Committing to a music documentary or biopic on Netflix is one of the hardest things for me to do. I've literally spent hours flipping through titles and considering whether or not to devote an hour or two of my life watching a movie about a band or musical genre. It's a bit like, "Hmmm. John Coltrane, yeah. That looks good. But it's 96 minutes. Hmmm. Maybe not." Ironically, I spend more time hemming and hawing than actually watching the damn movies.
So last night I decided on this movie called "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" (a film about Ian Dury and the Blockheads). I'd just returned from a trip to England and had seen this guy's music all over the shops. I gave it a whirl. I highly recommend the movie - a whirling story of what it says in the title, interwoven with live performances and memoryscapes. In fact, it was so good, that I downloaded Ian Dury's greatest hits. I toyed with the idea of buying a proper album, but wanted to get the best deal - 20 songs for $6.
So, why should you listen to Ian Dury?
1) If Tom Waits meets drunk pub-pirate sounds good to you.
2) If you're interested in the transitional period of rock called New Wave.
3) If you're a lyrics person and you specifically like British songwriters who focus on mundane characters and banal lifestyles like Ray Davies, Paul Weller or Damon Albarn.
4) Surprisingly, if you like your disco with a teaspoon of punk.
Check it out.
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