Re-Visiting “Father” and The Source Family
Swordfish Records
This is a kick-ass doco about the mythical man-mountain named Yahowa13, AKA Father Yod, AKA Jim Baker. Over the course of two and a half hours, the life, times and philosophy of this titan of 70s communal living and psych-rock are recounted by past and present members of his free love, multi-religion, vegan cult known as The Source. Directed by some kid for a university art project, it’s got an amazing home-made feel full of stock images, unbelievable archival footage, animation and surreal narrative interludes all superimposed over and between one another. You really have to check this out, people. Father was a heavy patriotic war hero, yogi and deadly kung-fu expert who basically invented the Californian health food industry before marrying a bunch of women, grew lots of hair and bagged hot young girls for his ‘religious council’ while recruiting smoking musicians for the aquarian tribe who created all of the mind-blowing acid jams that wander over the whole film. Aside from the interest in the amazing tunes, there are serious explorations into the values and beliefs of such a cult and the impact it had on its members lives. Never mind the sometimes creepy recruitment-video vibrations in parts. If you’re lucky enough you may actually find The Source is exactly what you’ve been missing and you’ll move to Hawaii. Food for the hungry. Come to The Source.
KAREN CARPENTER
Blood Duster: The Shape of Death to Come
Madman
What could be worse than listening to a Blood Duster album? Experiencing them live perhaps?
How about live footage from crummy gigs around Australia. Better still you could just watch any other piss-take metal abortion pull bongs in the back of a Tarago. Impressive placement of one of them actually getting blown though…
CHUCK & TITO
Paradise Lost/Revelations: Paradise Lost 2
Warp Films
A raw as buggery true crime drama about the murder and subsequent testicle-eating of three eight year old boys in the South. How on earth did this movie even happen? Access all areas to everyone and everything means a no holds barred rundown of the victims, perps, trial, family—everything. It’s shot on film but somehow the multiple cameras remain unobtrusive. You thought the Metallica film these cunts made was personal! This is nothing short of a heartbreaking brick to the face. Could I be more shattered by ignorance, stupidity and loss. Highly doubtful. Real shit that went real bad. Heavily biased but who the hell cares. Genius. Stop looking for excuses. You need to see this. Just don’t bother with the second hypocritical film that is nothing more than a reverse witch hunt that will make you want to murder the smug, self-serving, fly-by-night liberal cocksuckers that drown both the film and the three’s defense.
GEEZER
Punk: Attitude
A Film By Don Letts
Shock
There’s something just plain wrong about this new fad of making punk rock documentaries. Sure, punk might be seriously treading the waters of relevance right now but it simply isn’t suited to being caught, boxed and put on display in a museum. That said, Punk Attitude is one doco that towers above its rivals by doing a decidedly punk kinda thing. Gone to a large degree is the classic Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash story we always hear. In its place we have the hippies, the fringe dwellers, The Dolls and The Stooges. This is the story of punk by the man who stood just on the edge of its centre. And it’s told by the survivors—older, nostalgic, oft forgotten and, for the most part totally fucked. Sure this is Please Kill Me in movie form. But for you idiots too dumb to read, it serves as a visual battlecry to rediscover and reinvent the punk thing, whatever the fuck that means right now. Just see it and cut off your lame emo fringes.
BRAM
Spend An Evening With Saddle Creek
Plexifilm/Stomp
I can remember how exciting music DVDs got a few years ago when Plexifilm came right out of left field and started dropping awesome visual bombs like Friends Forever and Style Wars on us only to watch the quality of their releases drop off at an amazingly consistent rate. Did they get market research back claiming that only the dampest of indie-music fans can afford to buy their shit? First they put out a They Might Be Giants movie, then a boring road profile of Low and their annoying kid, then king lame-o’s Death Cab For Cutie show up. Saddle Creek Records though? Come on now, that’s not even trying. Does anyone actually care about the trials and tribulations of a group of small town friends who learn to live and love one another through their shared passion for music only to make good at the other end? I’d rather watch Stand By Me again for only the gazzillionth time.
AIMEE MACK
