Music Shorts

D: Various

Put any music (Western swing to punk) in any venue (an industrial building in the Bronx to a jam band’s back porch) and you still end up with music that affects individuals that affect the world. Individuals take center stage in “The Ramones and I” and “Sweet Soul Music,” as the filmmakers offer personal accounts of outlook-altering bands. The former depicts the Ramones as the breath of fresh air they were to the music scene of the time as well as to a suburban kid in the Seventies. Blue Rodeo plays the “Sweet Soul Music” encompassing the musical spectrum of the “Toronto sound” from Elvis to Townes Van Zandt. “Jam Sessions” documents the world of improvised music – be it freestyle rapping or some guitars and a drum set – and finds common ground: Everyone’s just trying to get off on what’s coming off the top of their heads. Dwight Adair uses festival interviews, rare music and TV footage, and the down-home atmosphere of Turkey, Texas, to honor the legacy of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Meanwhile, in NYC, Mott Music practices the dying art of piano-making, and the eccentric staff expounds on the nature of sound and the beautiful imperfections of their creations. So what’s holding the universe together? Good vibrations.

This article appears in March 18 • 2005.

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James graduated from Columbia University in 2000 and moved to Austin a year later. Ever since, he has followed the arts and video game scene in ATX, editing and writing stories for the Chronicle along the way. Over his more than 20 years with the paper he has climbed the "corporate" ladder from lowly intern to managing editor.