While working on the new album, the band rents out a barrack at the Presidio. The documentary continues while the artists fight as they disagree on the new material being played. Common Sense Media is shocked in a way when they state that, “The members of the band appear emotionally vulnerable and often act like total jerks to each other and those around them, which makes the fact that this even got released at all with the band’s full permission even braver.” This was amusing to actually watch because of how real these scenes are. The band didn’t hold back at all when it came to the documentary. They acted as if they would have off the camera.
They also included film of them outside of the band. Kirk, the bassist, talked about his passion for surfing and how it helped him stop doing drugs. He mentions that “You can’t surf when you’re hungover, you can’t surf when you’ve been up all night”. The film focuses a little on each band member and the way the band influences their lives. There are some clips that show Hetfield taking his children to the studio with him just because he’s spent so little time with his kids that week.
The producer didn’t just include the current band members, they also brought in former member, Dave Mustaine, to talk to Lars which was some very interesting situations. Phil also tried to help the mending wounds of the death of one of the original band members. Cliff Burton was the bassist who died in a bus crash. When holding auditions to fill in space for a bassist, they constantly refer back to Cliff. The new bassist, Robert Trujillo, was ecstatic to join the band he was rendered speechless by the multi-million-dollar offer.
As the documentary ends, Metallica plays at San Quentin State prison. For Hetfield, this was a huge step for him to debut his song about anger in a positive way. He makes a brief statement that is heartfelt. He tells the inmates, “We were all born with the same size soul”. In this quote, he tries to express that as humans we are not born evil, we were all born equally as good as one another. As they started their new tour, they had been reborn in their relationships with each other making them more creative and productive in their music process. In recent interviews, Hetfield states that watching the film is difficult because he learned so much about himself and the band.
Citations
J. (2014, October 24). James Hetfield Not Comfortable Watching ‘Some Kind of Monster’ Retrieved June 28, 2017, from http://loudwire.com/metallica-james-hetfield-not-comfortable-watching-some-kind-of-monster/
News / 07 Sep 2016 / by Martin Kielty. (2016, September 07). Metallica recalls their anger at Cliff Burton’s death. Retrieved June 28, 2017, from http://teamrock.com/news/2016-09-07/metallica-recall-their-anger-at-cliff-burton-s-death
Costello, B. (2017, April 23). Metallica: Some Kind of Monster – Movie Review. Retrieved July 01, 2017, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/metallica-some-kind-of-monster
(n.d.). Retrieved July 01, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D00E1DB123BF93AA35754C0A9629C8B63
Kenneth Holmes
July 1, 2017
Wish You Were Here
In the 2012 documentary titled “The Story of Wish You Were Here” Director John Edington provides insight into Syd Barret, the founding member of Pink Floyd and his ordeal with schizophrenia, most likely caused by his psychedelic drug use, leading all the way into his subsequent departure from the band. Pink Floyd was well known for their melodic psychedelic music that was universally accepted into the American popular music culture in the 1960’s and 70’s.
The Band’s style of music was at the forefront of the psychedelic rock culture, the experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, combined with deep dark melodic tones, visual images with vivid colors created a mind-altering experience. Syd was the founding member and front man for the band, from the creation in the early 60’s until his departure in 1968, when he was so strung out on acid his brain was altered and he was unable to perform. In 1968 David Gilmour replaced Syd has the lead guitarist in the band. David Gilmour stated in an interview “and that you would ever really whatever imagined would wind up the way he did wind up”. All of the interviews stated what a great guy, and wonderful man Syd was. Richard Wright state’s “you know he was out going charming wonderful friendly you name it I mean a wonderful man.”
John Boyd interview stated “and I remember him being right like this looking into his eyes and it was just like somebody had turned the lights out, you know just looked so blank, he was living with a whole sort of community of people who are very much believing acid (LSD) can release you and you know get to the truth and all that stuff, and he took too much. He went up on stage and just stood there for long stretches. And he plays the guitar for a bit and then he’d stop. He had done so much damage, because acid, that’s what it does to you. Too much acid will literally fry your brains”. LSD was such a popular drug in this era, many believed it had magical powers to enlighten one mind and stimulate creativity. Hence the heavy use in this area of the music industry, and by the fans of this style of music.
Pink Floyd continued on without Syd and produced their most popular record “Dark Side of the Moon” in 1972 the went on tour for the album for the next several years. With Syd being the missing link the band did struggle with the loss, many of the songs on the following album were about Syd and his influence, mainly the song this documentary was named after. During all of the interviews Syd was mentioned as the most important member and his loss was an enormous influence on all the future productions of the band and its members.
Syd Barrett passed away in 2006, more than 30 years after walking away from fortune, celebrity and fame, but his musical legacy carries on. He was the member with the upfront charisma and defined good looks when he would walk into a room, everyone would turn and look. He never really had any further musical success, as he was a changed person, and lived a quiet secluded life.
Pink Floyds main influences on American Popular Music were the creation of the “concept” album, this is where the album is seen as a whole, not a collection of single songs, the arrangement of music and flow throughout is very important. Another influence is the use of multicolor lights and photo effects within their concerts, these became more “whole body” experiences, and helped convey emotional experiences better.