Sunday, August 7, 2011

10 Random Thoughts on Lemmy: The Movie


 1. I'd like to have seen more of the Tiswas Years. There was a time when Motörhead had Top 10 singles and appeared on Saturday morning TV. I'm guessing that was the time when they attracted most of their long time fans. They haven't always been an underground band.
2. No Girlschool? Kim and Enid were thanked in the credits, but were nowhere to be seen in the film. If you can find space for Jarvis Cocker and Peter hook, then surely you can find space for Girlschool.
3. You need a record company with a marketing budget behind you. AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Motorhead all broke into the charts in 1980 - 82, but only the first two went on to a life of mansions and ivory back scratchers. If Motorhead had been on Atlantic or EMI in the early 80s rather than Bronze, their story may have been different.
4. Stacia really was something, eh? Now I know why my blogging friend Lost Jimmy is so keen to time travel back to 1973.
5. Dave Grohl's "Professional Fan" routine is starting to grate, and he's running the risk of turning into a Metal version of Bono.
6. You don't need to be a professional psychologist to be intrigued by his relationship with fruit machines. He even had one in the dressing room. Unfortunately the film tended to take the "Dude, it's frickin' Lemmy!" approach when discussing eccentricities.
7. Bomber has a great riff. I knew that already, and I'm guessing that you know that too, but go and stick it on just now. It really has a great riff.
8. The Musician's Hyperbole was well in evidence. Despite what Ozzy Osbourne said, Motörhead did not invent Heavy Metal. That was a band called Black Sabbath, Ozzy. You used to sing for them.
9. Watching him leave his flat to go on tour, I was thinking that Samsonite are missing a great sponsorship opportunity.
10. And where was Philthy Animal?

7 comments:

  1. I thought that the movie was not as good as it could have been. I mean I like it, it has some really decent moments but at times it smacked as a bit amateurish. I mean you and me could follow him around with camera and get the same result...if not better, as I began to wonder if these guys prior to filming actually knew anything about the subject matter.

    1. I'd like a bit of oldie footage too, but I suppose it was a brief look at the past and more of the 'now' Lemmy.
    2. I understand that much was left on the cutting room floor. The Motorheadbangers Motorhead Fan Club boss for 30+ years was interviewed but never appears. Again perhaps a lack of appreciation of the subject.
    3. Motorhead seemed to have bad luck with record labels right through the career of the band.
    4. Stacia is also a very nice person by the way.
    5. I don't like Grohl or do I like the Foo Fighters, not my cup of tea. Incidentally, I always baulk at the those fawning documentaries when these guys turn it into one big back slapping exercise.
    6. Fruit-tastic
    7. It's a Bomber, a Bomber
    8. Right, sadly many MH fans dismiss Heavy Metal, forgetting that Motorhead rode successfully on the back of the NWOBHM hysteria during their Golden Years.
    9. Haha! It's all Rock n Roll.
    10. As I understand it, Phillip refused to take part something to do with a fall out with Lemmy, but who knows, that's also Rock n Roll.

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  2. I didn't think it was that great, to be honest, especially considering the reviews it's had. The recent Rush documentary, which told the story chronologically, and had much less filler (as you say, anyone could simply follow him around) was a lot better in my opinion.
    Thing is, it would be difficult to make a bad documentary about Lemmy: he's led an interesting life and is obviously a bright guy - he's always given interesting interviews. Apparently there was a C4 documentary called something like Live Fast, Die Old a few years back that was a lot better?

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  3. You are spot on about it being near impossible to make a bad review about Lemmy, his precence alone makes it - there would be no need for an interviewer.

    I thought the Anvil documentary was much warmer and with 'emotional content' than the Lemmy movie.

    The C4 documentary was pretty good actually, and fitted in a lot perhaps a much better use of time compared to the movie. The only thing I didn't like was the 'superfan' slots - it is my pethate - superfans, no such thing in my view.

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  4. The Channel 4 documentary is on YouTube
    Here's a link to the first part
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7oVnCgUY2Q

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  5. Cheers for that Jimmy, I will check it. Amazing what stuff is on YouTube.

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  6. Mr H, I echo your Grohl/Hook sentiments!

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