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Tribute: A Rockumentary
If watching a bunch of middle-aged rock star wannabe's struggle for 80 minutes sounds darkly hilarious to you, you'll love this documentary. Apparently the movie was released in 2001 or so but I just caught it on Sundance a few days ago. It's going to be on again soon so program that Tivo, or VCR, or whatever. Brilliant and hilarious. The site is here but it really doesn't do it justice. From the Sundance website:
"These are dedicated middle-aged rockers, who tease their hair and put on make-up to recreate every riff, strut and kick originally created by their idols in bands ranging from KISS and Judas Priest to the Monkees and Queen. Film Comment called this fascinating peek into music's subculture, "a bottomless quagmire of melodramatic weirdness.""
Posted by Steve Lambert on 06/15/2005 | Permalink
Comments
Dude. I *so* want that as my epitaph:
"Here lies Andy. His life was a bottomless quagmire of melodramatic weirdness. His death was far less interesting."
Posted by: andy | Jun 15, 2005 9:30:36 PM
Saw that a few times on the festival circuit - I can't stress how enjoyable a film it is. A number of years ago I was an enthusiastic and involved fan of a local Rolling Stones cover band, so this film struck home just a little bit.
I think they had to cut something to get DVD/Sundance release - they couldn't get permission to include all the music - but I can't remember what specifically was cut. Either way, definitely worth checking out.
Posted by: Steve Portigal | Jun 16, 2005 8:46:40 AM
I noticed when I saw the movie there were some scenes that had really obvious blurred sections covering a concert poster. I got the impression Judas Priest or something was trying to protect their 'brand'. Notice too that the trailer on the Tribute site has been taken down for legal reasons. I wrote the filmmakers to ask about it but I haven't heard yet. When i do, I will post an update here.
Posted by: Steve Lambert | Jun 16, 2005 4:09:26 PM
Actually, there was another tribute doc from over three years ago called 'Tributary' that covered the same scope. It was made by Russ Foster, the man behind the classic '8 Track Mind' zine and the 8-track doc, 'So Wrong, They're Right'.
Posted by: Don-O | Jun 22, 2005 2:56:49 PM
