See Hear Podcast - Current State of Play

Maurice makes an announcement about See Hear's's status for a period of time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaaaah, 80s cinema. When asked to think about films from the 80s, chances are you recall blockbuster adventures featuring an archaeologist carrying a whip or dancing as a form of rebellion or taking a day off from school and getting into hijinks. If the backers of a film by Allan Arkush hadn't decided to go adopt the Bialystock principle to film production, it's possible that a chaotic comedy about a rock concert on New Year's Eve at a theatre modelled on the Fillmore East may also have been fondly recalled by many people. Welcome to episode 133 of See Hear. In 1983, film director and music nerd (and previous See Hear guest) Allan Arkush wanted to make a film mildly recalling his days working at the Fillmore East while studying at NYU. He had to make certain changes to get it financed, but the backers did everything they could to get that film sunk for tax reasons. That film was Get Crazy. The story behind it is as frustrating as the film itself is entertaining...and Kerry, Charlie and I get into both aspects. The film is a live-action cartoon with the old-fashioned elements of “let's put on a show” and villains who want to destroy the theatre the show is playing in at any cost. It's a film that could only have been made at this time....Malcolm McDowell, Lee Ving, and Bill Henderson show how to be a front man for a band. There are so many jokes that don't land...and many more that do. That doesn't matter. The backers wanted this film to ride the popularity of Airplane / Flying High....and despite Arkush's original plans for the film to be a more serious consideration of his early memories, it works a treat as a musical comedy of bizarre proportions. If you haven't seen Get Crazy, there's a beautiful blu ray available from Kino Lorber, or it's on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrIRmMNi800&t=504s It's wonderful to have Charlie of the Stinking Pause podcast on an ongoing basis while Tim is taking a well needed break. All the best to our listeners as we say farewell / piss off to 2025. Happy new year to us all. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com Send us feedback via email at [email protected] Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Backstabbing, faux-sincerity, clawing one's way to the top, class division, those at the top thumbing their noses at those further down the ladder....all political concepts, right? Actually, all of this is in reference to the 1975 Robert Altman film “Nashville” about the country music scene....which in itself serves as a political allegory. Welcome to episode 132 of See Hear. In the early seventies, Robert Altman was becoming known as a director of ensemble pieces without the usual approach to narrative. He could be seen as being part of the New Hollywood that emerged in the late 60s, but truth is, he was a film maker unto himself....as different from everything else that was going on as other directors that emerged in this period were to what came before. He already had some hugely important films like M*A*S*H and The Long Goodbye, but to many, Nashville is considered his masterpiece. It featured multiple storylines surrounding musicians, hangers on, lovers, and political strategists. The film takes place over 5 days leading up to a concert supporting a presidential candidate. In between, we musical performances that reflect the political era – some in bars, some in the Grand Ol' Opry, some in hotel rooms. The film shows many of these people in a poor light – some are greedy, some are deluded, all are desperate. Many of the songs in this film were composed by the actors, leaving the Nashville music fraternity annoyed that they weren't consulted, and that these pesky Northerner actors thought they could understand what country music was about. Altman must have been forgiven as his final film many years later was A Prairie Home Companion (a very early See Hear podcast focus). Tim is taking a few shows off, so wasn't available, but Kerry and I were thrilled to be joined by co-host of the Stinking Pause Podcast (and occasionally Reel Britannia) Charlie Mahoney. He's a confessed Altman fan and brought some wonderful conversation and insight. We look forward to welcoming him back to future shows. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com Send us feedback via email at [email protected] Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So many biopics feature the story of an artist from cradle to grave....all in 2 hours. Those of you who know me or have listened to the show before know I'm....uh....not a fan of these types of pods. They're often a cherry picked list of moments in the artist's life until the moment of triumph – artistically and in overcoming personal obstacles. