Hype!

For anyone who was a fan of the early '90s "grunge" music, Hype! is almost required viewing. Loaded with interviews, live footage, and early demos/recordings, it is an accurate chronology of the early scene.

However, what makes Hype! so good is that it is basically two stories in one. A simple narrative about the Seattle scene is used to illustrate how the American pop-culture machine will jump on the bandwagon. An independent musical scene with a range of different influences gains a little exposure and reputation. Soon the corporate media steps in, and it all becomes wrapped up in the nice little package of "grunge" and is marketed nationwide as a music/clothing/life-style choice. The people in the original scene either play the game and take advantage of it, or they are caught up and exploited, or they are simply left behind. In the end, what was once underground becomes assimilated into the mainstream and homogenized. The cycle is left to repeat itself somewhere else as soon as the next "musical revolution" is discovered.

Hype! could have just as easily been about a different city or musical genre, and the story would have been the same. These same themes have been brought up in numerous other films, but they work a little better in Hype! because it's not simply a satire, but shows it first-hand through real people.

Once again, I think Hype! is a well-made documentary. Even if you're not a fan of "grunge", I still recommend it for its treatment of pop-culture as a whole.

This is a great little look at the grunge boom and subsequent exploitation of said boom, but it's also a time capsule for people still believing in music and fighting "selling out" and that whole ideology that nobody really cares about anymore. You'll see lots of bands that no longer exist and a moment in time that came and went with a blink. Overall a great flashback.

If you were above a certain age when the "Seattle sound" or "grunge rock" became the rage, HYPE! is a good place to catch up. I can't think of a single feature film that has concert performances from so many bands. Most songs are shown as excerpts rather than in full-length, but the clips are lengthy, and the musicians are shown in prolonged shots without the irritating frenetic cuts favored by post-MTV film editors. The concert footage has more the flavor of the 60's than the 90's. Although grunge rock was the signature of Generation X, both older and younger rock music fans will likely enjoy it.

Most of the interview material will be best appreciated by fans of the genre. Other viewers will find that, away from the stage and their instruments, grunge rockers are no wittier or more entertaining than the musicians who preceded them.

This movie establishes two things: 1. Seattle has a great music scene. 2. So does every other large city. 2 and a half. Eventually the media finds you and ruins you.

The events that went down in Seattle are nothing new and nothing old. Left to develop itself any local music scene will mature into something great. Whether or not the press/industry discovers this and shows up to suck the life out of it is up to fate. Hype! is a snapshot of money finding talent. The results range from crappy albums to suicide.

What this film does accomplish is to procure a reaction of artists caught in the overwhelming process of being found. Suddenly you are being offered loads of cash to do the same thing you've been doing for years, or even decades, for next to nothing. This changes your output - you stop playing to the crowd and start playing to the money. The interviewees in Hype! recognize this and speak to it. This is where the movie succeeds. The musicians see what is happening for what it is and call it out. What they fail to do is reject it, but at least they leave a document for the next generation.

At the end of the film there is a warning: Your town is next. Will the next town take the advice?

An incredible reminder of the intense, passionate, and powerful grunge movement from the late 80s through the mid 90s. A wonderful 1996 surprise for any rock lover, but especially those loyal to the genre itself. The honest and direct interviews, commentaries, and live performances provide inspiration to all open to hear what the fuss (or should I say fuzz?) was all about.