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"Hell
Hath No 'Fury' Like the Sex Pistols"
by Scott Mantz
"The Filth and the
Fury"
The Sex Pistols
Directed by Julien Temple
When it comes
to recounting the 3 most important moments in rock'n'roll history,
there's no contest. The first is the day Elvis Presley walked into
Sun Records to record "That's All Right Momma" as a birthday present
for his mother. The second has to be on February 9, 1964, when 73
million Americans tuned in to see The Beatles perform on "The Ed
Sullivan Show". The third belongs to the Sex Pistols, who ushered
in a new era with the release of their one and only album "Never
Mind the Bullocks: Here's the Sex Pistols". Though their musical
output never came close to the volume of their rock-defining revolutionaries,
their place in music history is just as significant.
When you think
about the Sex Pistols, a great many things undoubtedly come to mind--the
rebellious attitudes of the youth during the late 1970's, the tattered
clothing worn by their religiously devoted following, and, of course,
the outrageous events that followed the band at every turn. Say
what you like about the Sex Pistols, because there's never been
anybody quite like them. Not before, and not since. That's what
makes Julien Temple's documentary about the band such an incredibly
fascinating experience. Brand new interviews with the surviving
band members, never before seen concert footage, televised interviews
not seen in decades, and even a face-to-face chat with doomed bassist
Sid Vicious all make "The Filth and the Fury" one of the best rock
documentaries ever made.
As with all
great bands, the Sex Pistols were born as a result of their surroundings.
The inequality that intensified the generation gap among British
citizens could best be described as the rich getting richer and
the poor getting poorer (ironically, just like it is today). The
best way for kids to release their pent up frustration was through
music, and that's where the Pistols came in. Led by their hateful
leader, Johnny Rotten, the Pistols personified a generation that
was ready for change. Whereas the Beatles helped their generation
ease into their decade, the Sex Pistols were more of a result of
theirs. They captured the resentment and the alienation that young
kids everywhere were feeling, and they spoke to those who didn't
have anybody to speak to.
Record company
executives were quick to jump on the bandwagon and cash in on their
so-called gimmick, but they were in for a rude awakening. This was
no act. The Pistols caused mayhem wherever they went, not because
they wanted to get their names in the papers, but because they just
didn't care. Many of their TV interviews ended in disarray simply
because they couldn't contain themselves. The spectacular concert
footage seen here is teeming with a band that was more concerned
with freedom of expression than they were with perfecting their
sound.
It's hardly
surprising that the band didn't last very long (barely 2 years).
Their implosion began long before their record labels started dropping
them, thanks to a lot more than their inappropriate behavior. When
Sid Vicious finally joined the band, their fate was sealed. He could
barely play a note even when he was sober, which apparently was
never the case. The competitive rivalry between Rotten and Vicious
became more destructive as time went on. Add to that the presence
of Vicious' girlfriend Nancy Spungen, who practically fed Vicious
heroin in his sleep, and what you have is a time bomb waiting to
explode.
Even after almost
25 years, bitterness still seems to permeate the band. Nobody has
anything nice to say about anybody else, particularly their former
manager Malcolm McLaren. The most touching moment (yes, there is
a touching moment) came when Rotten, who now goes by his real name,
John Lydon, reminisced about the death of Vicious. He actually got
all choked up, feeling more responsible than he probably should
about his death.
Think of an
episode of VH1's "Behind the Music", but done with an acid-drenched
MTV style, and what you have is "The Filth and the Fury". For a
story whose events precede the birth of music videos, the visual
style here emanates all that those videos represent. The cuts are
quick, frenetic, and hyper-kinetic. The music reaches near deafening
quality. The concert footage is inter-spliced with scenes of Laurence
Olivier as "Richard III", as if to indicate that the Sex Pistols
were just as relevant as Shakespeare. The recent interviews are
done with the band members sitting in the shadows so their faces
can't be seen. Maybe that was the point. After all, who wants to
see a before-and-after shot anyway?
Think about
the music that was around during the late 1970's. The Bee Gee's
were on a roll with the soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever". Progressive
rock was at its peak with bands like Yes and Emerson, Lake, and
Palmer. Disco was at an all time high. Even bugglebum teenyboppers
got their fix with the Bay City Rollers. Somewhere in England, Johnny
Rotten snarled into a microphone, singing the words "I am the anti-Christ"
(from "Anarchy in the UK"). Even if that's all he ever sang, that
would have been enough. "The Filth and the Fury" ends up being just
as relevant today as its subject matter was at a time when people
were sick to death of silly love songs.
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