Scratch
Director Doug Pray has easily made one of the most entertaining
documentaries since his own 'American Pimp' and possibly the most
entertaining musical documentary ever. 'Scratch' explores the hip-hop
world of the DJ and turntablism (sorry, no Otomo Yoshihide or Thomas
Brinkmann here), with interviews of legendary superheroes Afrika
Bambaataa, DXT (Herbie Hancock's "Rockit"), Jazzy Jay (Soulsonic
Force), and GrandWizzard Theodore (who many point to as the inventor of
the scratching) as well as some of today's superstars Mix Master Mike,
Q-bert, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, and Rob Swift.
Pray gets rather
intimate with people like Q-bert, who thinks he's communicating with
alien beings, Mix Master Mike, who lets you in on a few secrets about
making custom records to Shadow, who's basement record collection mess
is fucking mindblowing. Pray's film takes him to DJ competitions in NY,
a record warehouse in Phoenix, an afterschool outreach program for
children based in San Francisco and numerous places in between. Through
a flawless film-editng job, different subjects are introduced and
probed, like the evolution of the DJ out from behind the MC, to the art
of "digging" (Kieran Hebden, can't stop thinking about you), to the
acceptance of the DJ as a musician alongside traditional musicians like
guitarists, drummers, etc. At 90 minutes I'm dying for this film to go
on and on and on. I honestly can't wait for the DVD so I can own this
and watch it again and again, but it's something special to see on the
big screen with a boomin' soundsystem. Unfortunately, it's only out on
the road on a limited run, so find out if it's playing near you at www.scratchmovie.com or at sputnik7.
If you're in any of those cities and honestly consider yourself a music
fan, mark it on your calendar and don't miss it. -
Pray gets rather
intimate with people like Q-bert, who thinks he's communicating with
alien beings, Mix Master Mike, who lets you in on a few secrets about
making custom records to Shadow, who's basement record collection mess
is fucking mindblowing. Pray's film takes him to DJ competitions in NY,
a record warehouse in Phoenix, an afterschool outreach program for
children based in San Francisco and numerous places in between. Through
a flawless film-editng job, different subjects are introduced and
probed, like the evolution of the DJ out from behind the MC, to the art
of "digging" (Kieran Hebden, can't stop thinking about you), to the
acceptance of the DJ as a musician alongside traditional musicians like
guitarists, drummers, etc. At 90 minutes I'm dying for this film to go
on and on and on. I honestly can't wait for the DVD so I can own this
and watch it again and again, but it's something special to see on the
big screen with a boomin' soundsystem. Unfortunately, it's only out on
the road on a limited run, so find out if it's playing near you at www.scratchmovie.com or at sputnik7.
If you're in any of those cities and honestly consider yourself a music
fan, mark it on your calendar and don't miss it. -
