Hype! (1996)

So much average

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

If you're a fan of grunge, or suffering from an inexplicable bout of 90s nostalgia, then this film will no doubt make fascinating viewing. If, however, you want a film that goes beyond the story that everybody already knows, and delivers something more than a load of concert footage and an unnecessary (because really, who the hell doesn't already know this?) portrait of the cynical and exploitative nature of corporate America when faced with a new, marketable sub-culture, then it might not be worth bothering. Yes, the people from the bands all seem lovely, and there are a few neat moments here and there, but in the end this is really just an excuse for eighty minutes of second-tier, never-was grunge bands rocking. And do you really want to subject yourself to that? Hopefully, someone will eventually make a film about the history of punk rock that manages to be both entertaining and informative, and not just another tedious anti-corporate screed (apparently The Decline of Western Civilisation is such a film. I haven't seen it, but I intend to check it out) padded with footage of everyone's favourite bands from their first year of University.It's not bad. It's just not that great, either.

This documentary is, very simply, great. It is basically about the music scene in Seattle during and before the "grunge" scene exploded.I really liked how most of the people that were interviewed were not the really famous bands that everyone knows. Of course there is a part of that in the film, but it is not presented in a way that is really shoving it in your face like how all the mainstream media tends to do. It had more to do with the relatively unknown or underground music that erupted from Seattle during that time.I also liked how it was put together in a way that really gave you a solid history and background of the music that was present before "grunge", and how that music influenced the next generation of music, which then influenced the NEXT generation of music.As a whole, it is a very solid documentary that gives the perspective of the people who were around during the "grunge" movement, and the artists' opinions and responses to it. And, of course, there is a lot of fantastic music (and some not so much). ^_^ Enjoy.

When you think about what happened up in the Pacific Northwest during the late '80s and early '90s, you kind of realize that this "scene" was always destined to fail. There's no way a secluded, out-of-the-way region like Washington state could have produced a long-lasting cash cow. It did in a backhanded kind of way since people are still leeching off the scene to create a much more dumbed-down version (Seether, anyone?). That's not to say everything that came from Seattle was intelligent. No one would accuse Seaweed or Gas Huffer for being the most brilliant bands ever. But there was an authenticity that came from those bands and many others that were created in Seattle that scene-hoppers like Candlebox couldn't replicate.And the movie Hype perfectly illustrates this point. It shows the juxtaposition created by commercial success and authenticity. Occasionally the two can coexist, but more often then not they're mutually exclusive. So to see bands like the Screaming Trees on the cusp of fame, only to shy away from it (even if unintentionally), you kind of get the idea what a lot of the Seattle bands were about. Most never expected to amount to anything more than the guy who serves you your coffee at Starbucks. The goal for a lot of people was just to make music they personally enjoyed, and then play a few shows. If they got lucky, they expected maybe to tour up-and-down the West Coast. And then that's it But MTV came calling and then that was it. Authenticity is replaced by photogenic front men.Don't get me wrong. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains were all greats band, but they got a lot of their attention because they were lucky enough to be fronted by sensitive, good-looking guys that girls would go crazy for. They had great music, but their looks coupled with the down-and-dirty attire that they wore made them into the guys-next-door. The movie Singles helped to solidify that image, and then grunge became a household word. Meanwhile Tad were stuck out in the cold, stormy weather of Seattle, playing music that was equally compelling.If anything, don't watch Hype for the big bands that came out of the scene. Watch it for the obscure bands you've never heard of. Bands like the Fastbacks, the Gits, Some Velvet Sidewalk, and Love Battery. Is Eddie Vedder a good listen? Well, yeah. But does he make much sense? Nope.Another big highlight of this movie are the producers, the writers of fanzines, the current (and former) employees of Sub-Pop, generally everyone that lived in Seattle but wasn't in a band. They all have great stories that really go back to illustrating the authenticity of the music, and eventually also pointing out its corruption.This along with the more recent Brian Jonestown Massacre/Dandy Warhols-documentary Dig should be required viewing for any self-respecting music fan. They both brilliantly show the highs and lows of success in the music business, and everything those two polarities entail.

I remember the first time I heard Nirvana. I lied down for a nap with the radio on after school one day. When I woke up it was night, but what threw me out of bed, what got me banging my head was "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I never heard anything like it. The noise possessed me. Right then and there I filed away my Poison and Def Leppard tapes; there were new rock stars to worship.HYPE charts what happened in Seattle to bring forth this defining moment of a generation as well as what happened after. It's a sharp, funny documentary with scads of concert footage of bands both famous (Soundgarden) and not so (Coffin Break). Interspersed are wry observations from the locals who got so fed up with the endless, um, hype, that the only way to stay sane was to make fun of it all. The movie is put together well, but I do have some complaints. I wish the filmmakers had shown the first live performance of "Teen Spirit" in its entirety. The part they do show is electrifying; maybe it's the combination of the grainy, shaky footage and Nirvana itself, but at that moment it was obvious that Kurt Cobain would be a superstar. This concert was ground zero for the biggest youthquake in my lifetime, so I wish it could have seen and heard the performance from beginning to end.My second complaint is easier to forgive. For all the talk about Nirvana, not a word is mentioned about Hole. Given Courtney Love's litigious nature when it comes to her and Kurt's music, I presume she did what she had to do to keep her band out of it. It's not the director's fault, but it does harm the movie since Love is arguably the biggest star the era produced. (HYPE hit theatres about six weeks before THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT; I wonder if that was mere coincidence.)Finally, since there's a clip of the Gits, it would have been right to at least mention lead singer Mia Zapata's 1993 murder. I didn't hear about this until years later, when "Unsolved Mysteries" did a piece on it. I wanted to know more about it, like how her death affected the community and the music. Were the Gits a local favorite? Was Zapata popular? A bitch? Movie doesn't say.I still have all my grunge CDs. Not just the big acts but many of the wannabees, never-weres and knockoffs too: Sponge, Mad Season, Jawbox, Dink, Seven Mary Three. I don't care how derivative it sounds; this era of music was my college years, the early '90s, the best time of my life. Forgive me for wallowing in it occasionally (I type as the moody Mother Love Bone song on the SINGLES soundtrack resonates around me).What happened to grunge? Did it die with Kurt, or with Mia, or when Weird Al gave the world his spin, or when Pearl Jam agreed to play at Ticketmaster arenas? It sure was long gone by the time Layne Staley died and the Smashing Pumpkins broke up. HYPE's running time is under ninety minutes, which seems appropriate since grunge was over quickly too. It petered out before its time, and before we knew it Hootie and the Blowfish was the next big thing. And look what pop music is now.8/10Oh, and I did eventually buy the Best Of collections from Poison and Def Leppard. Don't we all secretly still like the music we listened to in high school?