and in 1964 released what has been called the Citizen Kane of rock and roll films, A Hard Day’s Night. People have been arguing the merits of their filmic output ever since. This year, author Steve Matteo has released a book called Act Naturally: The Beatles On Film where he focuses on the Fabs as film

Disco music had been a thing from the early 70s on, but not so much in the mainstream. Parts of the African-American, Latino and gay communities had been cherishing the music as an event - going out to dance in discotheques was the thing. There's are books that go through the history of disco music and what put that music underground. Some of the music became top forty success stories, but disco really exploded in 1977 thanks to a movie featuring a TV actor and songs by a group past their glory days. Welcome to episode 108 of See Hear Podcast. Robert Stigwood bought the film rights to a fictitious article by Nik Cohn called “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night”. He invested $3.5M into making the film, and made sure his act The Bee Gees were going to be featured on the soundtrack. John Travolta in between Welcome Back Kotter seasons starred as a young working class man from Brooklyn who hates his job and home life, and only finds solace when dancing at the 2001 Odyssey Discotheque. The film is a great cha

To some people, Ornette Coleman represents the adventurous spirit of jazz. To others, Kenny G is as exciting as it gets. This episode is more dedicated to the former..... Welcome to episode 107 of See Hear Podcast. This month, Tim has selected the film under discussion. It's a documentary filmed in a jazz club in Budapest called “Free The Jazz”. Released in 2014, but seemingly filmed in 2007, its format is simple. Director Czabán György interviewed a range of jazz musicians from Germany, England, Japan, America and Norway about their love of free jazz and what it means to them. After each 2 minute interview, we see that musician in action....then it moves onto the next performer. On the surface, this doesn't sound like a great film format. However, it allows people who may not necessarily be familiar with many of these artists to listen to what they have to say and sample their music. If you don't like one, you only have to wait a brief time to the next one – the jazz sampler equivalent of speed dating if

The history of cinema is loaded with films about siblings and the problems that go with loving and competing with your flesh and blood: The Godfather, A Simple Plan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Eat Drink Man Woman.....and Hilary & Jackie. Welcome to episode 106 of See Hear Podcast. Classical music history records that among the greatest of cellists was Jacqueline du Pre'. Her interpretations of the cello concertos of Elgar and Dvorak amongst others are considered amongst the pinnacle of the recorded canon. She had a sister, Hilary, who started life equally talented as a flautist. Circumstances worked against her continuing, so she married and carried on life domestically without concern. Sadly, Jacqueline died of MS in 1987. Hilary and their brother Piers wrote a memoir called A Genius In The Family which stirred up controversy with classical musicians who'd worked with Jackie, as well as fans. The film that followed, “Hilary and Jackie” caused similar issues. Hilary defended her stance in writing about her rel

Do you remember when you were a kid and you liked to make percussive sounds on biscuit tins, cushions, the neighbour's fence, or your own stomach? Of course you do!!!! No matter whether you took up an instrument or not, percussion is always fun......until nasty neighbours tell you to shut up because you're making noise and disturbing their peaceful afternoon listening passively to Kenny G!!!!! Welcome to episode 105 of See Hear Podcast. Tim, Kerry and I look at a Swedish film from 2010 called Sound of Noise. A guerilla group of percussionists (is that a snare of drummers????) come out of the shadows like a flash mob to perform their composed percussion pieces using any number of found objects – suction hoses, oxygen tanks, money being shredded, bulldozers - and the local constabulary are not pleased. They are determined to rid the city of “musician scum”, particularly one officer who has grown up hating music!!!! We discuss the ubiquity of music in society and how we passively accept it when forced on us b

We've all seen 'em....films about people with a “dream”. They start out poorly, but triumph by the third act. Usually, they're comedic with a serious lesson to be learned. Then there's Tapeheads. Welcome to episode 104 of See Hear Podcast. John Cusack and Tim Robbins star as a pair of underqualified entrepeneurs (especially Cusack) in the music video field. The film was made during the late 80s during the MTV era – when they supposedly played music videos. Tapeheads is loaded with cameos from musicians who wanted to make fun of the whole notion of visuals to sell music, especially when the visuals had nought creativity from themselves. Tim, Kerry and I discuss the film, but also look into MTV itself, the nature of satire in cinema, films reflecting the culture of the period, and drunk tests....something for everyone. Let's get into trouble..... You can watch the film on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4kdKdibTMQ If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review

Biopics about contemporary musicians have been a very common thing in cinema, particularly over the last 40 to 50 years. As we've often discussed on the show, they often follow a familiar pattern – a grocery list, if you will, with all the known high and low points of the subject's life story the audience expects. However, before there was a glutton of such movies, there were a few that had no rules to follow so relied more on character study than cherry picking from 40 years of history. Welcome to episode 103 of See Hear Podcast. Kerry has made her first film selection for the show. It's the 1980 film about country singer Loretta Lynn, Coal Miner's Daughter. During the 1960s and 1970s era when it wasn't the done thing, Lynn wrote her own songs. When it wasn't the done thing, her songs were about being a strong woman who took no nonsense. Of course, life is never as simple as that. She also had to contend with her husband “Doolittle” Lynn who was part supporter / part tormentor. The film charts their relati

