DVD: Inside the Smiths

Label: MVD Entertainment Group

Released: January 22, 2008

This is the story of the Smiths through the eyes of Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. Who you ask? The guys who sued Morrissey and Johnny Marr a few years back. Oh yeah, they were also the rhythm section of the Smiths. Under the circumstances, I expected Inside the Smiths to a bitter, one-sided history that mars the story of one of rock's great bands, but that's not what I found. Instead, Joyce and Rourke seem only interested in telling their story, not in badmouthing their former, richer bandmates.

The film, made up of a series of interviews interspersed with music, old photos and film clips, portrays a very human side of the story from the Smiths' roots in Rourke and Marr's friendship all the way through the break-up, with only minor mention of the lawsuit. It touches on the odd set of influences that came together in the band (Buzzcocks, Neil Young, Rory Gallagher), the making of the records, the drug problems and the differences even about when to call it quits. While the subsequent lawsuit would make it seem like the band was divided two against two, it really seems that Morrissey was the one out there on his own much of the time. As Mike Joyce says, Morrissey didn't want to live in his world and he didn't want to live in Morrissey's, but that tension was positive. Joyce and Rourke make no secret about the dominance of Morrissey and Marr, yet they don't express this with bitterness or anger. In fact, at one point Rourke even expresses a desire to mend his relationship with his old friend Marr. When he and Joyce speak of Morrissey, it is frank, but not disparaging even when Joyce in particular recalled times when he was most annoyed with the singer. Rourke deals very openly with his drug problems, making no excuses and even having a laugh about it with Peter Hook. Their story brings a human angle to the moment when Johnny Marr left and to the ensuing confusion of trying to carry on.

The film is, of course, incomplete for lack of input form half of the Smiths. However, it does a lot with the half that it has and certainly tells the lesser known side of the story. It has a very conversational and intimate approach that makes Joyce and Rourke seem very accessible and human. While I doubt Joyce when he says it was a "great friendship" until they broke up, I do recognize that the statement comes from a hopefulness that pervades this film as opposed to a dishonesty that's happily absent.

Rating: 8/10

Review: D'Edwin - No Prognosis

Label: Action Rezults Records (Available from CD Baby)

Released: 2007

To some extent, D'Edwin can get away with his unabashed mimicking of Morrissey, because he hasn't graduated into the big leagues yet, but there has to be some substance to his music beyond a good Morrissey impression. On No Prognosis, that substance is erratic at best.

The opening track, "Secret Assassin," does have some of that substance with an Eastern influence and wind instruments providing an ambient backdrop. However, even this, the album's best song, falls into the trap that so many find themselves in when artists work alone in these days of inexpensive electronic effects. (It's the same trap that D'Edwin falls into as a graphic artist when he committed his Photoshop sins on the album cover.) If you're bothered by the double-tracked vocals, that's nothing compared to the birds singing in "I Don't Recall." The bottom line is that you can't fill out your sound with effects in lieu of a band. If in doubt, err on the side of simplicity and D'Edwin, albeit far from the worst offender, errs on the side of over-processing. He takes a decent song like the opener or the EP's more organic final track, "I Abhor," and makes it sound more amateur than it is.

However, most of the songs do remain listenable if you have any affinity for 80s alternative music and you're willing to grant D'Edwin a few indulgences for inexperience, lack of funds or any other excuse that seems plausible. There is one track though that cannot be excused. Anyone with any ear at all can recognize that "Lazy Train" should never have seen the light of day. D'Edwin's small foray into techno, the song displays a book knowledge of how techno songs are built and absolutely no ability to actually build one.

All that being said, I actually enjoyed this album on some level, partly because I like the Smiths and partly because it reminds me of some of the underground post-punk experimentation of the 80s. Plus, D'Edwin isn't without talent. The first and last tracks have real potential and assuming that his well isn't dry so much as it isn't fully tapped for a consistent flow, he certainly could grow. Still, none of these things actually make No Prognosis good.


Rating: 4/10

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DVD: Various Artists - SXSW Live 2007

Label: Shout! Factory

Released: August 21, 2007

John Lennon once said, "If there wasn't a fight, it wasn't a good gig." So, what is it if no one even moves? Lennon was clearly arguing that a sterile show is never good and sterility is exactly the problem with SXSW Live 2007. The DVD is a collection of songs from shows at two Austin venues, the Bat Bar and the Lonestar Lounge, during SXSW back in March. While some of the artists offer decent performances the clubs and the crowds hardly have a pulse.

The Bat Bar was certainly the lesser show space. The stage was right out of Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve and so was the crowd. Most of the performances were stiff, likely dulled by the lifeless audience. The Automatic Automatic's Alex Pennie jumped down into the crowd, but even this failed to invigorate them as he returned to the stage almost untouched. An impressive performance from Aqualung, pushing the boundaries of pop, didn't fare any better. Bowling for Soup, a band I'm sure well used to a rowdy crowd, had a few people jumping up and down, albeit carefully as not to crowd their neighbors. Even Polyphonic Spree's revival-fueled show got nary a heartbeat from the crowd. I have to wonder, do those people even like rock music?

Things got a little better at the Lonestar Lounge. It's really a sad comment on the Bat Bar that a place that looks like a Texas Roadhouse restaurant is a step up. The filming is much better during this segment, because it focuses on the artists rather than this lackluster crowd. Marc Broussard hits his groove with no help from the audience. Annuals push the envelope as if everything depended on their set. Mando Diao feed off of each other for an energetic performance. Joe Purdy manages to separate himself from time and place and lose at least a little control. But Lee "Scratch" Perry seemed as old as he is even if his message was current. His band, though younger chronologically, seemed even older. Kraak & Smaak had a soulful groove, but their stage presence was almost non-existent. Mostly, the artists lacked any of the edge that you'd expect them to have in the make-or-break environment that an event like SXSW supposedly is.

With all the hype surrounding SXSW each year, I expected that it was a great event, but if this DVD is indicative of what it's like, and worse yet what the future of rock and roll holds, we're in for some lean years. Most of the bands probably expected to make an impression with the right clothes and a safe set rather than taking the chances that have traditionally driven rock music, and all art, forward. The best I can say about this collection is that you might find a few artists to check out if you can try to picture what they would they be like at a real show.

Rating: 4/10