Movie recommendation: Searching for Sugar man - Rodriguez

michelew
Posts: 87
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia
Status: Offline

Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:04 pm

(I wrote this thread before searching the forum. So this is for everyone that didn't read Pierre's thread).


I've just watched a moving documentary "Searching for Sugarman" about a musical legend - Rodriguez; a man who inspired a social revolution, a man who was "bigger than Elvis" in South Africa but didn't even know it, a beautiful humble man. Have you heard of him? I hadn't until about a month ago. But, then I live under a rock at the bottom of the world. :)

I don't know how well he is known in the US or outside of South Africa now, but I promise that regardless of whether you love his music, you will find it hard to not be moved by his story. It follows the investigative journey of two men who start off trying to find out more about the enigma and how he really died .... They start with crumbs of information on an album cover and a few song lyrics. What they discover is more than they had hoped for. What they find changes lives.

It starts off talking about South Africa in the '70's. At one point the narrator says something like "...at that time you would look through peoples' record collection in South Africa and you would always find three albums; Abbey Road - The Beatles, A Bridge Over Troubled Waters - Simon and Garfunkel and Cold Facts - Rodriguez. At one point they describe him as being bigger than The Stones too. He sang about the injustices he saw about him and gave a generation of Afrikaans people permission to question the Establishment, to fight for change, to fight to bring about the end of appartiet.

Sixto Rodriguez lived, performed and recorded in Detroit. For some unknown reason, his albums were not successful in the US. He stopped performing. He worked hard in a back-breaking manual job and besides people who didn't even know he was a performer. He had a profound effect on a generation of people on another continent, but didn't know it.

All of this, would make an amazing story all by itself. There's more, much more. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you the full story and the uplifting, emotional journey that it takes you on. You'll have to find out the rest for yourself. But, it's a great story and his music is very cool. He's compared to Dylan and other musical poets. I'm currently sitting on a plane as I write this. I don't have any of his music in my collection, but I'll be downloading it today.

It's a great story. I whole-heartedly recommend it.

Ever heard of him?

Shel


dennisg
Posts: 0
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:34 am
Status: Offline

Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:09 pm

Shel,

He's completely unknown in the U.S., except for what little notoriety he's acquired as a result of the documentary. I think it's great that you're bringing it to our attention, and I plan to see if I can find the documentary here.

Have a nice holiday.


michelew
Posts: 87
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia
Status: Offline

Fri Dec 21, 2012 2:52 am

Den you'd LOVE it for sure.

And thanks.

Shel


thereshopeyet
Posts: 130
Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:19 pm
Status: Offline

Fri Dec 21, 2012 5:04 am

Michelle

It's always great to have a good movie to look forward too.
I'll put it on my list

Have a great Christmas

Dermot


Post Reply Previous topicNext topic