In America everyone
knows about the common tale of the one-hit wonders. That songs that everyone is singing for weeks
then a year later no one can remember the artist, but they remember the
chorus. Little however is made of the
artist who has no hits at all, but maybe caught on in another part of the world. Even rarer is the artist who achieved Elvis
status in another country and never knew it.
“Searching
for Sugar Man” is a fascinating documentary about the music and the man known
as Rodriguez. Who in the early 70’s had
a couple of albums released, that while well received critically, they basically
went nowhere. He was forgotten, lost to
the music gods. However in South Africa
where the apartheid regime was in full force, the youth had the music of
Rodriguez to inspire them and give them hope for a better tomorrow. His sound was like a rougher, rawer version
of Bob Dylan. Maybe it was unpopular in
America because it was less poetic, or it was racial thing, all that the makers
of the film want to know is the true story behind one of their music
legends. How he lived, how he died, and
who benefits from the sales of his albums all these years later.
It’s a short
and to the point kind of documentary, which is the best kind, it doesn’t linger
too long except where it needs to. And
most of all it feels cinematic, both how it’s shot and in its
storytelling. There are not just
floating heads that put you to sleep, they are people that feel like what they
have to say about Rodriguez and his music needs to be heard. The turns the doc takes are as surprising as
they are hopeful, and while this music may not be for everyone, (I happen to
really dig it) you can’t deny what the power of music can do, and inspire
people to do. I think if nothing else
the messages in “Searching for Sugar Man” deserve to be heard and should remind
us why we love all kinds of music, from the top 10, to the one-hit wonders all
the way to the forgotten.
--Robert L.
Castillo
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