Live Forever: The Rise And Fall Of Brit Pop

The influence of British music in America has traditionally been very strong. From the first British invasion of the sixties which brought the Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who British musicians have found the American public more than willing to embrace new sounds. As Grunge began to move out of the Seattle area and sweep the nation the British launched a new wave of music called BritPop. At this time some home grown British bands began to take back the English music charts and push the Americans to the side. The documentary Live Forever takes a brutally humorous look at this short lived phenomenon.

In the forefront of this musical influence where bands such as Albarn, the Gallagher brothers, Oasis tribute band Wonderwall and Blur, no matter what your musical tastes are you will be carried away by the sheer energy of the performances shown here. John Dower takes the audience not only behind the scenes but he explores the interaction of the various bands and performers. He places the viewer in the middle of a musical explosion, one that swept through Brittan and split out to the States. There is little if any attempt for this work to give time to the pros and cons of the musical style. Dower is obviously a big time fan of the featured bands and it shows. Other influences of the style are not given any mention, notable by their absence are groups like Ocean Colour Scene and the Verve are left out. What really works here is the innate humor that infusers the project. At times the interviewed performers seem to take themselves far too seriously. This translates well on the screen giving laughs as well as several energetic performances.

Dower’s documentary style is a mixture of rapid montages, talking head interviews and typical band footage. His pacing is rapid fire; you will barely be able to keep up with the ever changing focus of the film. He also has an obvious prejudice as to the actual importance of BritPop, while it did influence music tastes it was not as big as the people involved and this direct would lead us to believe, small bands in the American northwest where far more important in the long run. Basically, these where glorified garage bands, like the kind most of where in during high school, that were around at the right time and place in musical history.

Some of the closes up laden interviews are incredibly funny. Noel Gallagher provides what amounts to a stand up comedy routine. His self deprecating look at his life and the times is brutally honest and perfectly placed in the overall documentary. The performances are a far cry from the overly choreographed concerts so popular today. Now, it seems to be all about the lighting, costumes and back up dancers gyrating around the stage. Here is a simpler approach to music, people that enjoy performing and an audience that craves every note.

The DVD is well done. The video is often grainy by design but the various montage scenes flick past without distortion. The audio booms out around your living room. The sheer enthusiasm of not only the performers carries the day here. At times the crowds are so loud they drown out even these bands. While only Dolby stereo it is more than up to the task at hand. Director John Dower and producer John Battsek provide a running commentary for the film. While it drags at time you can tell that this project was a labor of love and they where truly devoted to doing their absolute best. For extras there is a set of unseen footage and scenes. These interviews are entertaining but somewhat inconsistent. Several of the people subject to these interviews struggle to get a single coherent sentence out. Lastly there is the Wonderwall diary. When an extra begins with an apology for bad camera work you know what you are in for. This was actually so inane that it resulted in many good laughs.

Over all this is admittedly not for all tastes. Older viewers can watch it and compare what happened at this time with our own British invasion. For younger viewers it will provide some rocking performances.

Posted 5/5/04