Friday, January 28, 2011

Be Here to Love Me (dir Margaret Brown, 2004)

Group 1 Responses (400 word minimum). Focus on themes, or specific scene shots, or some other aspect of the film or its social, cultural, musical context. Due by the end of Tuesday.

Group 2 comments (200 word minimum): Supply a thoughtful comment that expands upon one (or several) of Group 1 responses.

Here's a link to the documentary from hulu: http://www.hulu.com/watch/133829/be-here-to-love-me

Here's a clip of Steve Earle playing a Townes song. This was sung during his recent concert promoting an album full of Townes songs. (The two were close enough that Earle named his son, JT, after Townes (Justin Townes Earle).) It's a nice comment on Townes' traveling lifestyle (the song he plays into at the 5:30 mark is a Van Zandt inspired song written by Steve Earle): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKiVsUwVi1c&feature=related

13 comments:

  1. Leslie Hargis
    Margaret Brown created a brief glimpse into the deeply dynamic and extremely misunderstood mind of singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt. Her documentary, Be Here to Love Me, merely skimmed the surface of the meaning of his lyrics or the interpretations of who he was. The subtle understated tone of the film speaks volumes about what Townes was all about. He was a thinker, an inspirer, a muse; an old soul who’s deeper calling was to connect people to one another and to create order in chaos. This film displayed a person being affected by his environment, where he was a product of his society. Woodstock, on the other hand, demonstrated a situation where society was affected by the people. This message of Townes was not broadcasted and there was no propaganda or media coverage. Much like his lyrics, no two interpretations of his life are ever the same. The theme of this documentary, similar to the theme of his life, explains that it is easy to have the answers presented to us on a silver platter; however, it is much more meaningful to have the puzzle presented and the courage and tenacity to figure it out for ourselves. Almost anyone can make a hit record given the right amount of money. It takes someone uniquely gifted to evoke a thought process that may otherwise lie dormant for one’s entire life.
    Townes Van Zandt; was he crazed or completely in-control? Why did he seem to find so much comfort in the out-of-control drifter scene? Was he psychotic or sane? Were his thoughts down-to-earth or transcendent? For me, the opening lines answer most of these questions. “I don’t envision a very long life for myself. I think that my life will run out before my work does.” His words suggest that Townes possessed an innate knowing, an eerie foreshadowing to how his life would play out. This awareness, much like his music, came from the core of existence, the most basal level where simplicity is indeed bliss. His flirtatious attitude with fate and risky behaviors were highlighted by Margaret Brown for one sole purpose. It accentuated his life’s mantra; that if you have nothing to lose you have everything to gain. Instead of embracing his full potential he drifted in and out of the landscape leaving behind a powerful wake. He was neither an innocent bystander nor a power player in the game of life; he was like a referee calling it like he sees it.
    Townes remarked that the blues are a happy genre. This revelation resonated deep within me; which is the exact effect Townes had on his audience. Blues music calls to the human condition. It reaches the most abysmal emotions and pulls them out of each of us. It projects our secrets, our vulnerabilities, and in doing so it connects us to one another. There is a profound comfort in knowing that we are not alone. Though no two circumstances or sentiments are alike, the individuality- ironically- is the glue that binds us all together. Blues music vocalizes this connection. Whether it is our fears, our past, our love or our disappointments; there is something very moving and binding about talking about the things that make us cry. After all, one of the best emotions is experiencing laughter through tears.
    Townes was a man of many hats. As he stepped off the balcony of that fourth floor apartment he stepped off of the ledge of normalcy. He lived by the philosophy that you can’t have anything without losing everything first. True that a hopeless life has nothing to lose, but it also presents a very unique opportunity. The opportunity is to gain a new lease on life; one that is completely nude and without any filters. Once the soul reaches the vantage point of hopelessness, fate has a funny way of becoming blatantly obvious.

