The Glamour & the Squalor

Seattle has grown exponentially over the past several decades, especially in its music scene. The Glamour & the Squalor artfully illustrates Marco Collin's life as the catalyst that springboards Seattle onto the musical map. The film is stimulating with all of the textures, flavors, sounds, and acute details; truly giving the essence of Seattle justice. The well-executed story line successfully brings you to empathize with Marco, savoring his successes and commiserating in his trials. The greatest takeaway from this film for me was the message to pursue your passions fearlessly, which I think is easier said than for anyone to truly believe and do like Marco had done. A brilliant, inspiring film.

As a DJ myself, this was a wonderful look into a slice of life during a very exciting time in music. Marco Collins is passionate about what he does and I could relate on many levels to his life and his passion. I found this to be a very honest and moving film depicting the rise, fall and return of this music taste maker who suffered from addiction to the point of losing it all. We follow Collins though his youth of being bullied in the school yard for being different, to working at 91 x in San Diego and then on to 107.7 The End in Seattle right before the Grunge scene exploded in the 90's. Collins was the ear and eye to this most prolific musical scene in Seattle, often playing the bands before anyone else, launching these musicians to stardom in an era where a DJ could still influence listeners and record labels. There is much to teach to youth in this film about drug abuse and its severe consequences. But most importantly, this film's message is about being yourself and following your dreams.

Pacific NW underground rock fans like myself remember Marco Collins almost as much as the famous bands he played each night on his radio show. For those not from the Northwest his name might not be familiar but if you had a radio in the 90's his impact on who you heard being played through it was.

This film brings Marco's life - both the highs and lows - to the audience in a powerful way. The music is great, the interviews range between humorous and heart breaking and the film is shot beautifully. The film never gets too overly dramatic and sensationalized and has you wanting to keep following the story of Marco when the credits start to roll.

I knew Marco, he was my neighbor back when i was 4 to around 11 years old. I never knew he was a radio host until recently. His dog uno would sometimes get in our yard so he would come fetch Uno and that's how i met him i think. He was always super chill and me and my little cousin loved him. We would sometimes hang out but i don't remember much. I would hang with Uno and let him hang out with the dogs we had. So i definitely recommend this documentary! It was super interesting to watch with my dad who new him too. My little cousin 'mason' misses Marco because we both moved away. Anyway, so 10/10 documentary.

Extremely boring vanity piece about a DJ you never heard of and cared less about. He's still alive and 54 but throughout they keep talking about him in the past tense.

It's just another self indulgent, self absorbed BS piece that is so bloody prevalent today. Sickening.