The documentary then shifts focus for the next the Hawthorne Mozart, it'll hold the title until some- watch it again. And though it purports to be a history hour from Thylor to a general overview ofthe Stones thing really spectacular drops flike a documentary Iesson, it's unlikely to generate any new fans with its during the period. There are long stretches on the with fuII participation from Brian and Mike, which horrible sound and interviews that tell little or noth- influence of Gram Parsons and counfuy music, the doesn t seem likely). ing about each band. Save your money and buy Tfie Anita Pallenberg vs Bianca Jagger battle of ill wills, Much of the concert and prom-film footage will be Decline of Western Civilization, Part 1, or Another the band's decampment to Fhance and Richards' ever- familiar to any Brian fanatic, but there are bits and State of Mind. (Hunter Bennett) deepening heroin addiction during the E:o1e record- pieces of backstage/home-movie material that, in their ings. Greenfield, who stayed at Richards' Rivera es- brevity, only whet the appetite for more. tate, muses that the goings-on reminded him of But that's not really the point: If Wilson partisans V.A. - TEEN A GO GO (www.teen-a-go-go.cottlt the ammo to prove guy was every Somerset Maugham's old line that the "South of needed that their This 80-minute documentary by Melissa Kirkendall peopie." anyone, Flance is a sunny place for shady bit the match of Mac-Len or examines the outbreak of teenage garage bands that g9-minute As the timer nears the mark conciusion Songr+riter supplies it. occurred in America in the mid '60s, spurred by the it, the absolute heaviest, most on this DVD, the overview returns to Taylor but I wont spoil but Beatles' first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show irt place doesnt recap his post-Stones career. Contrary to touching sequence takes on the extras disc, February 1964. The film's center stage is the teen pitching'Add Some Richards' assertions in Iz/e, Taylor has made good during Fred Vail's recollection of rock'n' roll scene of Fort music since leaving the band. But it's mosdy gone Music" to a Top-40 programmer in 1970. The scene Worth, Texas, which is Daily 2009 that he is at first devastating, but ultimately it's inspiring- unheard. Taylor told l}re Mail in portrayed as a particularly because over time ' music is vindi- was broke and hasnt seen a Rolling Stones royalty vibrant microcosm of what check since 19s2. With his involvement in the Eile cated and Vail, the fans, Wilson and the world ulti- was happening in otler (Gene reissue presumably that's changed. The Rolling mately win big. Sculafti) Iocations all across the Stones, 1969-1974: The MickTaylorYeors adds some countly. ofthe credit he aiso deserves. (BilI Wasserzieher) Musicians from all the major Fort Worth bands V.A. A HISTORY LESSON, PART 1: Punk Rock in - give their impressions of Los Angeles in 1984 (Historical Records) BRIAN WILSON - SONGWRITER 1962.1969 the period, including the books were (Sexy lntellectual) While dozens of high-quality written Elite, the Barons, Larry & about punk rock during the Iast two decades, I can Two thoughts: How inconceivable it would have the BIue Notes, the Jades, count the number of worthwhile punk rock docu- been in 1962 or'69 to suggest that a documentary the Kandy Kanes, the Cynics, the Mods, and the mentaries produced dur- film on Bri-Fi's career would ever be made. and Novas, along with several groups from other locales ing that same period on what's left unsaid about such as Eric & the Norsemen from Kansas and the one ha.nd. Here's another the man and his music Vipers from Arkansas. Fans, radio personalities, com- one for the shit pile. after so much coverage mentators and historians, including BiIIy Miller and Dave Travis' A History and analysis over the last Lenny Kaye, also weigh in with theories about what Lesson, furt L Punk Rock three decades? made the Fort Worth scene so unique. in Los Angeles in 7984 fea- Thankfully, there's The hub of the action was the Teen A Go Go, one tures three great bands, the plenty to say, and this of several teen clubs in the Fort Worth area where Minutemen, Redd Kross double-D\rD set says lots youngsters thronged in the hundreds to see local and the Meat Puppets, play- ratherwell. Time has lent bands . "It was teenagers just out dancing to live music ing live in Los Angeles at perspective to the ongoing and having fun and going out to see their favorite the height of their powers. discussion ofhis work, and bands," explains Larry Roquemore of the BIue Notes. It also includes a perfor- most o{ the experts, 'And each Friday night, or whatever nights these mance by Twisted Roots. textperts and players pro- happened, the places were packed. I think it was a Unfortunately, the footage