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  2. The documentary “Be Here To Love Me” is a depiction of the life of Townes Van Zandt. The director represents his life as a privileged white child turned into an alcoholic depressed folk singer and songwriter. How could such songs of deep connection to the hard life come from such a child? Even in the beginning of the film, the director offers a little sample of Zandt’s amazing ability to create lyrics that touch the dark side of the imagination. Using first account stories of this musician, the director takes the viewer to the extreme lifestyle of this character. So how could the director visually articulate this man’s journey from the beginning to the end?
    His childhood is displayed as an average American white boy with a family who supports him in his daily activities of sports, school, and marriage. As Townes becomes older, his erratic behavior starts to concern his surrounding loved ones. Feeling they have no other option, his parents agree to give him electric shock treatments in a facility. At this point, the director is offering the turning point into the connection of the deep disturbance in Zandt’s life and his music. Suddenly, all his privileged white memories of childhood are erased as result of this electric surge. The electric surge, in return, seems to be the driving jump start to his career as a musician as well. For now, Townes is left with only his guitar and his articulation of a world. The director really drives the imagery of this strong disconnection throughout the film. As his songs play over the imagery of past family events, the road, the alcohol, and the fast moving scenery, the viewer truly feels the pain in Zandt.
    His music and lyrics breathe with this same electric surge as well. The words drive deep into the listener and pull out the relating pain and disappointment in all. The director truly captures this with the scene of Townes singing “Waiting to die” as a man cries just behind. Even the interviews with fellow musicians he knew describe this energy in an awing idolized manner to which they can too recognize Zandt’s ability to connect to human pain. Townes, himself, as if channeling from this depressive energy accounts not knowing truly an exact recollection of what the exact lyrical meaning is in some of his songs. This is represented by the song “Pancho and Lefty”. Townes even claims to write one of his songs from an experience he had in a dream.
    This aloof method of writing is shown with images of excessive alcohol abuse and exaggerated eccentric behavior of Townes and his surrounding friends and loved ones. Even the lifestyle of all the characters of the film, including Townes, is shown as a detached movement of life experiences. With these images and overplay of his music, the viewer is indulged to recount one’s own personal pain, but also the viewer enters the world of this tormented songwriter. As if the electric shock results in Zandt’s last breathe, the film shows a flash of his passing life in between a long inhale and exhale before letting go into a final destination of peace leaving behind his music to tell the tale.

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  3. “Be here to love me” directed by Margaret Brown is the documentary of Townes Van Zandt. I feel like the director did a good job of making the viewer feel as if they were riding along with Townes on his journey through success and into death. The Cinematography by Lee Delany was great in my opinion. It was very visual. There were cities, towns, open countryside’s and live performances. This all helped me feel like I was getting to know Townes.
    I learned that Townes started out as an average kid pretty much. He was in R.O.T.C., and participated in a variety of sports… then he found airplane glue. At the time that is what most kids were experimenting with. It was used by putting the glue on a rag and then huffing it. Townes developed quite a habit and was often found missing both of his socks. This probably contributed to his being diagnosed as manic depressive. He started to party a lot and at one party he wondered what it would feel like to fall from a fourth story building. He leaned back and over the rail, and he went for it. He said the impact was something he would never forget. After that it was off to Galveston mental hospital. At the mental facility he received a series of shock treatments that eventually burned his mind enough that he had no memory of his own childhood.
    Townes Van Zandt had a music style that was more singer/songwriter, and this was unlike most of the other artist at that time. Most other artists were more singers than songwriters and other people wrote their songs for them. Townes Van Zandt has been sometimes classified as country music’s “Bob Dylan”. In my opinion his music was very dark and depressing. After Townes got married to Fran Loar he set up a little studio in a closet and started writing. “Waiting around to Die” would be his first song. This left Fran not too amused. He tried to get into the military and was rejected because his psychiatrist said that he would not allow it because of Townes mental state. He said “the best thing you can do is to go find yourself”, and that is what he did. He packed up his stuff and headed out.
    He started playing in dive bars from town to town. He slowly gathered a small following. The problem was that he also got deeper into drugs and alcohol. At one point Townes was even seen shooting up whiskey and coke. Even with the dependencies he kept creating music, which was his passion and the one thing that kept him going, until his death new year’s day in 1997.

