Day 28: Moog

Tried to watch the new Clash of the Titans today to continue my Greek mythology kick. Hooboy it's real bad. Not even Liam Neeson can save that sinking ship of a movie.

So my friend Cy got me a free ticket to Devotchka, who played the Metro this weekend.

Devotchka, "How It Ends"

You might know them from the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack. I'd only heard a few of their songs, but I am always up for live shows. They pulled out all the stops; a violinist, a tuba player, keyboards galore, and a theremin. It was the first time I had ever seen a theremin played live, and it was pretty interesting. It has a haunting, other-worldly sound. Plus how often do you see instruments you don't even have to touch?

So my interest was peaked and I came home and wanted to watch something about alt. instruments. I picked 'Moog', a movie I'd heard about for a while but never saw. I was hoping to learn about the theremin and its history, but I found the film disappointing and without a clear purpose.

The film follows inventor Robert Moog, creator of the Moog Synthesizer. It's basically an extended interview with him as he slowly discusses the process of inventing, building, and selling the first ever electric synth, and how it's affected the music industry. He also talks a little on his views of the world, spirituality, and gardening.

What I learned: Well I had no idea how technical a film about music could be. I thought it was really interesting to see the intersection of music and technology. Moog doesn't seem to see himself as a musician or even a musical instrument-creator, but rather a scientifically minded individual who simply creates products that serve specific purposes.

What I liked:  Moog comes off a sweet old man. We follow him around his house, you meet his wife and family, and he talks a little about how he sees the world. His views aren't revolutionary but they are def. interesting. The rest of the film is just him being filmed as he talks to people who use his instruments. I got the feeling the movie was made as an excuse for this dude to travel around the world and hear people talk about how much they like Moogs. But because he's such a nice guy, you don't really mind all the back-patting that goes on.

What I didn't like: My initial reaction was disappointment: a 2 hour movie and barely any mention of the theremin? Moog earned his fame at an early age building theremins, so I thought they'd be a bigger part of the story. Instead we are treated to a lengthy, in depth discussion of the circuitry and technical details of the moog synth. It went over my head very quickly. I picked the doc because of my basic interest in theremins, but was left wanting.

Also, I had some structural disagreements with the film. We just jumped right into the film mid conversation without any introduction to who Moog was or what he had accomplished. I think it would have served the film better to proceed chronologically.

This movie is more for science nerds than music nerds. The most famous name interviewed is probably Stereolab and even that's a pretty short clip. Watch it if you like the science of synths but skip it if you want the theremin.

Here's an awesome theremin cover of Over The Rainbow:

And here's one of 'Crazy':

And: theremins are so easy to play, even a cat can do it!

Moog is on netflix instant.