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere does it backwards. Welcome to episode 131 of See Hear Podcast. In Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, we find Bruce at an artistically satisfying place and being hugely popular (though not as popular as he would get). What does an ambitious artist do following a number 1 record with one of the greatest working bands in America? He goes into a bedroom with a 4 track recorded (new technology for the day), records a bunch of dark personal songs about troubled people....and insists on putting these songs (FROM A CASSETTE) out as his new LP. The film follows the book by Warren Zanes “Deliver Me From Nowhere” which covers the period in exquisite detail. It covers Springsteen's fascination with a serial killer and classic cinema, and how they helped influence his songwriting of the period. The story behind Nebraska is not what you'd expect from a Hollywood film...not about the man who was simultaneously recording the biggest album of his career while he was recording the most personal. The film starts with a superstar who has mental health issues, and needs to deliver something small. If we were doing bonus / Patreon shows, this would most likely be classified as one of those. Instead of badgering my partners Kerry and Tim into seeing this new Springsteen biopic, I went with 4 willing folks to a local cinema, then adjourned to a nearby cafe'. Loaded up with coffee and cake, I plugged in an external microphone into my phone, turned on the voice recorder software, then had a conversation about with my wife Joanne, and our friends Kate and Geoff about the film we had just watched – no time to fashion our thoughts....just an instant gut reaction. Sadly, Joanne couldn't be picked up on the mic with the constant background noises one hears in a busy cafe, so she's been edited out. This episode is short, and we surely missed out salient points that further contemplation might have bought – that doesn't matter. This is an honest reaction. Next month, Kerry, Tim and I will return to the style of show you're familiar with. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com Send us feedback via email at ⁠[email protected] Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

History is full of famous tales that are told from one perspective. As we all know, everyone has their own version of how something went down....even if it doesn't contradict the popular narrative, there's always something that happened in the background whose importance is diluted or not told at all. Welcome to episode 130 of See Hear Podcast. In 1974, a German teenage jazz fan named Vera Brandes was inspired to book jazz pianist Keith Jarrett to perform at the Koln Opera House. This seemed like a gigantic task however you look at it. Vera had gained a little experience in helping touring musicians perform around Germany (already a big task) but getting one of the then new leading lights in jazz to perform a large venue like the Koln Opera House at the age of 18???? Adding to the degree of difficulty, Jarrett arrived in Koln to discover that there was only an out of tune, broken pedal baby grand with stuck keys. Things happened, the concert was recorded, and the resulting album sold more than any other solo piano jazz album in history. The thing is....everyone talks about Jarrett's ability to improvise on a (partly repaired) piano for an hour and create wonderful art. The part that is often missing or diluted from the story is how Vera Brandes made this happen at all. If she hadn't been so inspired to promote this show, the biggest selling piano jazz album ever, belongs to someone else. Director and writer Ido Fluk was so inspired by this story, he decided to make a film to tell it from Vera's side of the tale. Sure, Jarrett is a strong part of the filmed version of events, but make no mistake – this is Vera's story. She went on to be a successful album producer and music promoter, but this is the tale she wanted told. As the analogy is made in the film, sometimes you have to tell the story of the scaffolding to appreciate the story of painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. On the latest episode of See Hear, Tim, Kerry and I were thrilled to chat with Ido about what the definition of success is, how making great art is not always about the artist solely, and how his own journey to write the tale in some ways reflected Keith's approach to improvisational music composition. Mala Emde as Vera and John Margaro as Keith are real revelations. Both actors reveal their characters as 3 dimensional in a way that may not have been in lesser hands. Ido is an incredible director who really knows how to tell a story and how to get the best out of his cast. The film has already had festival screenings in Europe and the US, and is about to get a wider cinema release there. Hopefully, it gets wider worldwide release, before landing on streaming or physical media in the not too distant future. Trust me – you can listen and enjoy this conversation independently of seeing the film....but rush to it first chance you get. Our huge thanks to Ido for his generosity of time and conversation, and to publicist Sasha Berman for making it happen. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com ⁠ Send us feedback via email at ⁠[email protected] ⁠ Join the Facebook group at ⁠http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast ⁠ You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Punk music branched out in the late 70s / early 80s into a harder, faster, thrashier style than its earlier predecessor. If (as is often claimed) the original wave of punk was a reaction to the complexity of prog and the lack of danger in other forms of popular music, then hardcore was the next phase of that during the era of post-punk. It was about catharsis and screaming out about injustice. Then there was Bad Brains. Welcome to episode 129 of See Hear Podcast. Tim has selected the 2012 documentary Bad Brains: A Band In DC for round table discussion. Bad Brains brought something different to the table for their time. In America in the early eighties, punk bands generally weren't playing reggae music as a regular part of their sets. Certain British bands were combining punk energy with a reggae outlook in their music. Bad Brains had gone from being influenced by the jazz fusion stylings of Return To Forever to being converted to punk via the Sex Pistols (already making them unique). Seeing Bob Marley perform made them convert to Rastafarianism and incorporate reggae as