got a good response from my last posting, so hope you don't mind this one. :-)
from allstar, 3/22/99
Radiohead's Meeting People Is Easy Hits Its Mark
Is it worth being one of the most lauded and
successful rock groups in the '90s? After viewing
the brilliantly crafted Radiohead documentary
Meeting People Is Easy, the answer is no. And
according to lead singer Thom Yorke, "It's a
complete headfuck."
The behind- the- scenes film, which made its U.S.
debut on Saturday (March 20) night at South by
Southwest in Austin, Texas, chronicles the madness
that ensued as the band's commercial success of the
Grammy- winning album OK Computer skyrocketed.
Filmmaker Grant Gee (who also directed Radiohead's
"No Surprises" video), shadowed the band for nearly
a year and, using everything from hidden cameras to
high-speed juxtaposed images, poignantly yet tersely
depicts a weary Yorke and bandmates having to endure
countless mundane media interviews, photo shoots,
and post-show fan adoration and hysteria.
Perhaps the film's most compelling moment, and the
one that captures the essence of this 90-minute
documentary, is when Yorke braves numerous takes
during a video shoot where he is required to wear a
tank on his head that slowly fills with water, until
he is completely immersed and unable to breath.
After gasping for air for the umpteenth time, he is
pissed off and exasperated. The tension of this
particular scene is carried on throughout the film
as the band treks the globe. Photo shoots are
frenzied and forced, fans are hysterical, and there
is no respite from the road for Radiohead.
Gee's arresting shots of New York (a yellow-tinted
lens scans the city as a cockroach crawls across
it), Barcelona, London, Paris, Berlin, and Tokyo are
interspersed with live show and studio footage as
well as numerous scenes
of the band exhibiting pre-show and post-show
emotions. Previously- unseen live show footage is
eye and ear candy for hardcore Radiohead fans, with
the band performing a number of both unreleased
songs and B-sides in
addition to the Radiohead anthems "Creep" and "Karma
Police."
Based upon the silence that followed Saturday's
screening, Gee has crafted a groundbreaking film
that is moving and thought- provoking, and
simultaneously entertaining.
In addition to being Capitol Records' first
simultaneous DVD and home video release on May 5,
Meeting People Is Easy will enjoy a limited
screening schedule in Los Angeles, New York, San
Francisco, and Chicago during March
and April (allstar, March 9).
- Roxanne Ruben
For more information on:
Radiohead at:
<A HREF="http://p0.com/r.d?1B0kmy5iE=musicblvd/cgi-bin/tw/6018_42_57591">
http://www.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/6018_42_57591</A>
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