Beautiful Noise (2014)

Beautiful Noise: Directed by Eric Green. With Emma Anderson, Alex Ayuli, Andy Bell, Sonic Boom. BEAUTIFUL NOISE is an in-depth exploration of a music movement in the late twentieth century, a fascinating period when some innovative musicians mixed guitar noise into conventional pop song structures while maintaining a philosophy of letting the music speak for itself. Although many of the people interviewed are notoriously press shy they have opened up about their music and experiences from over 20 years ago, how they defied the rules and became sonic innovators that have inspired so many.

“I finally got around to watching my DVD of the u0026quot;Beautiful Noiseu0026quot; documentary directed by Eric Green – and while much of it was what I expected, it was still great to hear the artists behind the music Iu0026#39;ve loved for so long discuss their influences, the scene they got lumped into and how their bands folded up shop, so to speak, as well as the current resurgence and interest in this type of music.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI question how useful or entertaining this doc will be for the uninitiated to this style of music. For the rest of us, itu0026#39;s a great walk down memory lane, and with interviews from rock luminaries like Billy Corgan and Trent Reznor, a validation of what weu0026#39;ve known all along.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut my favorite part was the interviews of Kevin Shields and Alan McGee inter-cutting between each other as they talked about the recording process of MBVu0026#39;s u0026quot;lovelessu0026quot; (they are basically ripping each other a new hole about the whole experience by recounting how, basically, they thought the other person was disrupting their lives, and in McGeeu0026#39;s POV business). This just goes to show that history is determined by those who write it (or talk about it in this case).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePersonally, the most important outcome of watching this documentary was that it made me pull out all of my shoegaze/dreampop CDs to rip them into FLAC format so I could revisit it all during a long trip I have coming up.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you get a chance to see u0026quot;Beautiful Noiseu0026quot;, by all means do: the artists are interviewed in intimate settings where one gets the sense they were able to relax and really reflect upon the music theyu0026#39;ve made and their larger cultural impact. It was definitely worth the wait for this doc.”