“Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses – especially learn how to see.” ~Leonardo Da Vinci
I
In 2007 ESPN.com columnist and Grantland.com founder Bill Simmons and ESPN’s Connor Schell created 30 for 30. “30 films in celebration of ESPN’s 30th anniversary in 2009, with an exploration of the biggest stories from ESPN’s first 30 years on-air, through a series of 30 one-hour films by 30 filmmakers.” A simple elegant concept that has since expanded into several volumes, a podcast and shorts.
And they’re often fantastic sports docs; I can happily recommend a number of outstanding 30 for 30s. However things at ESPN happened; Bill Simmons has left ESPN and now has a deal with HBO. Following his failed talk show Any Given Wednesday (it wasn’t terrible it just didn’t have anything to add to the conversation you know?) Simmons rebounded with Music Box.
Music Box, a Ringer Films Production (Simmons’ Spotify-owned culture site) in association with Polygram Entertainment, is a collection of six music documentaries produced by Bill Simmons exploring pivotal moments in the music world.
Think of the Music Box series as sonic 30 for 30s. The first season includes Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage, Jagged, DMX: Don’t Try to Understand, Listening to Kenny G, Mr. Saturday Night, and Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss. (Music Box has been renewed for a second season. No word yet on who’ll be featured in the next round of music docs.)
I’ve attached my interview with director Penny Lane for the Music Box documentary Listening to Kenny G. (Yes that’s her real name; I bring it up towards the end of the interview.) You can stream all the Music Box docs on HBO Max in America and on Crave in Canada.
And while I enjoy many 30 for 30s (especially the earlier ones produced by Bill Simmons) Music Box didn’t start off as strong.
Bill Simmons said about the entire Music Box collection, “Season one exceeded our expectations, we were thrilled by the high caliber of our films and our experiences with the talented people who made them. We created a brand that had a unique perspective, now we want to keep growing it and working with HBO and more fantastic directors.”
I’m not so sure about the “ high caliber” of the first Music Box documentary: Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage — which premiered on July 23rd 2021 on HBO Max (and on Crave in Canada.).
“Unfolding over three blazing hot days and nights of nonstop performances and heaving mosh pits, Woodstock 99 a three-day music festival promoted to echo unity and counterculture idealism of the original 1969 concert instead devolves into riots, looting and sexual assaults.”
Sigh. This whole documentary was an overreach with clunky conclusions.
30 for 30s succeed when they clearly traced the athletic associations with pop culture…nothing happens in a bubble. Michael Jordan may be doing one special act on a basketball court but his Air Jordans are having a wildly different impact on (pop) culture from fashion to the ugly rise of sneaker pimps (mugging or in some cases shooting kids to steal their Air Jordans) to the inception of sneakerheads (avid collectors).
The best 30 for 30s oscillate between micro and macro perspectives: the micro is the sports star sitting down to answer difficult questions (we’ve seen that with Lance Armstrong, Michael Vick, Bo Jackson etc.) and the macro outlook attempting to grapple with the cultural aftershocks.
Really Newton’s third law truly applies to almost every documentary: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
Which brings us to my many issues with Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage. Here is some of my salty reaction.
If you accept this documentary is about the vicious manifestation of specifically white male rage then you’re dumb enough to believe that Disco Demolition night was all about homophobia. Or stupid enough to accept the dubious link of video games and violence at face value.
Once we decided to blame Marilyn Manson for Columbine (case closed!) we habitually began transforming most large events/experiences into a pop culture referendum and a Rorschach test for comfortable narratives.
In the first 20 minutes of the doc one of the identified underlying tensions is that Carson Daly and TRL/MTV were focusing on the emerging pop scene which was of course Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Britney Spears and all the rest. That trend effectively transformed MTV into Nickelodeon.
The documentary posits this was a rejection of the (rock) audience. An audience that had been there from Day 1, an audience that had made MTV profitable and an audience that had invested (emotionally as well as financially) in MTV.
The rejection of rock over pop was saying you’re not good enough anymore.
I know this emotion well from years of reading comic books because that’s the tension that always exists with comic books and continuity the nerd-by-product of decades of stories. Comic book companies need new generations for something to last decade after decade but you have to be careful with the compromises you make to draw in new blood otherwise you risk alienating the stalwarts for the cheap economic high of the new generation.
If only older kids read Batman there may be a point where DC Comics says it’s no longer worth creating Batman. Compromises are part of the pop culture process but it’s all about how they’re done and which ones are chosen.
Woodstock 99 was naturally gonna be different than Woodstock 69. And so this documentary begins with effectively laying off individuals who have worked at the MTV factory for decades. The seeds of the white male rage. Really?
From there the whole documentary came across as manipulative and even deceptive. This wasn’t a cultural nadir that would seed President Trump; this was simple corporate malfeasance.
