Off The Charts – The Song-Poem Story

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: B     Film: B-

 

 

There is a world of music that illegal downloads do not have any chance of ever threatening.  This world dawned in 1900 and remarkably continues to this day.  This is the dark world of the Song-Poem, with songs even more bizarre than the most played-out oldie-from-hell, stuff you cannot believe was thought up, let alone recorded.

 

This begins with a suspicious ad that says you can write music without any musical experience.  It is not needed, but the issue of talent becomes most relative.  Off The Charts – The Song-Poem Story (2003) offers a look at this hidden world of music that has somehow survived all the changes in the record industry.  They even have followings… somewhere.

 

Co-producer Henry S. Rosenthal was one of them, and is the person who finally agreed to help co-cinematographer/director Jamie Meltzer carry off the film.  He went out to interview anyone and everyone connected to the business who was willing, interesting, and especially looking for the exposure.  It is remarkable that Meltzer could find so much interesting footage to shoot and incorporate into the final product, which is reminiscent of Michael Moore’s work on several levels.  Right off the bat, we see that one of the long-running labels in this business is called Columbine Records, named decades ago to be similar to Columbia Records, the #1 record label back in the day.

 

It is amazing how many people who have dreams of being in the hit records business still want to be part of this, especially with PCs, the Internet and CD burners.  Why do the “artists” connected to this not consider striking out on their own?  The biggest reason is the appeal of stardom that the poorly produced mini-ads promise.  Are they living a dream, delusion, or just fulfilling something they wanted to do knowing its limitations.

 

For those in the know about this field, it has its stars, but Gene Merlino is the one who is most familiar in voice and face, though it took me a while to place where I had seen him before.  He has worked with Cher and

 

Most impressive is that the film, short and to the point (as I could not imagine it going on much longer) is yet another aspect of America that is purely so and an unbelievable hoot.  The problem is the tendency, now cliché, to set up the subjects to be laughed at.  However, these people somehow become more than just targets or pathetic victims, because there is no major exploitation going on here.  Only so much money is being made in this business and is one of the ultimate expressions of our tendency to love music, no matter how weird, bad, or annoying.  It is also a world of music not that far away from advertising jungles, which the film does not consider.

 

Some of these people may even be artists with more to offer, but stuck in this twilight zone of musicmaking, as well as another fascinating stop no the road of American Capitalism.  It has the feel of any other nostalgia, of the way of life in the U.S., and becomes a microcosm of what everyone wants to go after when they have dreams.  When the audience laughs, they have to know they also laugh at themselves, and that is not easy in any film.

 

The full frame image is pretty good, recently shot on actual film, which is a big plus and feels right considering the old vinyl past of this industry.  In an era where dramatic films are being shot on quickly-dating HD video, it speaks volumes on why film still has the advantage and will for years to come.  It makes for a great contrast to the few videotaped segments, which are in the DVD supplement section.  The other cinematographer was Bruce Dickson.

 

The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has Pro Logic surrounds and both nicely and newly recorded.  With music like this, there is no doubt they had to do all-new audio transfers, so know that you will not miss any of the lyrics.  Both add up to a better performance combination than expected.

 

The extras include extra music performances, deleted scenes, the premiere party for the film, and a brief-but-informative gallery of ads for Song-Poem solicitation with commentary.  This is all good, but nothing can prepare you for a 1970s special called America Sings!  This was presented by Columbine Records and offers a badly-acted musical program meant to fit a syndicated (certainly, they did not expect network TV exposure in the Big Three network days) half-hour slot hoping to promote a slew of “diverse” artists.  Think of it as a deadly combination of The Osmonds and Debbie Boone!  You have to see it to believe it, especially if you have seen Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine and follow the dark side of American Pop Culture in general.

 

This is yet another project that needs the commitment of the viewer to tolerate something unusual, in this case, the music.  Beyond that, Off The Charts – The Song-Poem Story turns out to be one of the big documentary surprises of the year and should slowly gain a most interested audience.  Be there first!

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo