The good news is that Loud Quiet Loud,
a film about The Pixies, is not one of these documentaries. The bad
news is that I can’t help but feel that throughout this DVD, it is
aspiring to imitate one of these over indulgent pantomimes, when in
fact it just qualifies as a moderately interesting cluster of footage. I
regard The Pixies quite highly as a band. However, there seems to be an
overwhelming sense that this is a group of people trying to make
something out of nothing. The whole band, singer/songwriter Black
Francis (aka Charles Thompson IV, and Frank Black), bassist Kim
Deal, lead guitarist Joey Santiago and drummer David Lovering, appear
to be a bunch of forty somethings with a renewed burgeoning popularity,
which is steadily growing since their pioneering of the rock
alternative genre of the late 80’s. The story of Kurt Cobain’s
affection for the music of The Pixies (he is quoted as saying that "He
was just trying to sound like the Pixies") is enough to prompt someone
to consider whether they are a band worthy of such credit, or whether
they are simply yesterdays news, and are releasing this DVD in a vein
attempt to live of the remnants of their brief affiliation with the
aforementioned rock god. Although I think that having Cobain’s quote on
his alleged attempt to rip of the Pixies during the conception of
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" adorning the front cover will successfully
move more units of this DVD - however if you talk to any Pixies fan
you’ll soon find out that being a Pixies and a Nirvana fan don’t
necessarily go hand in hand. Ask a Pixies fan whether they
got into them through the inspiration of Nirvana and you may get a
funny look directed right back at you. Perhaps even a look that says,
‘Oh my god, I so can’t believe you just asked that!’ (Sounds funnier if
said in a Vicky Pollard voice). A strong feature of the DVD is
the substantial amount of time given to the live performances. Nothing
pisses me off more than musical documentaries that have almost no live
performances to speak of. There are only so many made up stories of how
our favourite rock-star woke up with a song in their head and walked to
the piano to figure it out (Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking about you
Paul McCartney). If you’re going to fill up a documentary with this
crap, at least have the common courtesy to chuck in something we might
actually like. Luckily, The Pixies got this part right.
Although they have been limited to a very tight selection process from
there extensive back catalogue, they basically play the whole of every
song. Even though The Pixies: Loud Quiet Loud
isn’t the most evocative, stunning or groundbreaking documentary (or
rock-umentary, call it what you will), I feel it succeeds in its
primary function, that is showing the trials and tribulations of an
ordinary group of people who work together to create some of the most
amazing songs one could possibly hear. EXTRAS
Special features of this DVD are mostly made up of deleted scenes,
which isn’t really thrilling. Interesting for the die-hard fans, but
nothing that’s going to revolutionize the concept of extra features. One scene where The Pixies visited the Icelandic 4-piece Sigur Ros
really got me thinking. Besides thinking "what the hell do these two
bands have in common", I also thought where are the loads of other
contemporary bands spilling out their guts on how much of an influence
The Pixies were on their music? In saying that, I do accept that it is
almost impossible to out-do Kurt Cobain’s claim of plagarism, but an
interview with a group like Weezer and other notable beneficiaries of
The Pixies music wouldn’t have gone astray. Overall, The Pixies: Loud
Quiet Loud is an interesting watch with enough live music content to
appease the more involved Pixies fan. Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 65%
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