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  4. I must admit that being completely unfamiliar with Townes Van Zandt I was not the least bit interested in watching (Be Here to Love Me) but was pleasantly surprised and intrigued by this film. Margret Browns documentary brilliantly gave us insight into the artistry and soul of the man some consider to be one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Townes Van Zandt. Most of the footage from (Be Here to Love Me) is mostly comprised of home footage, live interviews and several live performances which I felt was a very effective way to give us an honest glimpse into the life of such a talented musician that never really enjoyed much commercial success.
    Early in the documentary, Van Zandt made a pretty powerful prophecy about his legacy when he said, "I don't envision a very long life for myself," I think my life will run out before my work will, I designed it that way." Which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the documentary? We then start to learn that Van Zandt also lived a troubled and self destructive lifestyle. At one point, his sister tells us of a time when Van Zandt deliberately fell backward out of a four-story window just so he could see what it felt like. Later Van Zandt had to be put in a mental hospital, where he was given electric shock therapy that apparently erased most of his childhood memories. Throughout the movie we hear more stories of many years of alcohol, drug addiction and a hard life on the road that really seem to give the viewer a better understanding of the way Van Zandt lived his life and where the passion in his songwriting came from. I also felt that the interviews with his close friend Guy Clark, and fellow musicians Steve Earle and Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson where he was called “a songwriters, songwriter,” was an effective way of establishing credibility to someone who had never heard Van Zandt.
    In another Be Here to Love Me clip, Van Zandt is asked why he wrote sad songs. Van Zandt looked surprised and said "I don't think they're all that sad," he says. "I have a few that aren't sad, they're just hopeless. The rest aren't sad, they're just the way it goes." He then asks,” Don’t you think life is Kind of sad?” I think that this statement really encompasses Van Zandt’s whole outlook on life. It’s also why he was able to write such passionate music that is respected by so many people, including many talented musicians.

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  5. Be Here to Love Me
    Kris Kristopherson called him “a songwriter’s songwriter.” Steve Earl said that he was the best songwriter in the world “and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” And his doctors said that Townes Van Zandt was a manic depressant who was minimally adjusted to life.
    Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Syd Barrett. What is it about the best songwriters that they are often troubled? Does the great songwriting stem from the troubles? Or do the problems come from the writing?
    Take a look at Townes Van Zandt. Born in Texas to a wealthy family, Van Zandt was a great student with a genius IQ, was active in team sports, and wanted to join the military. Essentially throughout his childhood he was happy and well-adjusted. It wasn’t until he was in college, and already writing songs for hobby that his problems came through.
    Bob Dylan was raised by a “strict and unforgiving” father, but a warm and kind mother. Dylan never really discussed his childhood in public, stating that it was uneventful, but many believe that his was a troubled childhood. John Lennon was born in war-time England, had an absent father, and a reckless mother. He was later sent to live with his upper-middle-class aunt and uncle, though still saw his mother on a regular basis. Lennon said that he did his best to “disrupt every friend’s home…maybe because it was out of envy that I didn’t have this so-called home, but I really did.” And Syd Barrett was raised in a family that fully supported and encouraged his musical aspirations. A month before he was sixteen, Barrett’s father died of cancer. To help him overcome his grief, Barrett’s mother encouraged him to continue writing songs, but change the tone of them.
    The previous list, however minimal it may be, proposes that some musicians may “force” themselves to become troubled, so that their songs may improve. Some may suggest that better songs come from a difficult past.
    Be Here to Love Me plainly addressed the face that Van Zandt had a very comfortable youth. He always had things, material object that others may not have had. The fillm also states that he resented his upbringing because he never needed anything. He always had a home, food, a loving family, yet he was upset over that.
    Songs about harder times tend to be the ones that mean the most to people, because they can always relate. But how do you write a great song when you’ve never experienced a hard life? You make yourself have the problems that you can write about.

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  6. Thoughts on what Leslie H had to say:

    “Townes remarked that the blues are a happy genre. This revelation resonated deep within me; which is the exact effect Townes had on his audience. Blues music calls to the human condition. It reaches the most abysmal emotions and pulls them out of each of us.”

    This makes me think of Horror literature. One of my favorite to both read and write, but whenever I admit this I get the snarled up nose of disgust. I also enjoy blues and I get this. It’s very true, and a deep observation. There is a peculiar, if not nasty, peace we find in sharing our pain. Happiness is fleeting and unfortunately pain seems more permanently universal, we all can relate to that, and somehow more strongly than we can joy and happiness. Further, as you also said, “Whether it is our fears, our past, our love or our disappointments; there is something very moving and binding about talking about the things that make us cry. After all, one of the best emotions is experiencing laughter through tears.” Very true, and I agree. Perhaps that is the true pleasure in sharing our pain, the hope of finding our tears turning into laughter.


    “Townes was a man of many hats. As he stepped off the balcony of that fourth floor apartment he stepped off of the ledge of normalcy. He lived by the philosophy that you can’t have anything without losing everything first. True that a hopeless life has nothing to lose, but it also presents a very unique opportunity. The opportunity is to gain a new lease on life; one that is completely nude and without any filters. Once the soul reaches the vantage point of hopelessness, fate has a funny way of becoming blatantly obvious.”

