Count Me In

Year 14, Day 189 - 7/8/22 - Movie #4,194

BEFORE: Well, I expected the Beatles to rise up through the ranks on the list of who's had the most appearances this year, but none of them are close to beating Nicolas Cage for 2022.  But keep an eye on Mick Jagger, he seems to be leading the pack after 14 documentaries, and I'm only about 1/3 of the way through my list of docs.  Yesterday was Ringo Starr's birthday, so I want to send a very loud birthday SHOUT-out to him, or maybe we'll just dedicate a drum solo or two to him. 

Taylor Hawkins (from the Foo Fighters) carries over from "Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road". 

THE PLOT: Documentary that recounts the role that drummers play, particularly in rock bands. 

AFTER: It's an interesting idea for a documentary, sure, I'm fairly sure nobody's approached rock music films from this angle before - it creates kind of a niche market, sure, but everybody has a favorite drummer, or at least a favorite band WITH a drummer, so ideally, there should be something here for everyone, young and old.  But I guess that's rather subjective in the end.

But even if you're not up on your rock bands, classic or current, there's a sense that drumming is somewhat universal - what kid didn't enjoy hitting pots and lids with wooden spoons in the kitchen to annoy his or her parents?  Plus, this is primal, drumming goes back to caveman times, before there were hi-hats and drum machines, ancient tribes were beating animal skins with clubs to communicate and celebrate, right?  Or so we've been led to believe...

Which drummers, living or dead, deserve the most screen time here, becomes a debatable point.  So I wonder if there was a set agenda, or if they interviewed current top drummers like Chad Smith and the biggest "classic" ones they could get, like Stewart Copeland and Roger Taylor, and asked them all who were the most influential rock (and jazz) drummers.  Most likely the filmmakers had a list, and asked each interview subject their thoughts and anecdotes about each one. 

But the end result, unfortunately, is that the usual suspects get the most screen time - Ringo Starr, John Bonham, Keith Moon Charlie Watts and Dave Grohl.  (And that last one, well, it just makes me feel old to think that there's a whole generation of drummers for whom "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is considered both classic and inspirational. To me it's a pointless Nirvana song that never should have been responsible for a whole teen movement.  But Dave Grohl has SO much energy in that video, maybe I can see how he inspired so many people to get crazy and start drumming.  Meanwhile, Kurt Cobain's lethargy was inspiring other people to act sullen and blow their brains out, leaving their daughters without fathers...)

A more interesting prospect to me is noting which rock drummers are ABSENT - there's no mention of Neil Peart from Rush and his giant, much larger than necessary drum-kit, for example. And what about Rick Allen, the drummer from Def Leppard who lost his arm in a car accident in 1984, and somehow kept his job?  That story in this film could have been incredibly inspiring to all the differently-abled drummers out there, because I noticed that EVERY drummer in this film has two working arms, and that's not the limiting requirement that it once was, thanks to technology.  This was a huge missed opportunity, unless they're saving his story for "Count Me In 2".  Or what about Phil Collins, who was the drummer for Genesis who was forced into the frontman role when Peter Gabriel left the band, and he went on to have an enormous solo career as a singer?  

There's no love here for Mick Fleetwood, Larry Mullen from U2, Sheila E., Meg White from the White Stripes, Hal Blaine from the Wrecking Crew (so many songs!), Moe Tucker from Velvet Underground, Max Weinberg from the E Street Band, or Questlove from the Roots, and Tommy Lee is barely name-checked.  It's great that they dissected Keith Moon's ardent drumming on "Who Are You", but what about that awesome solo from Neil Peart on "Tom Sawyer"?  And where the FUCK is Alex Van Halen?  Levon Helm?  Mickey Hart and the other guy from the Grateful Dead? John Panozzo from Styx?  Mitch Mitchell from the Jimi Hendrix Experience?  Carl Palmer from ELP?  Peter Criss from KISS? Don Henley? Lars Ulrich? Hello?  Now they better make a sequel, it's only fair to include the drummers this film left out.

I think this film also seems a bit skewed because it did focus so much on the FAMOUS drummers, the top of their field, the ones who made a living out of being drummers - they can't all be successful, though, right?  I mean, this is just one side of the story and in any artistic field - drumming, acting, painting - there are going to be just a handful of successful people and also many people who struggle for years and try to break in, but can't seem to manage it. Some interviewed drummers here talked about being one of 100 people to audition for their current bands, well what happened to the other 99 people?  Do they file for unemployment benefits, or do they find another line of work?  It can't all be sunshine and death-metal rainbows for everybody who wants a shot, after all.  

Also starring Cindy Blackman Santana, Jess Bowen, Clem Burke (Blondie), Stewart Copeland (The Police, last seen in "Under the Volcano"), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd, ditto), Roger Taylor (Queen, ditto), Emily Dolan Davies (The Darkness), Ross Garfield, Topper Headon (The Clash), Bob Henrit, Jim Keltner, Abe Laboriel Jr., Samantha Maloney (Hole), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiction), Rat Scabies (The Damned), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ben Thatcher, 

with archive footage of Ginger Baker (Cream, last seen in "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"), Art Blakey, John Bonham (last seen in "WBCN and the American Revolution"), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin, ditto), Keith Moon (The Who, ditto), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin, ditto), Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin, ditto), Pete Townshend (The Who, ditto), Muddy Waters (ditto), Dave Brubeck, Kurt Cobain (last seen in "Sound City"), Roger Daltrey (The Who, last seen in "Under the Volcano"), John Deacon (Queen, ditto), George Harrison (ditto), Mick Jagger (ditto), John Lennon (ditto), Annie Lennox (Eurhythmics, ditto), Brian May (Queen, ditto), Freddie Mercury (Queen, ditto), Keith Richards (ditto), Ringo Starr (ditto), Dave Stewart (Eurhythmics, ditto), Sting (The Police, ditto), Andy Summers (The Police, ditto), Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones, ditto), John Entwistle (last seen in "Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation"), Flea (last seen in "The Sparks Brothers"), Dave Grohl (last seen in "Bad Reputation"), Krist Novocelic (Nirvana, ditto), Lightnin Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf (last seen in "ZZ Top: That Lil Ol' Band from Texas"), Elvin Jones, Anthony Kiedis, Lenny Kravitz, Gene Krupa, Tommy Lee (last seen in "Let's Go to Prison"), Courtney Love (last seen in "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond"), Steve Martin (last seen in "George Carlin's American Dream"), Paul McCartney (also carrying over from "Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road"), Joe Morello (Dave Brubeck Quintet), Vince Neil (Motley Crue), Philip Oakey (Human League, last seen in "New Wave: Dare to Be Different"), Joe Strummer (The Clash, ditto), Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue), Ed Sullivan (last seen in "Tiny Tim: King for a Day")

RATING: 5 out of 10 tom-toms