Sunday, June 12, 2016

Movie: CBGB, giving birth to modern punk

Check it out, streaming on Netflix, the story of Hilly Kristal opening what he thought was going to be the next Country Bluegrass Blues club (hence CBGB) but turned out to be the birthplace, in many ways, of the huge Punk and Rock scene of the 1980's.  Kristal let pretty much anyone come and play and bands like Blondie, Talking Heads, Ramones, Patti Smith, Joan Jett, Sting, and so many more all played there.  It's  not a documentary so artistic license is taken in the time line and the style of the place but from what I have read, it's fairly accurate.  

It's a great look at that punk music scene. Whether you liked Patti Smith or the Ramones or any of the music in the movie, it doesn't really matter.  It's a great look at one spot in New York at one specific time.  And hey, the music kicks ass.  Come on, who doesn't like David Byrne and the Talking Heads?

Check it out.  Plus, it stars the great Alan Rickman as the almost sleazy Kristal, and it has Donal Logue, one of my favorite second string character actors. Anything that Alan Rickman is in counts as totally worth watching, at least in my book.  If you like music of any kind, you might like this. No, if you like music of any kind, you will totally like this movie.  Two thumbs up.

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