― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 15 July 2005 15:35 (eighteen years ago) link
I think I read this in Time Out, or maybe New York Magazine. There was a good interview with Letts where he said he was happy to get some of the lesser known people in there, he didn't include John Lydon because he didn't want him to dominate the film (although he let that happen with Rollins), and that he was tempted to skip over the Pistols, Clash & Ramones because he'd assume that viewers already knew about them, but thought that was weird. But yeah... Great first hour. I also really liked the Jim Jarmusch interviews.
― Aaron W (Aaron W), Friday, 15 July 2005 22:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 15 July 2005 22:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 15 July 2005 22:52 (eighteen years ago) link
― These Robust Cookies (Robust Cookies), Friday, 15 July 2005 22:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― Guayaquil, Saturday, 16 July 2005 15:31 (eighteen years ago) link
WHEN YOU ARE ALONE YOU ARE THE CAT YOU ARE THE PHONEYOU ARE AN ANIMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!
Oh, sorry, that's the screamo tribute...
― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Saturday, 16 July 2005 20:23 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Sunday, 24 July 2005 18:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Sunday, 24 July 2005 18:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 24 July 2005 20:56 (eighteen years ago) link
― Patrick (Patrick), Sunday, 19 March 2006 21:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Monday, 20 March 2006 02:09 (eighteen years ago) link
Now: gorn.
― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 20 March 2006 10:40 (eighteen years ago) link
Madly frustrating, for all those proto videos for "Typical Girls" and "Oh Bondage", and "Stop your sobbing" that need to go somewhere, full length. Oh how about the extra DVD? nope.
There's a longish interview with Dave Goodman, that wasn't used at all on the main doc.
It was interesting for being USA-centred for the first time, yes the UK version was accorded due respect, but it wasn't really acknowledged that the UK more than progressed. They do bring out James Chance a lot in these docs. Don't they?
― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 12:19 (eighteen years ago) link
― Erick H (Erick H), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 15:03 (eighteen years ago) link
"Although punk in its pure form lasted longer in Manhattan, it never really broke out from its original scene. Punk was largely confined to Manhattan, despite Malcolm McLaren's attempt to convert cowboys in the Southern States. Unlike the later grunge on the West Coast, where Kurt Cobain became a latterday Sid Vicious..." [etc. etc. ad nauseum]
― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 15:42 (eighteen years ago) link
Where does it?
― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 08:07 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 13:41 (eighteen years ago) link
I also recently caught most of Don Letts' Clash documentary "Westway to the World and was quite impressed. There is some really amazing footage of The Clash in this one that reminded me how much I loved that band at one time. It is one of the best biographical films I have ever seen on a band.
― Earl Nash (earlnash), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 23:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― Pete Scholtes (Pete Scholtes), Thursday, 13 April 2006 15:50 (eighteen years ago) link
Poly Styrene in her interview bits = k-rowr
If you read the "Where are They Now?" section on her, it says she went Krishna ffs! (meanwhile, Ray Cappo has "distanced himself" from the religion lol)
― Q('.'Q) (eman), Saturday, 3 June 2006 02:46 (seventeen years ago) link
Anyone got any idea what point Don Letts is trying to make here? Is in fact just about whether the Clash could have recorded "Police and Thieves" in 2021, as I suspect?
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/16/woke-culture-is-threat-to-protest-songs-says-don-letts
― Woke For Luck (Tom D.), Tuesday, 16 March 2021 09:31 (three years ago) link
I don't think there's any value in trying to divine his point from dozens of sentence fragments scissored out of something else that he wrote himself.
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Tuesday, 16 March 2021 09:43 (three years ago) link
It's usually about the Clash with Don Letts, so I'll stick to my original theory.
― Woke For Luck (Tom D.), Tuesday, 16 March 2021 09:45 (three years ago) link
Probably, but it's a chance to use the phrase "woke culture" in a headline I guess. Don's appearance on Gardeners' World last summer was a cultureal highlight of 2020 for me.
― mahb, Tuesday, 16 March 2021 09:45 (three years ago) link
I really hate his voice.
He does a show on 6music.
Idk what point hes naming except that white artists would be criticised for doing black mysic today. Not sure where protest music and cultural appropriation align though.
― candyman, Tuesday, 16 March 2021 10:40 (three years ago) link
Not familiar with Letts recent work on Brit BBC radio 6 music, but just enjoyed 2022 Rebel Dread doc about his life ( was directed by William E. Badgley , best known for music documentary Here to Be Heard: The Story of The Slits, and is executive produced by Letts himself ). Some good super 8 footage from late 70s, and some interesting interview bits from Letts himself as well as Mick Jones, Paul Simonon (The Clash), John Lydon (Sex Pistols, PiL), and Jazzy B (Soul II Soul) among others.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 22 May 2023 04:46 (eleven months ago) link
Dennis Bovell and others interviewed too. Brit history that some non- Brits might not know included too- Notting Hill Riots, Enoch Powell ugliness and how it all related to Letts . Young white punk future stars hanging at Letts place after Roxy shows footage. Later , Letts in NYC
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 25 May 2023 19:13 (eleven months ago) link
Letts was hired by Chris Blackwell of Island to direct "Good to Go" the film intended to make dc go-go a worldwide genre, but then Letts was fired halfway into it. That was good for Letts long term as the film was a disaster.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 29 May 2023 14:43 (eleven months ago) link
https://www.donletts.com/film-qe1gl
Letts did a Sun Ra doc and a Gil Scott-Heron one
― curmudgeon, Tuesday, 30 May 2023 04:49 (eleven months ago) link
The Letts bio doc is so good. Love the footage of Strummer/Jones making the second BAD album.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 31 May 2023 09:07 (eleven months ago) link
Yes!
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 31 May 2023 13:02 (eleven months ago) link