well as hardcore punk into their music – not a hybrid, but two sides of the same coin. The documentary goes back and forth between current day events (at the time of filming) and archival footage of the band to tell their story. We get a worrisome start with a “how-did-we-get-here?” approach to the rest of the film.....a trope I'm quite fond of. In a way, the Bad Brains tale could be the story of millions of bands, but they're seen as hugely exciting pioneers of what they do. Many important bands that followed sang their praises as an influence (Beastie Boys, Nirvana, Black Flag....) HR, their “lead throat” gradually became more and more unstable in his behaviour, and in a time where no one was using the expression “mental health”, his behaviour was probably explained away as “that's just HR”, rather than investigating if there was something wrong. Sadly, Kerry wasn't available, but Tim and I discussed positive mental attitudes, wearing motorcycle helmets on stage, not showing up to gigs, punk that wasn't nihilistic, and much more. The film may be found online at: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6e5wnw If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at ⁠http://pantheonpodcasts.com ⁠ Send us feedback via email at ⁠[email protected] ⁠ Join the Facebook group at ⁠http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast ⁠ You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a moment in Mel Brooks’ “History of the World Part 1” where we’re told that shortly after the first artists came the first art critics…..I’ll leave you to determine what happens…. The music world is certainly not short of people with opinions in regards to others’ ability to perform and provide nuance to the work they present for us as music lovers to listen to. In the classical world, interpretation of the canon of baroque, classical, romantic and modernist music can be a mystery to some of us who are not classically trained musicians.  There’s no shortage of classical soloists who’ve captured the wider public’s imagination, yet have their critics as well. Welcome to episode 128 of See Hear Podcast. Glenn Gould is regarded as one of the great pianists of the 20th century, known in particular for his love of and heavy focus on the composition of J.S. Bach. However, he wasn’t unanimously revered. Pianist Alfred Brendel was vocally not a fan. Even Leonard Bernstein who did love Gould’s approach  covered himself before a TV broadcast of a Brahms piano concerto by saying Gould’s approach was not going to be for everybody. Therein lies the heart of the matter – when you depart from an accepted orthodox style of playing of the canon, you’re going to upset people. Glenn Gould upset some people. BUT….the reason he is still being talked about was for what he DID, not what he didn’t do. He’s most famous for his first and last released recordings, Bach’s Goldberg Variations (1955 and 1981). Even there his recordings are wildly different, and the latter upset some who championed the earlier recording. He’s also remembered for his intellect and could discuss may other issues outside of music – something he did on radio and TV specials. In 1993, film director Francois Girard released a brilliant biopic / documentary called “Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould”. Like its subject, the film takes a wildly different approach from the accepted norm of musician biopic. As the name implies, the film comprises of 32 shorts featuring narratives, interviews, performance and experimentation that provide a strong sense of Gould’s character. There is a 3 act structure, but not in the usual way that you get in a conventional musician biography. June 2025 sees the reissue of the film by Criterion, and I was thrilled to welcome Francois to the podcast to talk about this film and Gould in general. Unfortunately, we couldn’t coordinate the timing to have Tim or Kerry available, but I still had a fascinating conversation with Francois that I hope you find illuminating. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com Send us feedback via email at [email protected] Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frank Zappa is an odd duck. His massive back catalogue of albums attracts both reverence and ambivalence from music fans. Stylistically, he covered so much ground covering doo wop, blues, psych, jazz fusion and dissonant orchestral music. Unlike many of his rock and roll contemporaries, he always believed in infusing a sense of humour into his music – both compositionally and lyrically….though since what strikes some as funny is so subjective, it couldn’t appeal to everyone. He wrote about commercialism in America, the hypocrisy of conservatives and liberals in American society, and….umm….body parts. Welcome to episode 127 of See Hear Podcast. Tim, Kerry and I pontificate about the work of Frank Zappa with an eye towards his 1971 film, 200 Motels. It’s a surreal work that’s supposed to be his take on what life on the road is like for a working band – encountering rednecks and groupies, band egos and paranoia (the latter for good reason in this instance), and drug use. The film is vignette based with music provided by the 2nd incarnation of the Mothers of Invention and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Zappa spent 4 years composing and arranging the music, and much less time writing a script. That works out as well as expected. As well as discussing 200 Motels, we put the background towards its creation in context, thanks to an excellent documentary called “Frank Zappa – Free Jazz, Movie Madness & Another Mothers”(available on Tubi). Many thanks to Tom Stein for making us aware of that film’s existence. If our discussion goes all over the