viding commentary here dollar a head." is poorly lit and "guest stars" the backs ofthe heads of really know their stuff-the musicians who abetted The scene inside the Teen A Go Go is documented everybody who was standing in front of Dave Travis Brian now have, after 40-plus years of answering on some incredible (but silent) Super 8 footage ofthe at these shows. Hilariously, Travis tries to spruce it questions, pretty solid takes on why he got them to Cynics performing. There are home movie clips of up by using various cheesy special effects available do what they did on all those classic recordings. several ofthe other bands too, either playing onstage on early video cameras. The footage doesn't Iook any Among the talking heads: David Marks, Bruce or larking around in classic post-Hard Day's Night better in kaleidoscopic form. Carol Kaye and HaI Blaine, Beach Boys fashion. There's also brief but amazing live footage Johnston, Notwithstanding these serious shortcomings, some booker-manager Fred Vail, Danny Hutton, Russ (with sou-ndJ of the Jades onstage doing "I'm Alright," of the clips are awesome from a historical perspec- Titelman, BiIIy Hinsche, rrvriters Peter Ames Carlin, and excerpts of the Five Americans on the Sump n tive. There's a youthful D. Boon dancing a jig while Anthony DeCurtis and Domenic Priore, and music Else W show. The film also features hundreds of performing "The Big Foist" at the Olympic Audito- prof Phillip Lambert. Lambert's invaluable for dem- period photos, along with posters, ads and other rium, as well as Bangle Vickie Peterson sitting in on onstrating, at the piano, precisely what's so innova- memorabilia, and there's plenty of the original re- with Redd Kross. Unfortunately, the sound tive and sophisticated about "" cordings to soundtrack all of these great visuals. quality ofthese performances is horrendous. Travis' and other tunes. Priore explains the "ballad suite" on Teen A Go Go closes out with an amusing clip of microphone was so inadequate that the Meat Pup- Beach Boys Today! as the set-up for , the pre-teen Wayds from Oregon plodding through a pets and Redd Kross performances are unlistenable. whiie Brian biographer Carlin explains why he sees Iudicrously naive version of "Long TaII Texan" in The Minutemen and Twisted Roots songs sound a "I Get Around" as the precursor to the convention- their suburban backyard, a perfect summation of bit better but not enough to inspire repeat viewings. breaking modular-song approach taken in "Good the audacious, anyone-can-do-it spirit that was the Perhaps recognizing that better quality footage of Vibrations." essence of the teenage garage band phenomenon. aII of these bands is available for ftee on YouTube, Danny Hutton shines fresh light on Brian's mid- The DVD comes with a bonus CD single featuring Travis has decided to supplement the performances '60s compositional technique, a creative strategy we two top Forth Worth tracks, "Night of the Sadist" by with interviews with a member or members of each can recognize as being much like that of another Larry & the Blue Notes and "One Potato" by the Elite. band. Sadly, these interviews are dull and pointless. immortal of the period. Hutton notes that Brian would Ms) The Kirkwood brothers appear stoned and utterly typically sit dorr.n at the piano and begin playing "Be disinterested. In what epitomizes the far-from-reve- My Baby" over and over "until he got an idea and Iatory nature of these interviews, the Kirkwoods ad- gradually turned it into his own thing," which re- mit that they were stoned when they recorded their sprG\u minds us of Dylarfs practice ofrevisiting traditional V"lp first record. Then they admit that they were stoned folk or older pop tunes as a limbering-up exercise ruort.-. when they recorded their second record. But get lhe d when he starts a writing session. this, man: They were on different drugs. Whoah! One ofthe best things about an in-depth examina- Aell yorr Faul Roessler also seems to have ingested a lot ofpot lhem tion of Beach Boys music that is iimited to these before his interview. Perhaps he was sitting too close seven brilliant years is that almost everything gets row tlrelr ir{t$ to the Kirkwoods in the green room. McDonald covered. Want to know how much work went into Jeff and Mike Watt are far more animated ttran Roessler lhe Nl Summer LongLP or why Sftut Down Vol. 2 , A,oltGNr Pc and the Kirkwoods, but their interviews are still short a \D(B\lf[ was a rushed project, or the challenges that inspired and not particularly interesting or informative. the great-Ieap-forward of Tbday? Look no further. If It's difficult to figure out who the audience for this i\HrInc,t Brian Wlson Songwriter isnt Ihe definitive study of DVD is. I love Los Angeles punk rock, but I'll never t44 uglv Things Issue 3r