Woodstock 99 was scheduled for the weekend of July 22-25, 1999, when temperatures soared over 100 °F (38 °C) most days it was in the 80s. Relief came at a cost: 590 ml bottles of water were sold for $4 (equivalent to $6 in 2020). Held at a former Air Force base there was little to no shade. And in that heat concert goers had to hike: the East and West stages were 2.3 miles (3.7 km) apart. The number of toilets installed proved insufficient for the number of attendees. A lax and barely trained security detail didn’t help either…before the weekend was over many of them were quitting.
This was a terribly run and overpriced event. That’s basically it. This is no different than visiting Disneyland in California. You know full well you’re going to pay a high cost to enter the theme park and once you do all the food will be expensive. It’s in Anaheim so it’ll be hot. The primary difference is you’re not trapped there for 3 full days like Woodstock participants and Disneyland offers adequate facilities. Woodstock was a camping music festival so mix in a large amount of drugs, maybe even some alcohol, paired with those abject conditions and a trailer of the violence was beginning to form.
This wasn’t white male rage because a bunch of suburban kids listened to Limp Bizkit. It was a violent reaction to a lack of empathy; they were treated inhumanely. As such they acted inhumanely.
Is it possible some of these kids grew up and 20 years later voted for President Trump? Sure. Millions did both times he ran. But to draw a connection between the violent events of Woodstock 99 with the rise of the Republican party as we currently know it is a hard sell. I’d rather pay for a $4 bottle of water.
Often President Trump’s election has prompted lackluster soul searching with tepid conclusions. This documentary was yet another example.
I dunno man…this doc aggravated me. So let’s move on to the triumph of Kenneth Bruce Gorelick aka Kenny G.
II
When I say Kenny G what is the first thing that pops into your head? For me and this HBO Max documentary touches upon it; it’s that classic elevator music sound. Turns out I may be in the minority.
Kenny G is the best-selling instrumental artist ever. Clearly lots of people are happily listening to Kenny G. “I don’t think I’m a personality to people,” says Kenny G. “I think I’m a sound.” Yup.
One of the interesting aspects of Listening to Kenny G is he’s at peace. He knows who he is; he’s confident in his abilities. It’s the relentless criticism that’s in turmoil. Assumptions and intention interpretation are often not accurate. They’re projections.
Growing up I had to endure “rap is crap.” Rap music was vilified, Stanley Crouch was a fierce critic, parental groups were upset, there was obscenity trials and after all that Ice Cube is making family movies like Are We There Yet?. Snoop Dogg has a cooking show with Martha Stewart. In many ways rap has become banal and mainstream performing halftime at the Super Bowl.
Now the genre is attacked less and rather certain individuals are targeted. Everybody has a loud dumb opinion on Kanye West. And it’s often not about the music. These previous cultural experiences instantly helped me to understand Kenny G’s position.
In the hectic boom and Breathless backlash to Kenny G and his music this entire discourse is electrified by a distinct philosophy of taste. Music is an emotional connection though for many critics they are not Sentimental about Kenny’s music.
Penny Lane’s documentary Listening to Kenny G is more than a Silhouette of the popular artist. By the Time This Night Is Over you’ll know more about Kenny G and hear some of his fiercest critics who are not fans of his Classics in the Key of G.
As such I was thrilled to talk to director Penny Lane to talk about the New Standards of taste and Kenny G.
The problem with Kenny’s music is it’s timeless. He made music in the 80s but it’s not what we’d consider to be 80s music. In 1992 Breathless came out a full year after Smells Like Teen Spirit so we’re deep into grunge yet he sold 12 million records.
I didn’t have any Kenny G feelings going into this documentary. I knew the name but I certainly couldn’t tell you any of his songs; I’d never heard the music intently or even listened to the man himself.
And now after this doc? I don’t know where I stand. Taste is weird and I dunno how it develops in everyone.
That’s the biggest take away from this doc. It’s a curious pop culture facet because people might be willing to deal with a nonlinear indie movie or even a slow foreign film. Some readers are up to the challenge of a thick book brimming with many characters. Degrees of difficulty are permitted in pop culture; some products can “taste” success.But difficult pieces of music? I mean jazz is popular but would you say it’s mainstream…like the Stones or U2 or Radiohead? How many jazz bands can sell out Madison Square Garden?
Taste is weird and strange but never hide it…share what you love with others as often as you can. How else did hip hop survive the rap is crap era?
Share often; be generous. Be comfortable with the NO in snob.
The creator…the artist benefits and who knows you might have a positive impact on pop culture.
Kenny G got so big because his fans shared his music. I dunno if that counts as a positive impact on pop culture but it’s an impact for sure.
When it comes to your taste: what makes you smile? Or replaces your eyes with glowing hearts?
Or tell me: what are your Kenny G thoughts, feelings?
If somebody has never heard Kenny’s music…what’s a good song or even album to start with?
Tastefully YoursSammy Younan-28-
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