place, maybe it’s a tribute to the structure of 200 Motels. Tune in and hear where we stand on this surreal piece of cinema. Is it Luis Bunuel? Well….would Luis Bunuel have dressed Ringo Starr up as a tall dwarf with a desire to do something with a genie lamp to Keith Moon dressed as a nun? The answer is probably “When will we get paid….” If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com Send us feedback via email at [email protected] Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not too often that a story will make a connection between Linda McCartney, The Beastie Boys and The Clash, but this month's film does just that. Welcome to episode 126 of See Hear Podcast. When the average person is asked to name a single important figure in reggae music, they'll most likely say Bob Marley. Without taking away from his importance, reggae's production giant, who helped Marley in his early years, was Lee “Scratch” Perry. For this episode, we look at a 2008 documentary called The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry. He was born in a rural area of Jamaica, but after working on a job to build a road in the western region of the island, he claimed to have found a connection between the sound of the rocks he helped move and the sound of music – sure beats the usual musician story of stealing their sibling's record collection. The film certainly tells a story, but is also more of a character study about Perry. He was a musical innovator being an early innovator in dub reggae. He'd recorded and produced music that was ska and rocksteady reggae, but it's his experiments in dub he's most remembered for. He's also remembered for burning down his beloved music studio because a rubber ball placed on his console had been moved – okay, the story's a little more complex than that. Was he eccentric? Was he a charlatan? Was he really named Pipecock Jackson, and looking to become American president? The film only looks to Perry for discussion, so without other talking heads, we ask if he's a reliable narrator. Kerry, Tim and I discuss Rastafarianism, the link to Sun Ra, sound systems, our connections to reggae music, and the scary connection to Dennis Wilson. Please join us for a fun conversation. You can find the film on Kanopy, but our conversation can be listened to independent of the film. If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com Send us feedback via email at [email protected] Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The use of non-diagetic songs in cinema is often designed to provoke a type of nostalgia, or at least an understanding of the era the film is set in. Apocalypse Now opens very effectively to the sounds of The End by The Doors. Goodfellas keeps updating the jukebox as the story travels over the years (Scorsese is a master of that). So, if you watch a film set in the 50s like American Graffiti or That’ll Be The Day, the jukebox soundtracks to these films are like characters constantly reminding the viewers where they are timewise. The romantic (and sometimes lascivious) songs of the doo wop era paint a picture of American life in the 50s somewhat removed from the turmoils of segregation, a conflict in Korea, and McCarthyism….they paint the picture that many films are trying to portray. Welcome to episode 125 of See Hear Podcast. One of the singers in the latter part of the original doo wop era was Kenny Vance, a member of beloved group, Jay & The Americans. His experience as a young man singing with the group brought him into contact with so many other doo wop groups and eventually figures in the soul and pop world (he supported The Beatles on an American tour). He went on to be a musical director consultant for many films focusing on the 50s era. Eventually, he decided to become a director and document the original doo wop scene as he and some of his colleagues recalled it, what they went on to do, and how their pioneering sound influenced many others who don’t even realise the gigantic shoulders they’re standing on. The film he directed is called “Heart & Soul: A Love Story”, and it is a thing of beauty. Tim and I were joined by Melbourne doo wop guru Peter Merrett (of the Malt Shop Hop radio show) to chat with Kenny not only about his film, but a vast number of topics all related to his time in doo wop, the people who ran the labels, the session musicians, and the singers he worked with. WE get stories about Little Anthony & The Imperials, The Flamingos, The Chantels and so much more. I have to say that Kenny’s memory is sharp and he regaled us with many incredible stories from a life in music. He’s a true mentsch….and he even sang for us!!!! We’ve done our share of episodes, but this is one I will be remembering for a long time. If you haven’t tuned into an episode in a while (or never have), start here….you don’t need to have seen the film to appreciate this wonderful conversation, but we would certainly encourage watching it first chance you get. Our thanks not only go to Kenny for hanging out with us, but also to executive producer Liz Nickles who put us in contact with him. Tim and I also are grateful to Peter Merrett for bringing his expertise to the conversation. For details about screenings, go to https://www.heartandsoulthemovie.com/ If you’ve been enjoying the show, please consider giving us a favourable review on iTunes and let your friends know that our show exists. If you don't enjoy the show, tell your adversaries to tune in. We don't care who listens..... See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com . Send us feedback via email at [email protected] Join the Facebook group at http://facebook.com/groups/seehearpodcast You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices