Split screens and black and white footage and a cacophony of sounds bring to mind the New York of the mid-60s, the Soho boho art movement, the look and feel and grit of the music is there on screen. It’s a rock doc – but it’s a rock-doc as art-film, as befits the band, the movement, the era. And it’s not a subverted biopic, as with his previous musical offerings. It’s 43 minutes long and features Barbie dolls to act out the story.Īs far as I’m aware, The Velvet Underground is Haynes’ first full-length music documentary. But the music-movie I loved most that came from Haynes’ mind was his appreciation of the Carpenters’ story: the 1987 short-film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is a must to seek out.
Those two films offer his fictionalised take on the worlds of glam and Bob Dylan, respectively. It took me absolutely years to get to I’m Not There. There are misfires he’s made that I still want to spend time with – I don’t think he nailed Velvet Goldmine at all, doesn’t mean I didn’t want to see it. How he’s the type of filmmaker where I’m even intrigued by his missteps. So I’m hearing European Son in the doco – even when it’s not playing.Īnd I’m also thinking about all of the magical work I’ve loved by Todd Haynes. Its charming racket was, at first, an anomaly – but on second, third and then every listen after, it’s been the signpost for another way of musical thinking. Hearing that at the end of the first VU album blew the bloody doors open. The song European Son is on a loop in my head some days. And how the quote attributed to Brian Eno around not many people buying the first VU album but everyone that did started a band might be one of the things that got me super-interested in Brian Eno he’s now one of the most important shaping influences on what I listen to. A few minutes in and my mind is whizzing through the Cale biographies (and autobiography) I’ve read, all the Lou Reed books, the Nico books, and the Warhol stuff – how my total understanding of Andy Warhol as 20 th Century Figure is shaped through my understanding of the music and impact of The Velvet Underground. This is what I’m thinking as the documentary starts. And how I looked over at one point and saw Chris Knox and Roger Shepherd in the audience, looking like they were there to worship. And it was worth it just to hear him perform Venus in Furs. I’m thinking, too, about how I never got to see Reed play, but in 2007 I flew to Auckland overnight to catch a John Cale solo gig. And I’m thinking about how Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart from 1998 (which I saw at the Paramount during one of the first Film Festivals I ever attended in Wellington) was probably good enough anyway, right… So, as I watch The Velvet Underground, I’m thinking about being a teenager on holiday in Mt Maunganui when I walk into a hybrid music/surf-clothing store and buy a copy of the VU’s Loaded as my first CD. John Cale’s abrasive viola strikes filled the room. Todd Haynes’ brand new documentary that is simply called “The Velvet Underground” started streaming on Apple TV+ over the weekend.
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