Hype! is a very intelligent movie about the Seattle Music scene directed by Doug Pray in 1996. There are probably many people who rented this movie with expectations of getting the low-down on Grunge, the musical movement that went world wide with the sudden ascent of Nirvana to the top of the musical charts, after MTV put the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video in regular rotation. I can see people being disappointed with this movie because it is in no way a simple-minded glorification of Seattle grunge culture and the early days of SubPop Records, but a rather even-handed coverage of a diverse music scene with a variety of talented bands, and a narrative of how the eyes of the world turned to Seattle briefly, and how a mythology arose that locals found both baffling and amusing (and also somewhat disgusted). The very fact that a good percentage of the movie has footage of bands who have little to do with grunge is an indication of what director Doug Pray had in mind.
The movie start with an overview about the Seattle scene, and why things developed the way they did. The rainy weather is cited, combined with boredom. The fact that they are at the very end of the Continental USA was mentioned, and the fact that bands stopped touring there much by around 1980.
It may be that a certain isolation helped create a certain local scene that had its own uniqueness. I keep thinking about the great novel World's End by T Coraghessan Boyle for some reason, though it is set in my neck of the woods, the Hudson River Valley, jumping back and forth between the 1600's and the 1900's. Back at the beginning my town was the one at the edge. Producer Steve Fisk mentions that there were plenty of bands imitating bands back in the 1970's. True, but maybe you've got to paint a few bowls of fruit before you begin turning the art world on its ear. And there were good bands then--there always is, but like the old adage of a tree falling in the woods, is anyone listening?
 |
| You be the Cat and I'll Be the Mouse |
Maybe the elephant in the room so to speak, is the book Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds written by Charles McKay more than a century and a half ago. Here it was the end of the 20th century and people were just as crazy as the fanatics portrayed in his book. Of course it took something special for the Seattle phenomenon to bust nationwide, and that was Cobain and Friends.
Outliers seems to be a big trendy thing these days and I suppose you could call Kurt Cobain a musical outlier. The right wingers are looking for a million Steve Jobs to emerge from somewhere like a scene from Night of the Living Dead, but that's kind of silly. In our society if such a crazy thing happened, the armies of techno whiz kids would all destroy each other until there was only one left. Sometime it seems competition doesn't work so well here anymore. Getting back to Cobain, in my opinion there are no longer conventional big rock stars like Jagger/Richards, Rod Stewart, Townshend, Vanilla Ice, etc., but if any band in recent memory had old school star power, it was Nirvana--whether they wanted it or not! There is no denying the visceral thrill of seeing that first performance of "Smells Like" which is part of this DVD. They may have been hyped to extremes, but their music was the real deal. Their success always seemed satisfying to, a great band getting its due. Unfortunately, it is a lot to cope with, probably beyond the capacity of a lot of people, not just the three lads from Aberdeen. But as Kim Thayil of Soundgarden said in retrospect, maybe not so much the fame, but maybe if we could keep the money.
So, this sleepy little town which happened to have a lot of good bands suddenly was overrun by media, journalists, record industry people, musicians coming to Seattle for their big break. In a way the subtext, as hinted in the movie that in a way, the whole thing could be seen as a hoax gone out of control. As much as Grunge was a homage to hard rock of the 70's, it was also seen as being a little cheesy, getting up on stage, having some fun in a "so bad its good" way. Besides playing loud, screaming loud, long hair, no shirt like Iggy---it's a Powerful feeling! Furthermore, what set the scene for the eventual deluge was mock PR of SubPop, hyping the scene to be more than the sum of its parts. Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt have a lot to say in this documentary, and some of it is true. You could say they marketed themselves as a "smartlabel", the scene rather than individual bands. And of course, Charles Peterson's black and white noir photography gave the label and bands a unique look. Inclusive and subversive at the same time. Today SubPop is a much different label, with a much more eclectic world-wide roster which I think is a pretty good thing. But even in its early heyday, there was plenty of bands that broke the stereotype. Additionally there were other great labels in the day like Popllama, C/Z, Estrus & K Records.
The movie is treasure-trove of bands. In addition to Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Tad and The Melvins, some Nirvana footage. You hear a lot of other things. Great garagey punk like Dead Moon. The Posies are represented, as are the great band Flop. One of my favorite Seattle Bands, The Young Fresh Fellows are in the mix. The awesome Fastbacks are also on board! One of the best moments of footage is an electrifying performance by Mia Zapata and the Gits. If there was another great one in town, maybe it was her. You also get to hear cool bands like the Monomen, Coffin Break, 7 Year Bitch, Hammerbox, Some Velvet Sidewalk.
Hilarity ensued once the 16-25 year old demographic got out and voted with their credit cards, burning their spandex pants, and began dressing in thrift-shop Dinty Moore attire. I always found it kind of amusing, how this became a fashion trend seemingly from nowhere. When I was in High School, all the stoners wore flannels, concert shirts or one pocket tees, and work boots. Suddenly it was like the stuff was created by a Seattle based Vivienne Westwood. It's hard to believe that people may have actually paid hundred of dollars to get designer cloned copies of basically low budget clothing. I have to believe a lot of money was lost on that idea, ultimately.
Another hilarious bit was the hoax played by Megan Jasper, SubPop employee on a New York Times reporter, Rick Marin about the local lingo. The "Grunge Lexicon" actually was published in the New York Times, a short list of Seattle phrases and their corresponding definitions. Harsh Realm was a bad place. Cob nobbler was a loser, lamestain was an "uncool person". Swingin on the Flippity Flop was Green River patois for "hanging out". Big bag of bloatation was being drunk. When word came out that it was all a put-on, it was pretty embarrassing moment for the Times.
Of course there is the counter-argument. Maybe it was all very real. Let's me just say, as a Devil's advocate, that in reality, in an isolated city in the Pacific Northwest, hypercaffeinated by Starbuck's, a local language developed. You know like the Gullah languange of the Outer Banks of Carolina. Let's say, perhaps, that a certain Subpop employee let her guard down, and let the cat out of the bag. Perhaps, a few influential people gave her a talking to, and suddenly Damage Control Local #638 is on the scene, and the whole sorry incident is swept under the rug....I believe that someday, Rick Marin will find his journalistic vindication, and his Grunge Lexicon will be viewed as a Rosetta Stone for Seattle 90's Grunge culture. Call me crazy. Maybe I just want to believe. If I disappear, you'll know what happened.
In the final analysis, Hype! is a great documentary, intelligently done, very funny. Wise quotes abound, from Mudhoney, producer Jack Endino, the Connor brothers, Kim Thayil, and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (a guy I like personally a lot better than his music). If I had to do a chronological time line the Seattle storyboard would be:
1)Great Music Scene
2)Great Music Scene hit by Grunge Media Tsunami
3) Water recedes, bands come out again, do what they do, and keep making good music. Kind of like the scene at Hogwart's at the end of the last Harry Potter Movie, only they magic wands and not wack slacks and plats.
You don't have to be a Grunge fanatic to love this film. You can be a huge grunge fan and appreciate it too. I found a few bands I was unfamiliar with that I'd definitely like to hear more of. In addition to the film, there is also a pretty good soundtrack out on SubPop. And I probably will be checking out more documentaries by Doug Pray also, like Surfwise, Scratch, Big Rig, and Art & Copy. But definitely see Hype! music fans, for a fresh take on the Seattle Music scene of the 80's and 90's.
