I have watched recently a documentary film about a musician Searching for Sugar Man. It is a fascinating story and I would like you to watch it or google information about him and present his life story here.
How come he was so popular in the Republic of South Africa and completely unknown in the USA?
I watched "Sugar Man" about two weeks ago. I was amazed - this story is very moving, it's unbelievable, but true. The main character, Rodriguez, was a very talented musician, but had no luck. He recorded few albums, but even though its reviews were very good, he didn't make a music career in USA. No one really knows, how his records got into South Africa. The fact is that they have had achieved a stunning success there. For the community, which was beginning to rebel against apartheid, Rodriguez was more famous than Elvis Presley! And his songs have played a very important role in social change.At the same time, Rodriguez led a simple and modest life as a physical worker.
ReplyDeleteIt could be a long post about how it happened that Rodriguez, who was said to have committed suicide, had been found by his fans, about how was he welcomed in South Africa after all these years, and why, despite the enormous fame, he returned to his fairly austere life. I just recommend this movie to all.
To understand how this was possible, we need to realize how human communication has evolved in recent times. It is a truism to say that since we have the internet and mobile phones, we can be in touch all the time. Talking to or watching person thousands km away takes just few clicks on a computer. It looked very different at the time. We tend to forget of how much the world has changed. Nowadays becoming famous is much, much easier (vide "Friday" by Rebecca Black...), and staying anonymous is quite harder...
It's a shame I didn't watch this movie. I'm right now putting this one on my list "to be watched". Unfortunately I have nothing more to say. Trailer looks good, so definetely I'll watch it once I have some spare time.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm missing something, but besides trailer and few senteces there is nothing more in this blog post.
Like my predecessor, I did not watch this movie, do not know the songs performed by Sixto Rodriguez. When you type film titles in Google appears a lot of information. I was surprised by the large number of awards the movie gets as well as a large number of fans on Facebook. From the information that I could find it: In the 70s Twentieth century American musician Sixto Rodriguez released two albums, "Cold Fact" and "Coming from Reality." None of them have been successful in the U.S., but the music "Sugar Man" has become a sort of anthem of the South African struggle against apartheid.
ReplyDeleteI do not know what caused the lack of spectacular success in the USA. I can only conclude that the music and the issue raised in the texts of his songs were alien to the communities close to the heart of the U.S. and the people who fight for freedom in South Africa.
African people love Sixto Rodriguez because they discover him. For me most interesting is his suprising popularity in South Africa. I think he was their own star not imposed from american nor auropean music market but they found their "own" mucician with interesting album and talent. I didn't meet his creativity before and it's hard for me to evaluate his story, but I believe that talent and good album isn't enough to find listeners. There is needed something more.
ReplyDeleteSome people call it luck, some say it's needed to be in right place in right time. In my opinion sometimes even artist won't be able to guess how their music have influence on auditory and who will follow it.
Although I haven't seen this movie yet, I heard that it won some prices for the best documentary. As I read know a little about the artist it make me realize that sometimes the greatest artist are the one that died. Fortunately in this case that was only misapprehension. But for sure after this movie Rodriguez will be known all over the world.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen "Sugar Man" yet, but I really want to see it, because I have heard only the positive opinions about it.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, before watching a movie I do not like to watch its movie trailer or to read its reviews. I know that "Sugar Man" is a documentary movie based on the well-known story, however I do not really know this story and I do want to know it before I watch this movie. Therefore, I did not read your opinions or saw the movie trailer yet. I hope that soon I will find free time to go to the cinema and see this movie, and then for sure I will read your opinions on "Sugar Man".