Every week we compile a selection of music to sing you into the weekend and list them in a post called #bottomrightcorner. Sometimes new tunes, sometimes themed tunes and sometimes we ask a music aficionado to choose the tunes for us. The Sound On Screen Music Film Festival is kicking off today, 26 April, so to get you in the music mood, we decided to choose some tunes from some of the films that will be screened. The film repertoire ranges from a fragile x syndrome sufferer looking for his metal hero Lars Ulrich, to an in-depth look at the highly innovative German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten. It runs from today to 2 May at the Labia Theatre, and you can find out more about what’s screening when at flamedrop.com. We’re excited, are you?
Punk in Africa – National Wake – ‘Everybody Loves Freedom’
‘Three chords, three countries, one revolution. Punk in Africa is the story of the multi-racial punk movement within the recent political and social upheavals experienced in three Southern African countries: South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.’
Here’s ‘Everybody Loves Freedom’ by National Wake, who were a mixed racial band active in the ’70s when apartheid was taking its toll on our nation’s togetherness.
Tension: 25 Years of Underground – Tension – ‘Shock Treatment’
‘Tension: 25 Years Underground chronicles the band’s rise in popularity and how, even through several line-up changes, they stuck to their guns and refused to bow to the demands of record companies. The film leaves you wondering what would have happened to Tension if they had ‘sold out’ and made it big, and indeed the common notion of success itself. Marty Friedman (Megadeth) and Tommy Gattis cut their teeth in this band, and the film opens a time capsule to reveal vintage video footage and unbridled interviews on subjects like how the PMRC helped and hindered ’80s heavy metal music, and how ‘hair bands’ of the
time commercialized the public perception of the genre.’
Here’s ‘Shock Treatment’ from their 1986 LP Breaking Point.
Mission to Lars – Metallica – ‘One’
‘Lars Ulrich is a Heavy Metal God with his own jumbo jet. Tom Spicer lives in a care home in Devon and has fragile x syndrome. Tom has a dream, to meet his hero, to meet Lars. His siblings promise to make it happen, with hopes of good times and bonding. But what starts out a dream soon becomes a nightmare as Tom’s disabilities, a dysfunctional family, and heavy metal’s labyrinthine backstage world thwart the mission at every turn. But as they get closer to Lars, Tom the man starts to shine.’
Here’s the power ballad ‘One’ from the album …And Justice for All by the drummer’s leading heavy metal band Metallica.
EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN: Liebeslieder – Einstürzende Neubauten – ‘Die Interimsliebenden’
‘The undisputed originators of industrial music are the German audio scientists Einstürzende Neubauten, led by the magnetic Blixa Bargeld (who also played guitar for Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds).
This in-depth documentary by Klaus Maeck and Johanna Schenkel takes a focused look at this highly innovative group (formed in the early ‘80s), using more than mere musical instruments to create sounds, from power drills and jackhammers, to scrap metal and vocal contortions they pushed the boundaries of conventional music to another dimension. Includes interviews with all the members, and footage from across their career, with very rare early performances, as well as later shows. This is the definitive documentary on a group that still remains an unparalleled genre unto themselves. German with English subtitles.’
Here’s ‘Die Interimsliebenden’ off the industrial band’s 1993 album Tabula Rasa.
BARóN ROJO – Long Live Rock & Roll – Barón Rojo – ‘Tierra de Nadie’
‘Baron Rojo, the biggest Spanish rock group of all time, received an offer to reunite the original lineup 20 years after their traumatic separation. The four musicians return to the road to face old demons of the past…’
Here’s ‘Tierra de Nadie’, ‘No Man’s Land’ in English, off their 1987 album of the same name.
The Heart is a Drum Machine – John Frusciante – ‘Wayne’
‘What is music? Many of today’s top artists and scholars grapple with the question in this cinematic look at a uniquely human obsession. With musicians, composers, producers, engineers, scholars, scientists & record label owners, feat. John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Maynard James Keenan (Tool), Matt Sorum (Guns ‘n Roses, Velvet Revolver), Juliette Lewis, Charlie Clouser (Nine Inch Nails), George Clinton (Funkadelic), Kurt Loder, Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad), Eddie Kramer, Bob Ludwig, Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips), Bijou Phillips, Elijah Wood and many more.’
Here’s John Frusciante‘s recent single ‘Wayne’ recorded for his friend Wayne Forman.
Film descriptions taken from flamedrop.com.
