Sound Business

NY 77 Coolest year in hell

New York City, 1977 - It was a time when the city had fallen into decay, with too few jobs, money, police, schools, and social services. There was a city wide blackout with major looting, a serial killer on the loose, and the Bronx was burning. And yet out of the chaos emerged one of the most creative times any city has ever encountered.

Executive Produced by Academy Award Nominee Nanette Burstein ("The Kid Stays in the Picture"), "NY77: The Coolest Year In Hell" is a two-hour documentary that tells the story of one astonishing year in New York City history. Premiering Saturday, August 11 at 9PM*, the documentary is told chronologically and weaves together the stories of the emergence of hip hop, punk and disco, graffiti art, and sexual liberation. In the background are the major political events and social issues of the day -- crime, urban decay, financial woes, the infamous blackout, drugs, Son of Sam, the bitter mayoral election and the overall poverty that gripped the city.

Out of chaos came creation. From the South Bronx came hip hop. From the Lower East Side, the thrashing guitars of punk. And all over the city, a disco revolution was underway. Elaborate, finely crafted graffiti art decorated the subway cars and break-dancers shimmied in the streets. The sexual revolution was in full swing. In January 1977, most of this activity existed in its own underground bubble. Yet by the end of the year this artistic expression was on its way to mainstream America, and would be with us for generations to come.

The documentary uses groundbreaking animation to help tell the story, and features interviews with those who lived it, including Ed Koch, Geraldo Rivera, Jimmy Breslin, Gloria Gaynor, Afrika Bambaataa, Chris Stein (Blondie), Richard Hell, KRS-One, Grandmaster Caz, DJ Disco Wiz, Legs McNeil, Annie Sprinkle, Al Goldstein, Tommy Ramone, Jellybean Benitez, Lee Quinones, and many more.

The Emmy Nominated "NY77: The Coolest Year In Hell" is the newest film in the VH1 Rock Doc franchise. VH1 Rock Docs are high-end feature-length documentaries that each reveal an untold story in the history of rock and hip-hop music, combining never-before-seen footage with a unique and unconventional narrative approach. The documentaries tell some of the most unique stories of artists and music from a wide range of genres, styles, and musical perspectives.

PressPausePlay Documentary

PressPausePlay from House of Radon on Vimeo.

The digital revolution of the last decade has unleashed creativity and talent in an unprecedented way, with unlimited opportunities. 

But does democratized culture mean better art or is true talent instead drowned out? This is the question addressed by PressPausePlay, a documentary film containing interviews with some of the world's most influential creators of the digital era. presspauseplay.com @presspauseplay Facebook: on.fb.me/y4gEK1

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Sun Ra - Brother From Another Planet - Dir: Don Letts

A BBC Doco directed by Don Letts. Sun Ra, if you don't know, now you know.

For a better quality version from a legitimate source check this link.

Directed by Don Letts

Born in perhaps the most segregated place on Earth – early 20th-century Alabama – Herman Poole Blount rejected his name, his origins and the conventions of the time (or any other, for that matter), re-creating himself as Sun Ra, emissary from Saturn ("planet of discipline") and musical genius. Blending Egyptology and Space Age imagery, he projected a philosophy of radical empowerment for the entire cosmos; keeping a big band on the road for decades through independence and communal living, he became a patriarch of jazz and an avatar of freewheeling space music. Turning from the punk and reggae with which he’s most closely associated to one of the key figures in 20th-century sound, famed DJ/filmmaker Letts presents the Sun Ra story in all its glory, combining powerful footage of Ra and his legendary Arkestra, interviews with band members shot at their famous group house in Philadelphia and testimonies from sax great Archie Shepp, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and other admirers. -Keith Jones - musicfilmweb

First comprehensive documentary about the ultimate music visionary. Born in Alabama, then the most segregated place on Earth, Sun Ra rejected convention and claimed to be from Saturn, "planet of discipline."

He brought together Egyptology and the imagery of the Space Age to project a philosophy of radical empowerment - for the entire Cosmos. Keeping a big band on the road for decades through independence and communal living, Sun Ra became a patriarch of jazz.

Punk film legend Don Letts presents the Sun Ra story in all its glory, combining powerful footage of Ra and his legendary Arkestra, interviews with band members shot at their famous group house in Philadelphia, and testimony from Archie Shepp, Amiri Baraka, John Sinclair and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. 

FERACO - Rast In Congo

Rent a Rasta

RENT A RASTA from cinepobre.com on Vimeo.

American Juggalo

American Juggalo from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.