So many biopics feature the story of an artist from cradle to

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

If we were doing bonus / Patreon shows, this would most likely be

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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

The thing is....everyone talks about Jarrett's ability to improvise on a

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

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

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

Our huge thanks to Ido for his generosity of time and conversation, and to publicist Sasha Berman for making it happen.

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Punk music branched out in the late 70s / early 80s into a harder, faster,

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

The documentary goes back and forth between current day events (at the

HR, their “lead throat” gradually became more and more unstable in

Sadly, Kerry wasn't available, but Tim and I discussed positive mental

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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.

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Frank Zappa is an odd duck. His massive back catalogue of albums attracts

Welcome to episode 127 of See Hear Podcast.

Tim, Kerry and I pontificate about the work of Frank Zappa with an eye

As well as discussing 200 Motels, we put the background towards its

If our discussion goes all over the place, maybe it’s a tribute to the

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It's not too often that a story will make a connection between Linda

Welcome to episode 126 of See Hear Podcast.

When the average person is asked to name a single important figure in

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,

You can find the film on Kanopy, but our conversation can be listened to

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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/

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See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com

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We've recently lost one of the great directors over the last few decades in David Lynch who was known for showing the dreamy and nightmarish side of America (and we need you now, David). The other great tellers of American stories over the same period have been Joel and Ethan Coen. They have protagonists who start out in precarious positions in life....then things go downhill.

Welcome to episode 124 of See Hear Podcast.

There's definitely a rhythm to the Coen Brothers' films....even if their films are not ABOUT music or musicians, they feel musical (and having Carter Burwell score many of their films doesn't hurt in that regard). Two films, however, stick out as music films in their catalogue – O Brother, Where Art Thou and Inside Llewyn Davis – it's the latter that is the focus of this episode.

Sadly, neither Kerry nor Tim were available to record this show, but I welcome back film professor, author, and fellow podcaster Neil Fox back to the show. He selected Inside Llewyn Davis for our discussion, and I couldn't have been happier to revisit this 2013 film that has seemingly divided people on its merits (spoiler alert – we both love it).

The film starts off in Greenwich Village in 1961, and is about a few days in the life of folk musician Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) as he moves from couch to couch, gig to gig, kindness to kindness....and he responds poorly despite being the recipient of others' good nature towards him. Is he an awful human being, or is he lashing out due to a terrible event regarding a former musical partner?

Neil and I had a great conversation about this film and a variety of related issues. Since the film is Bob Dylan adjacent, we had to bring in our thoughts about the recently released Dylan biopic focusing on his early years, A Complete Unknown and see how its tone contrasts with the Coens outlook.

I am grateful for Neil giving over his time to chat with me. He brings a perspective I was fascinated to hear. If you wish to hear more of Neil, you should tune into his show The Cinematologists hosted with Dario Llinares. Info at https://cinematologists.com/ Also, look into his great book “Music Films: Documentaries, Concert Films and Other Cinematic Representations of Popular Music”.

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See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com

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1981.....music and film fans could only guess as to what the coming decade held – both in art and in the real world. If art reflects the real world, then a portmanteau film centred around a force that contains the sum of all evils seemed like a reflection of the environment the film was born into.

Welcome to episode 123 of See Hear.

In 1981, following on from the magazine it aligned itself with, Canadian animated film Heavy Metal was sent out into the world. Ralph Bakshi may have paved the way for this to be possible – make no mistake, this was no Disney cartoon. The stories here were filled with gore, naked flesh, fantasy and music (only some of it was heavy metal)....in other words, it was exactly what teenage boys were clambering to watch.

Usually, See Hear focuses on films that are ABOUT music or musical culture. Despite its name, Heavy Metal isn't such a film, but Kerry, Tim, our friend Paul and myself discuss why we think it is a See Hear film nevertheless. Our conversation incorporates film noir, Looney Tunes, 2001: A Space Odyssey, how a ball of green goo can influence mankind to evil, and....of course....the soundtrack....and a lot more. Not many other films feature the music of Black Sabbath, Devo, Stevie Nicks and Prendecki.

Huge thanks to Paul for joining us and for his great insight and historical knowledge.

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.

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You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). You can also download from the website at https://seehearpodcast.blogspot.com.

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When you attended high school, did you have a music program? If so, were you enthusiastic about playing what was selected for you? In the early days of music tuition, chances are you had to play dull tunes that were in line with your limited abilities....on a recorder!!!!! Within 3 or so months of picking up an instrument, could you play tunes made famous by, say, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman? No? The girls (and a boy) at Yamakawa High School did.

Welcome to episode 122 of See Hear Podcast.

Kerry was unavailable, but Tim and myself carried on to discuss the 2004 film “Swing Girls”, directed by Shinobu Yaguchi. Beat for beat, this is the same film as Yaguchi’s 2001 film “Waterboys”, but replacing a group of inept boys learning synchronised swimming with a group of inept girls learning to play jazz and form a swing band. A jazz version of School of Rock? It seems similar on the surface, but these kids are motivated differently to learn their music.....their only drive IS the music, not to win a competition. They learn to love swing jazz (essentially, it's pop music) and realise it's not – as they first surmise – for “brandy snifters”.

Cards out on the table – we adore this film. We look at its universality (Japanese school kids playing a distinctly American art form), how a film with no villains or conflict can still be compelling, and mostly we celebrate a love of music. Tim rightly compares this film to an earlier one we discussed about a love of music for its own sake but the style was vastly different – home is here your musical interests lie.....the rest is detail.

Swing Girls is available in full to watch on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEz_TNtkCRc&t=381s

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.

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You can download the show by searching for See Hear on whatever podcast app you favour (except Spotify). You can also download from the website at https://seehearpodcast.blogspot.com.

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