    First of all, in response to this nugget, I really enjoyed the closing scene where Townes put on the various hats. It seems so obvious, and maybe even clichéd, but yet so powerful. We all wear so many hats, and as I once remarked, we tend to hide in the shade of those hats a little too comfortable. As for him plunging from the balcony, well that’s just crazy, but then again name an artist, a writer, a free thinker, a radical, or a revolutionary who hasn’t skirted into the insane from time to time. He wanted the experienced, needed it even. It looks crazy to us, and is completely, but yet, I get that, I don’t think it’s my thing, I don’t like heights, and pain isn’t very fun, but as an image is definitely moving. It’s almost his embrace of falling from grace you could say, his acceptance of being the rebel messenger. And lastly, “Once the soul reaches the vantage point of hopelessness, fate has a funny way of becoming blatantly obvious,” is that the case? Perhaps I just haven’t gotten that hopeless yet to see my fate so clear. Either that or Fate knows I don’t like the idea of control so much it’s just shrugged me off altogether. Haha :)

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  7. This is in response to JasonE’s comments:

    Early in the documentary, Van Zandt made a pretty powerful prophecy about his legacy when he said, "I don't envision a very long life for myself," I think my life will run out before my work will, I designed it that way." Which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the documentary?


    Van Zandt like so many other musicians lived for self destruction, he reminded me a lot of some of the old 1980s rocker from the hair metal scene in that life seemed to be one big party to him. Van come across as a lost soul merely filling his time with what he enjoyed, which was substances and music. One of the things I admired most about him was that he didn’t live the way he did for the glitz and the fame, he just wanted to live that way, simple and free, with no rules or reasons for his action. He truly marched to the beat of his own drum. As great as he may be he is no different than so many other artists out there just trying to get some kind of attention for themselves. I feel like Van set out to live a life that was the opposite of what he knew or had, I think he wanted to be a musician and knew no one would care about a man than sang about the joys of life but rather the hardship of it, so he set out to experience that hardship and ended up having his own demons take hold.

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  8. Response to Jason E. :

    "Most of the footage from (Be Here to Love Me) is mostly comprised of home footage, live interviews and several live performances which I felt was a very effective way to give us an honest glimpse into the life of such a talented musician that never really enjoyed much commercial success."

    I agree completely, the use of older home movies and interviews really helped me to connect to van Zandt. The shots of him as a child riding a pony on a suburban street shows the paradox that was his up bringing as compared to his adult life. The interviews of him as a young adult, I feel really helped to show his addiction to songwriting and to partying and perhaps to give a little bit of insight as to why he made the decisions he did and why he might not have succeeded the way people had hoped.

    "Early in the documentary, Van Zandt made a pretty powerful prophecy about his legacy when he said, "I don't envision a very long life for myself," I think my life will run out before my work will, I designed it that way." Which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the documentary?"

    The directors choice of putting that interview in so early in the movie definitely sets the tone for the rest of the film. Anybody that comes into the movie not knowing the fate of Townes Van Sandt is surely to pick up on this. The comment also helps to intrigue unknowing viewers and possibly help make connections between the audience by allowing them to think and make their own assumptions of what happened to this man.

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  9. Be Here To Love Me provided an insane amount of insight in to the origins of so much music I have grown up with and continue to love. Townes Van Zandt is in many ways the anti-hero of blues, folk, and “1965 hippie-hillbilly-high, fun” in general. The documentary portrays Townes in a less than glorifying light. As opposed to a Behind The Music style of demigod, ultra-glorified rock stars, we are presented with a modest portrait of a man composed by recollections of friends. Despite the many charismatic artists, ex-wives, and former co-workers, we walk away with this picture of Townes; a man who is “not sad [but experiences] life just the way it goes”. After a beginning blurred by shock treatment, injected bourbon & coke, and airplane glue. Townes embarks on a journey through both Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. Not a journey to find himself, but the kind of odyssey “a long, scarecrow lookin’ guy with a guitar” must endure to self-preserve and manifest a voice unheard by most, but affecting all who hear it.
    While sticking to the most cut and dry approaches to documentary style, Be Here to Love Me allows a combination of testimony, photos, audio clips, and home video to allow us a glimpse in to Townes Van Zandt’s life. There are an innumerable amount of quotable moments from Townes’ assorted interviews. The question is whether to laugh or cry. Ushered in and out by Townes’ lyrics, the viewer is reminded essentially, not to mourn the loss of brilliance, but let it resonate and be shared with Townes Van Zandt fans yet to be.

