Grateful Dead

A movie from the Sundance Channel about an Irish cop named Sgt. Boyle. The opening scene is really good with a bunch of kids partying in a car going down a country road passing around a bottle of whisky.

Inuto Imago Setouchi Triennale 2016 Inujima Performing Arts Program Kazuhisa Uchihashi Inujima Sound Project “Inuto Imago” Improvise music and musical workshop program held in Inujima Island Japan August 22 (Mon) - September 4 (Sun), 2016 Artists: Kazuhisa Uchihashi (JP) Rully Shabara (ID) Wukir Suryadi (ID) Iman Jimbot (ID) Featuring Artists : Samm Bennett (US/JP) Isabelle Duthoit (FR) Masaharu Sato (JP) Mikagami Koichi (JP) Hannoda Taku (JP) Yumiko Tanaka (JP) Concept: Kazuhisa Uchihashi Film by Gigi Priadji Produce & Production Management: Akane Nakamura Yoko Kawasaki (SAYATEI) Mihoka Kawamura Hikaru Tsuchiya Megumi Mizuno http://gigipriadji.net

I liked it. I watched all episodes in one sitting, so some of the details are blurry.Overall, I agree that Parrish got too much air time, even if everything he said was straight up true. (Side note...watch Wayne's World 2, the expert they bring on to help get Waynestock going seems to be modeled after Parrish). I don't think I necessarily learned anything startling or new, because I've read some of the books and articles, and was there for a tiny part of the scene, but I think the overall project was done and presented well. Hearing Jerry's own words and voice about the impact of his dad's death was compelling. I have read (Bill's book for one) and now have seen/heard about the quantity and frequency of drugs ingested, and wonder how they functioned at all. I'm sure some would say that is how they managed to function in their own particular way. My only (small) disappointment was their using the Winterland footage from the Grateful Dead Movie as if was a news feel or personal movie or something. Maybe they figured we all I knew it, so why even comment? Anyway, I give it 2 thumbs up, as someone used to say. I'll watch it again at some point, because I did watch it all in one night, so I'm sure I missed details.

I'm still digesting it. I really liked parts, and I was "glad" they didn't gloss over Jerry's struggles with stardom and drugs at the end. As well as how their finally reaching fame sort of was their undoing. I was disappointed at the screen time Parish got. Having read his book, I was already somewhat jaded against his version of their history. He kind of tries to glorify the transition to hard drugs and rationalizes his enabling of Jerry's heroin addiction. I suppose I would have preferred more content like Trixie or Barbara, who gave heartfelt interviews behind the scenes. Parish seemed more to glamorize the wrong things. As for the cinematography and such, I'm not sure. I liked how they weaved songs into the narrative, but the quick stock clips to literally show things said was not my favorite. A specific example is eluding me, but they would have been like, if the speaker said "and we took off like a rocket", we would cut to video of a NASA rocket taking off. Sometimes done, could be quirky, but it seemed like every analogy was done. I did, however, really like how they wove Frankenstein in. That was cool. But all in all, I'm glad it was made and that I got to see it. Peace, -Dave

Dave, I liked it a lot. It wasn't comprehensive but it was real. Like a Shakespeare tragedy with a kickass soundtrack. What did you think?

Just finished watching the new documentary last night. Was curious what everyone else's thoughts were on it? Peace, -Dave

Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow Directed by Michael W. Dean, Kenneth Shiffrin Edited by Ryan Brown Producers: Michael W. Dean, Ryan Brown Executive Producers: Suzanne Selby, Kenneth Shiffrin Narrated by Robert Downey, Jr. Narration written by Michael W. Dean Featuring: Hubert Selby Jr. & Alexis Arquette, Amiri Baraka, Anthony Di Novi, Arthur Boyars, Carmine "Tony" DeFeo, Darren Aronofsky, Desmond Nakano, Ellen Burstyn, Gilbert Sorrentino, Henry Rollins, James R. Giles, James Ragan, James Remar, Jared Leto, Jem Cohen, Jerry Stahl, John Calder, Kaytie Lee, Kenneth Shiffrin, Lou Reed, Luke Davies, Matt Polish, Michael Lally, Michael Silverblatt, Nick Tosches, Nicolas Winding Refn, Richard Price, Susan Anton, Susan Compo, Uli Edel

Rising Tones Cross Direction, Camera: Ebba Jahn Editing: Jeanette Menzel Sound: Jost Gebers, Karola Michalic Ritter, Renate Sami 2nd Camera: Brian Denitz Featuring: Charles Gayle, William Parker, Patricia Nicholson, Peter Kowald Quartet, Peter Kowald Trio, John Zorn Duo, Billy Bang's Forbidden Planet, William Parker & Patricia Nicholson Ensemble, Charles Tyler Quintet, Don Cherry & The Sound Unity Festival Orchestra, Jemeel Moondoc Sextet, Iréne Schweizer Duo, Peter Brötzmann Ensemble The early 1980s were a period of transition for the avant-garde in New York. The loft scene - the days in which Ornette Coleman's home on Prince Street and Sam River's Studio Rivbea provided workshops for experimenters to develop their art - was drawing to a close, and the arrival of the Knitting Factory and it's explosive impact on the Downtown scene was still a few years away. It fell to the artists themselves to create new opportunities. As chronicled in Ebba Jahn's 1984 documentary, Rising Tones Cross, two such motivated visionaries were bassist William Parker and dancer Patricia Nicholson. The film centers around the Sound Unity Festival, a precursor to the couples' current Lower East Side bash, the Vision Festival. This film is a documentary composition of new jazz, New York as the city that generates it, and the musicians playing it. The thoughts of the saxophonist Charles Gayle and the bass players William Parker and Peter Kowald from Germany accompany the film.

Freedom Riders Directed by Stanley Nelson Producer: Laurens Grant Editors: Lewis Erskine, Aljernon Tunsil In 1961, during the first year of John F. Kennedy’s presidency, more than four hundred Americans participated in a bold and dangerous experiment designed to awaken the conscience of a complacent nation. These self-proclaimed “Freedom Riders” challenged the mores of a racially segregated society by performing a disarmingly simple act. Traveling together in small interracial groups, they sat where they pleased on buses and trains and demanded unrestricted access to terminal restaurants and waiting rooms, even in areas of the Deep South where such behavior was forbidden by law and custom. Their efforts were met with extreme violence and brought international attention to the fight against segregation, exploitation and racism known as the Civil Rights Movement. Freedom Riders chronicles the story behind this courageous group of civil rights activists.