Yes sir indeedy. I went rearwards (I bet you never expected that word. Probably expected "back in time" But that is too Michael J Fox) and bought a movie I love.

This one.



If you like movies about musicians, this is a great flick.

What did you think of Whiplash?

(August 10, 2016 at 5:53 am)SteelCurtain Wrote: What did you think of Whiplash?

I kind of hated it. Then I heard world class session ace Matt Chamberlain say it was not a movie about music, but men and generations. That gave me pause.

The premise for the music was all wrong though. Why would a young kid like him worship Buddy? That is not how a good teacher teaches. Practicing with bleeding hands was idiotic.

Birdman was a better drum movie with the magnificent Brian Blade playing the street drummer.

(August 11, 2016 at 3:26 am)Banjo Wrote: The premise for the music was all wrong though. Why would a young kid like him worship Buddy? That is not how a good teacher teaches. Practicing with bleeding hands was idiotic.

I enjoyed the complexity of their relationship. I think, in the end, it was clear that the teacher was a shit, terrible, awful person and teacher. But youth and holding a paragon and the difficulty of breaking that...

I can understand from a music perspective. That always spoils things for me. Any time there is a movie with characters in the military...

I loved Whiplash, and I completely agree with the teacher's approach. That is how you produce excellence. That's the part no one tells you, and this film did. The people that disagree simply aren't excellent at what they do.

As for that Mark Ruffallo flick, didn't see it, but Ruffalo is an amazing, amazing actor, so kudos.

(August 11, 2016 at 3:26 am)Banjo Wrote:

(August 10, 2016 at 5:53 am)SteelCurtain Wrote: What did you think of Whiplash?

I kind of hated it. Then I heard world class session ace Matt Chamberlain say it was not a movie about music, but men and generations. That gave me pause.

The premise for the music was all wrong though. Why would a young kid like him worship Buddy? That is not how a good teacher teaches. Practicing with bleeding hands was idiotic.[...]

My sentiments exactly - that movie was all kinds of wrong. It seemed like someone made a movie about music aimed at jocks, who can only comprehend violence. "Remember how your coach used to call you a useless c*nt, threw sh*t at you and buggered you in the shower? Yeah - that's how one learns jazz...", or "In order to be good at jazz you need to be able to play really, really fast..." Bollocks. 

Sure - some band leaders, like Buddy Rich, used to be extremely abusive towards their musicians, but they could only get away with it, because they were bosses of a private enterprise and nobody gave a sh*t what they did to their employees at the time. Nowadays, anyone working for a prestigious educational institution would be sacked immediately, if they were throwing chairs at students - doesn't matter what sort of genius they were. A broken wrist of a student could result in a multi-million dollar lawsuit - a conservatory is not a gym for orphans, that nobody cares if they live or die.

Also - what kind of moron would f*ck up their own performance, by purposefully playing a song one of the performers doesn't know, in order to "humiliate" the performer? The audience doesn't know, nor care who the guest drummer is - but they can see the famous conductor and his band stumble through their show. The whole ending of the movie was idiotic.

(August 11, 2016 at 4:13 am)Excited Penguin Wrote: I loved Whiplash, and I completely agree with the teacher's approach. That is how you produce excellence. [...]

LOL. Shows how much you know...

(August 11, 2016 at 5:10 am)Homeless Nutter Wrote:

(August 11, 2016 at 4:13 am)Excited Penguin Wrote: I loved Whiplash, and I completely agree with the teacher's approach. That is how you produce excellence. [...]

LOL. Shows how much you know...

That is how you produce excellence. Either with pressure from within, or, if you're not able to do it yourself then pressure from outside is required.

At least, that's my opinion, no need to imply I'm stupid or something. I apologize for what I implied about people who disagree with me, as well.

(August 11, 2016 at 5:24 am)Excited Penguin Wrote: That is how you produce excellence. Either with pressure from within, or, if you're not able to do it yourself then pressure from outside is required.

At least, that's my opinion, no need to imply I'm stupid or something. [...]

I wasn't implying you were stupid - I was simply saying you don't know what you're talking about. "Pressure from the outside" does in no way need to be in the form of abuse. That's just something bad, sadistic teachers tell gullible kids. And while atmosphere of aggression and threats of violence may be somewhat useful during sport, or military training - that's not how people are taught music, or art. Unless they're being abused, because they're teacher is a psycho hack.