Stuff You Gotta Watch: Just For The Record
The passing this month of pianist and composer “Blue” Gene Tyranny added to a list of musical casualties from an unbelievably tragic year. The timing feels especially sad coming mere months after the release of Just For The Record, a documentary on the undersung avant-garde artist with a casual, conversational lightness that matches his work’s “otherworldly consonance.”
David Bernabo’s feature-length film follows Tyranny (born Robert Sheff) from his birth in Texas to his formative years in Michigan, a fertile period at Oakland’s Mills College, and the remainder of his life in New York City. Blind since 2009, the sunglasses-clad Tyranny appears endlessly cheerful while speaking on camera, providing detailed insights into his solo projects and work with Robert Ashley. It would have been great to hear from Iggy Pop about their time together in The Prime Movers, but nearly every other era is discussed in depth.
The main takeaway from this film? How gleefully Tyranny broke down perceived differences between the avant-garde and the mainstream. At one point, Tyranny’s longtime collaborator Peter Gordon draws a connection between their minimalism and the funk of James Brown. When Gordon and Tyranny used the title Trust In Rock for their celebrated late ’70s live recording, it was meant to pay tribute to the lessons both musicians had learned from performing in traditional settings and even bar mitzvahs. Tyranny’s avant-pop offers a radically accessible invitation to follow your bliss into the blue distance.
Review by Jesse Locke. Check out the full archive of the Stuff You Gotta Watch column.