After a hiatus of several months, See Hear podcast is back to fill your earholes with discussion of music-centric films and interviews with directors of such films. For episode 102, the focus is on Tender Mercies, the 1983 film starring Robert Duvall about an ex country singer who's trying to find some semblance of normality after an existence of alcoholism, music industry ego and domestic violence. It's a theme that's been tackled before in a myriad of films, but as the saying goes, the devil is in the detail. It's written by Horton Foote (script writer for To Kill a Mockingbird) and directed by Bruce Beresford, a director previously known more for his films about Australian machismo than the sensitive, quiet subject matter that pervades Tender Mercies. Tim is still on break (coming back soon I'm assured). This film was Bernie's pick but was also not available to record. Sadly, after this recording, he informed me that he's leaving the show. I'm going to miss his input. So onto the good news. Friend of th

I'm lucky to live in a town with a great music scene. Notwithstanding the tough times that both bands and venue operators are facing in the wake of the pandemic (and the rip-off merchants who believe that their bottom line is more important than paying musicians a living wage), Melbourne has always had a healthy music culture as do many cities around the world. I'm talking about cities where music venues are plentiful, bands are playing all week, and punters with a myriad of tastes can find something to please them. One of those cities is Tel Aviv.   Welcome to episode 101 of See Hear Podcast.   Tim is still away and Bernie was running the Rock 'n' Roll Jumble Market, but I had the company of Israeli director Amit Itzcar. He has directed a great documentary called "Furious And Fast: The Story of Fast Music And The Patiphone”. On one level it is a film about an independent record label (Fast Music) in the late 90s to the early 2000s. This was a time when there were nearly no such thing in Israel. Linked to thi

Back in January 2014, Wendi Freeman, Tim Merrill and myself started a monthly podcast to look at the world of films about music and musicians (or any tenuous link to that world). Occasionally, we would talk about musicals that weren't actually about music, cos rules were meant to be broken. From episode 2, fellow music and film fan, Bernard Stickwell joined the team, an See Hear was on its way. The first film discussed on the show was a documentary about a musical genius who was just not appreciated by the wider population.....actually, naaaahhh.....we discussed Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies.   We are truly happy 8 and a half years later to say Welcome to Episode 100 of See Hear Podcast.   If you're gonna commemorate a milestone, you have to go BIG. Bernie and I planned a discussion of a BIG film with two of the giants of the podcasting world. We look at Milos Forman's celebrated 1984 film, Amadeus with our great friends, Mike White of The Projection Booth (and quite a few other podcasts) and Will Sm

We're so used to the idea of art being hung in museums or on our walls, that we forget that we have may have hundreds or thousands of pieces of art hiding in plain sight – on shelves in our record or CD collections.   Welcome to episode 99 of See Hear Podcast.   Anytime you go exploring through your local record or CD store, before you even hear the music, the potential to draw you to an album you're unfamiliar with is the cover art. They can be futuristic paintings, posed photos, extravagant, plain, in questionable taste, exciting or dull. The designer is the person the musicians have entrusted to be the gateway to their own work.   Kevin Hosmann is an album cover designer and first time film maker. He has released a documentary paying tribute to his colleagues in the design profession. He speaks to a lot of them, many who have designed many iconic covers over the course of popular music history, and many who have just designed functional covers. The film explores their experiences and the history of this ar

When you were a kid, did your parents ever ask you to do your Wiggler practice? How about getting to your room and playing your Vibrowheels? Surely there were repercussions if you didn't practice your Melocipede????   Welcome to episode 98 of See Hear Podcast.   Neil Feather is a creator of musical instruments (such as the ones listed above), and a firm believer in playing experimental music. He doesn't play with the existing 12-tone system predominant in Western music. Film maker and friend of the show Skizz Cyzyk has created a documentary about Neil showing his creative process in building his instruments, how he uses them, the connection between science, engineering and art, and how he collaborates with other musicians. This is no dry history doc with talking heads describing how Neil “changed their lives”. This is about what Neil has actually done and what he further wants to achieve, and is absorbing.   Bernie and I were joined by Mike White of The Projection Booth (and a gazillion other shows) to talk w

The story of Brian Wilson has been heavily documented through literature and film. There are a couple of perspectives that continuously get focus: Brian's brilliance as songwriter and harmony arranger. His troubled life and mental breakdown through the abuse of his jealous father Murry Wilson, the smothering treatment of status seeking psychiatrist Eugene Landy, and the questioning of his musical ambitions by the Beach Boys (well.....Mike Love) when he wanted to go beyond girls and cars as subject matter. Do we need another film about Brian Wilson? Welcome to episode 97 of See Hear Podcast. We welcome back to the show director Brent (No Relation) Wilson. Previously, he'd been on the show discussing his excellent documentary on Doo Wop, “Streetlight Harmonies”. This time around he joins myself and Bernie to talk about his new film “Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road”. Much of the film is of Brian in conversation with close friend and former Rolling Stone magazine editor, Jason Fine. The two drive around

The 1980s were headed into frightening times politically. The threat of war and potential nuclear conflict was pervasive. So naturally music would reflect the times, right? Sure thing....Bette Davis Eyes, Nine To Five (Morning Train), This Ole' House, You Weren't In Love With Me, and Just The Two Of Us were what people were buying – they reflect the times, right? Welcome to episode 96 of See Hear Podcast. Okay, okay.....I loaded up some songs that were the antithesis of the films under question, but just wanted to make a point that what was popular in the mainstream was still a long way from the more edgy music that rock fans were taking joy and catharsis in. While a lot of the new wave of music wasn't necessarily focusing on the fears of the world, its often jittery nature and aggressive sounds surely reflected the state of the world (that's my theory and I'm sticking with it). Tim and Bernie look at a pair of films released in 1981. For the main part, they discuss Urgh! A Music War, a concert film showin