The man on the pin is Robert Moog. Tonight Jackpot Records put on a free screening at Lola’s Room, featuring the recently released MOOG docu-bio-mentary and Made in Sheffield, another documentary about the late 70′s post-punk scene in Sheffield, England.
Sheffield showed first and pretty much sucked. I’m very interested in this time and place as it relates to music, particularly the bleed over (or am I imagining this?) from post-punk/industrial to early Rave. I was hoping this film would explore that zone given it’s subtitle “The Birth of Electronic Pop”. Instead I got interviews with the Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Vice Versa, ABC, and other scene contemporaries. A general behind-the-music-with-a-camcorder production aesthetic (complete with cheese-ass computer font titles), meant these interviews had to carry the film. They didn’t – some interesting trainspotting content notwithstanding – largely because pretty much everyone speaking lacked any charisma whatsoever, often coming off like self-rightous pricks. The main lesson here is that even vocally anti-rock musicians can embody the ego-driven, entitled, cock rock persona.
MOOG, on the other hand, is one of the most endearing documentaries I’ve seen in a while, musical or otherwise. It didn’t hurt that Mr. Moog himself is one of the most charming, thoughtful, and genuine people on this green ball. He also seems to have spent his life surrounding himself with people just like him, and hearing them all talk to each other about creating and exploring new musical intruments with totally undiminished and pure enthusiasm is totally inspiring. It makes me want to build a life like this, and it makes me feel like I can. At one point Moog describes the process by which he became the Moog as “slipping on a banana peel in reverse”. And that’s just lovely.
ps: my friend don the amazing dancer was also at this screening and had the exact opposite experience. don also told me he’s reading this blog so maybe he’ll chime in now. don?
