True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

Off the Charts
You know those tiny ads for “songs wanted” in the back pages of
magazines? This is the story of the people who succumb to this siren by
sending in money with their late-night poems, and of the professional
musicians who record them for a few hundred dollars, and of the avid
collectors who prize this “outsider” art. Song-poems, as they are called,
are a weird hybrid of silly lyrics and professional recording. It’s like having
one of your telephone doodles turned into a giant city-block mural.
There’s something inherently lopsided about them. The wannabe songwriters
are of course, a wonderfully bizarre and sometimes clueless cast
of characters. But just as interesting to me are the weathered musicians
who make their living playing these stupefying songs. I was impressed
by how serious they took each creation, giving it their utmost – well, as
much as they could give in a half hour. Incredibly, many of the songwriters
were repeat customers happy with the results. The third leg of this
unusual triangle are the collectors, the fans who find this outsider music
more interesting than the smooth releases of pros. This film does what
I always hope a documentary will do: it respectfully immerses me into
a world I had never heard of before and changes my view. I came away
with more sympathy for the folk writers and the professionals who serve
them that I would have thought possible. While the business may be a
scam, it’s a willing scam for all the parties. Nice piece of work.
By Jamie Meltzer
2003, 132 min.
Available from Amazon
Rent from Netflix
One stanza of song by a repeat customer
flashes while he bikes and practices karate
(above). Meanwhile the producers of
the music work hard, and try not to make
fun of anyone’s attempt at creation.
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