Blake - End of an Ear

The Open Mouth:

A bi-weekly crash of all forms

of music video

ILV's exclusive column from Blake Carlisle of End of an Ear Records, Austin's main source for eccentric, ecstatic, experimental & reckless outsider music & video...

Land Of Look Behind (Alan Greenburg, 1981)

Of all the films made in or about Jamaica, The Harder They Come, is the most well known. And while I agree that it is a great movie, I wouldn’t say it’s the best. Two movies instantly come to mind, one of them being Rockers, and the other is Land Of Look Behind. The latter is probably the least known, but is easily one of the best. This amazingly beautiful documentary was created by two of Werner Herzog’s collaborators - screenwriter Alan Greenberg, and cinematographer Jorg Schmidt-Reitwein.

The film offers a glimpse into the day to day life of the inhabitants of the “Quick Step” district of Jamaica, otherwise known as the Land Of Look Behind. This area is one of the most poverty-stricken regions in Jamaica and is also home to some of the country’s most dangerous mountain terrain. This documentary was made during one of the most interesting and active times in Jamaican music. Dancehall was quickly becoming the new style preferred by the younger crowds while roots reggae and dub retained a strong foothold in the pop music market. Unlike most music-oriented documentaries, LOLB doesn’t waste time on singular viewpoints, nor does it work very hard at over-inflating artist’s profiles. There’s a sense of urgency in this film, almost like a cry for help to other countries. Moody soundtrack music flows throughout, bridging gaps between scenes. These Popol Vuh-ish sounds bring a sort of melancholy, emotionally charged feel to the film.

The beginning sequence shows a local man from the area excavating miniature tree frogs from the insides of bamboo stalks. From there we go to a dancehall concert in full-swing. The criminally underrated MC Lui Lepki is on the mic, spewing forth verse praising the recently deceased Bob Marley. This scene views like a tutorial defining what the dancehall craze was like in the early 80’s. Tight, punchy, echo-y rhythms pulse out of what seems like nowhere, while people get drunk and high, dancing their asses off. Next, you get to see a Nayabingi drum jam in the hills that takes place after a ritualistic smoke-out of the most serious order. The looks of intensity on these guy’s faces is almost scary. It’s one of many scenes in this movie that shows people using these amazing homemade water pipes that produce giant clouds of smoke, and take a whole book of matches to light. Another extremely high and intense person in this film is poet / musician Mutabaruka (recently featured on the Jamaican episode of Anthony Bourdain‘s No Reservations TV cooking show). His hand-built home in the jungle is the setting for a scene where he recites some poetry with blood-red eyes staring straight into the camera lens with a face full of professionally contained fury.

One of the most insanely awesome parts of this movie is the footage of Bob Marley’s funeral. Literally thousands of people flooding the streets everywhere proves without a doubt that he was more than just the godfather of reggae music, he was an icon. People are seen smoothing the wet concrete of his tomb with their bare hands. This part of the movie will even make haters show respect.

The ending sequence entitled “Hansel Goes Home” serves as the perfect send-off from this gorgeous film. A guy with a jambox getting high with his friend while the sun sets on a deserted beach. You will never witness anyone more stoned, and there’s a good reason for that. Land Of Look Behind was issued on VHS by Rhino back in the 80’s, and is now available remastered on DVD from Subversive. Ignore the ugly, generic cover art. I promise it’s great.

Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story (Kate Fix / Jason Summers, 2004)

Dead Moon were one of the greatest Rock N’ Roll bands of all time. A lot of people aren’t really acquainted with their history though, and if there ever was a band who deserved a documentary made about them, it’s these guys. Members Fred and Toody Cole have been married since the late 60’s and have been involved in great underground bands since then. Fred was guitarist and singer for bands like The Weeds, and The Lollipop Shoppe which were amongst the most unique sounding garage / psych bands of that era. Later on in the 70’s he was in heavy rock bands like Zipper and King Bee, self-releasing albums, that have since become collectors' artifacts. In the 80’s he and Toody fronted The Rats (one of their albums has recently become available again on Mississippi Records) and eventually formed Dead Moon around 1986.

This DVD is filled with performance footage from all eras of the band. There are great interviews with all three members, and lots of extras including a complete cable access performance by The Rats! Unexpected scenes include stuff like Fred and Toody’s marriage vow renewals at a party in their backyard, where people like Calvin Johnson from Beat Happening and Steve Turner from Mudhoney are casually hanging out (WTF?). There’s also a part where they go to Whizeagle Guitars (their own shop in Portland) and show off some old instruments. And you get to see the record press machine that used to belong to The Kingsmen that they use to make every one of their albums. Dead Moon broke up in 2004, and since then Fred and Toody have went on to form a new band called Pierced Arrows. Anyone who saw them at Emo’s a few months back can attest to the fact that they aren’t slowing down, in fact they might be speeding up. Unknown Passage is essential viewing for anyone who thinks they might be interested in this band, and required viewing for any longtime fan.

Blake Carlisle is a co-owner of End of an Ear Records on 2209 South 1st Street, in Austin, Texas. His columnn will appear every other week on www.iluvvideo.com.