Rolling Stones in Exile

A good music documentary on Dutch tv is rare, so this one is definitely worth a watch. Tonight the Rolling Stones documentary “Stones in Exile” will be broadcasted on Nederland 2. It tells the story of the making of their 10th album “Exile on Main Street” in the band’s own words and through archive footage. Stephen Kijack directed the film, which consists of previously unseen footage of the recording sessions in France and when they mixed the album in Los Angeles.

The Stones recorded their album in the basement of Villa Nellcote, Richards’ rented 16-room mansion on the coast in Villefranche-sur-Mer. All marble and wrought iron, Richards said it looked like it was decorated for “bloody Marie Antoinette.” He also liked to recount its history as a Gestapo headquarters. By making the record in Richards’ own house, band members figured he would show up for the sessions. They were wrong. And Richards wasn’t the only one living on the edge. For a six-month stretch, the Stones swapped partners, ingested every available drug, set fires and nearly drove each other mad while making “the first grunge record”.

Het Uur van de Wolf, Rolling Stones in Exile, Friday the 14th of May, 22.50 – 23.50 h CET, Nederland 2.

Out of Our Minds

Two days ago me and P. went to see Melissa auf der Maur, not only on stage, but also on screen. Before the gig we got a showing of her movie “Out of Our Minds”. (Actually we could watch it twice, Melissa was so kind to show it again for the people who missed the first minutes). She made the 28-minute film in 2009 together with director Tony Stone. It’s a strange little film, that doesn’t have a clear storyline. That’s not a bad thing, actually I thought about the film many times afterwards. I’m not going to tell a lot about it, go try to watch it sometime (or watch the trailer below…).

 

ooomfilm.com / xmadmx.com

R.I.P. Malcolm McLaren

Shocking news today: the legendary Malcolm McLaren died yesterday in Switserland, 64 years old. His influence on music and fashion is immense. Without him we would never ever have heard of the Sex Pistols, Adam Ant and  Bow Wow Wow,  SM- and bondage gear as regular wear wouldn’t be mainstream, we wouldn’t shop at his sons store Agent Provocateur or at his ex-girlfriend Vivienne Westwood,  Madonna could never have used the “Waltz Darling” imagery for her song “Vogue”, and the list goed on and on and on…

Some personal McLaren favorites:

The Great Rock ‘n’Roll Swindle – Trailer (1980)

Malcolm McLaren -Madame Butterfly (1984)

Malcolm McLaren & The Bootzilla Orchestra – Waltz Darling (1989)

Early picture, left Vivienne Westwood, right Malcolm McLaren 

During the “Buffalo Girls” period

The Like in Zac Posen for Target Video

Remember this post about the Zac Posen collection for Target? It seems the collection gets promoted by the band The Like. I loved the way Alexander McQueen involved the looks of Leila Moss of the Duke Spirit is his Target collection, and it seems Zac Posen does the same with the ladies from The Like. The promo video, directed by Gia Coppola (yes, family of), shows The Like in  their hotel room getting ready for a show, then later performing onstage.  Check out the sixties vibe of the video: 

myspace.com/thelike

Teenage Rock’n’Roll: The Runaways

After watching the Serge Gainsbourg movie this weekend (fantastic film by the way, go and see it if you haven’t already!), I’m glad to find out that there’s another worth to watch music biopic in the making. This time not French sixties chansons, but American hardrock from the seventies: The Runaways.

The Runaways: Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford, Sandy West and Jackie Fox.

For those who don’t know the Runaways that well (like myself, the only thing I can tell is that my ex-brother in law had a crush on them and kept playing Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Bomb for hours), the Runaways were the first succesfull all female rock band, who recorded their first album when they were 16 years old. The movie is based on singer Cherie Currie’s book “Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway”, about her disturbing life as a rock star (think sleazy managers and drugs). The movie chronicles the band from 1975 – 1977 and focuses on their formation and their rise to fame.

Dakota Fanning plays Cherie Currie (middle) and Kristen Stewart stars as Joan Jett (left) – I love the outfits!:

Director is Floria Sigismondi, in the past she made video’s for artists like Muse (Supermassive Black Hole), The White Stripes (Blue Orchid) and Marilyn Manson (The Beautifull People). Joan Jett  is an executive producer for the film.

March 2010 in US cinemas, November 2010 in Dutch cinemas.
www.runawaysmovie.com