    - Madison Butler

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  10. In response to Madison:

    "The question is whether to laugh or cry. Ushered in and out by Townes’ lyrics, the viewer is reminded essentially, not to mourn the loss of brilliance, but let it resonate and be shared with Townes Van Zandt fans yet to be."

    I had never heard of Townes Van Zandt and after seeing the documentary I am definitely a fan. I went home and immediately wanted to know more about him so this comment sort of jumped out at me. Townes made music that makes you think about things which is severely lacking in today's music. I think the most profound part of the documentary was when they were talking about how Townes was raised and how he went out and basically did the exact opposite that he was expected to do. He didn't want to be like his parents and didn't want to raise his children like he was raised but at the same time he didn't know how he was going to do that. His music took him all over the country and the drugs he experimented with made him see things in ways he had never seen them before.
    A good message to take from this documentary is live your life like the sun is burning out.

    - Joe Woodyard

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  11. Response to Madison's post:

    I like how Madison said "As opposed to a Behind The Music style..." because many of us have grown up during the VH1 era experiencing these popularized documentaries portraying "demigod, ultra-glorified rock stars". Today, we still we have many unglorified singer/songwriters who drive the music industry. This documentary gives us the opportunity to not just skip over their credit in the music making process, but to explore their story and gain some perspective on how many great songs come about. Who better to tell a story about than a broken down man with a twisted mind and an agenda?

    Until viewing this film, there was not a whole lot I could tell you about Townes Van Zandt. His music is relatively familiar to me, thanks to a strong musical impression left by my folks as I was growing up. When describing his music to others, relatable would be a better choice of words. Relatability is what I think Townes ultimately wanted out of his music.

    Townes had a tough time calling any place home home so I would have to agree that he was on a journey. This journey led him to the ability to translate his innermost, gut-wrenching feelings into a poetic form with reinforcing melodies. An uncontrollable drive to express himself when and where he wanted helped him to develop his talent.

    --
    John Johnston

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  12. Ethan Brogli's response to Leslie:

    Be here to love me was a surprisingly great documentary . Not knowing who I was watching the film at first sure surprised me. To me Townes is one rocks most unsung Heros contributing many hits and writing others. Such as one sung by Willie Nelson . Times lived the rockin roll life style that's for sure excessive drink and many run ins with the law and drugs . Towns did many wild and crazy things that a sober mind could only imagine in nightmare . Jumping off the balcony of a 4 story apartment building putting a revolver to his head and pulling the trigger seems like a real life game of rulette to me.. Towns lived a life remembering the quote the suns dying out everyday and I'm not gonna sit and not live my life. I thought that the end of the film was very interesting where towns was trying on the hats I guess showing all the places he has traveled to in his life. Greg w said it best towns was a man of Many hats!

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  13. I admit that I had never heard of Townes Van Zandt before Margaret brown’s Be Here With Love, but I really enjoyed the film. I have lived in the bluegrass all my life and I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of him or any of his music. Townes was labeled as a folk singer/songwriter but he seemed more like a deep mix of Bluegrass& Blues. With each pick of his guitar, you can feel the pain in Townes heart. One of the major themes of the film was that it was cut as if the viewer is on a journey. I think the style of editing is meant to imamate a long country road trip. This is a great tool for telling a story such as Towne’s. I notice a parturient in some of the live action shots that were taken in a moving car I think it a great tool to set the mood. I think this symbolized Townes life in two ways. First for a long time Townes traveled from city to city, secondly to show the disconnection between Townes and urban areas of life. The film connected with me on many levels. Everyone has a time in their life when they must find an identity with in society. Townes went through this struggle his entire life. This search brought Townes much pain. I think being rejected from the army deeply impacted Townes because it was as if he was also being rejected by this own country. Townes fit in so well as a singer/songwriter is because his purpose in life could go opened and undefined. At one point in the film Townes said that his life would run out before his work did and it was designed that way. I think this showed Townes the dedication to his craft. Townes’s son, J.T. comments on is father’s devotion to the music. J.T go’s on about how hard it is for a man to focus on a task and nothing else. This trait can also be seen as weak and taking the easy way out. I feel lots of Townes pain came from trying to balance him between these two extremes. My favorite scene of the film is when towns put on the different hats in the final cuts. I think this shot expressed the main themes of the entire film. The hats symbolized moving through the different stages or faces of Townes life.

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