http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Tue, 26 Apr 2005 17:39:07 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/26/173907.php Alison FishYou don't have to know or even like The Ramones to enjoy this documentary, airing Tuesday and Saturday on PBS, which follows over thirty years the group that blazed a punk trail in the early to mid 1970s. You don't even have to like punk. Or rock. Or music (ok, that might be stretching it.) This is one of those nonfiction pieces that make you wonder how the folks behind the camera got so lucky; their footage fit so neatly into the classic "arch" that Hollywood screenwriters consider a staple, and had some romance, family tension, and heartbreak to boot. Or it makes you scratch your head wondering how many other documentary filmmakers have to scrap their footage when they realize there's no story here.Joey, Johnny, DeeDee and the rotating Ramone #4 came onto the scene when there was a real hunger for some pep, some energy, in a corner of New York known as CBGB's with a $1 cover charge. In a time dominated by lethargic folk rock, when in the words of one character, "you couldn't get laid unless you gave them some rap about macrame," this angry pop style that came to be known as punk was right on time, though it took a while to catch on. And took thirty years to be recognized.When the credits roll it's questionable whether this was a movie about music or culture, families or politics. This is a movie that illustrates George Lakoff's strict father model (read: Johnny) vs. caring nurturer (Joey) model and how they balance each other out, and where the fringe anarchists (DeeDee) fit in to it all. It's a film about a tenacious, even puritan work ethic. It's a film about a lot of things, under the guise of a biopic about four black-haired misfits who the world barely knows by name, but is quite familiar with what change they wrought. Video28684@blogcritics.org Tue, 26 Apr 2005 17:39:07 EDT