Tuesday, May 26, 2009

THE STORY OF ANVIL

Damien Seaman reading







THE STORY OF ANVIL concerns the thirty-year attempt of a Canadian heavy-metal band to achieve the recognition the two lead members believe it deserves.

It's sad, funny, and yet joyous because these two heavy metal headbangers would probably take this life, one mostly of failure, over any other. even their families have not given up hope, despite playing at bars for crowds of a dozen head-scratching patrons.

It ends on an up note, a moment that is ephemeral at best. This brought me to the question-or questions. Who hasn't had the fame they deserved? Or who should have thrown in the towel long ago? This could be singers, actors, writer, politicians, athletes? It's an open field.

9 comments:

Kieran Shea said...

Whoa. Now THAT is a loaded question....the list is seemingly endless, how does one even begin? Looks like an amazing doc.

David Cranmer said...

I hadn't heard of this film but it looks good.

Todd Mason said...

How many hours, lines of code do we have here?

Avram Davidson, Kate Wilhelm, Joanna Russ, Leigh Brackett, Carol Emshwiller, Ed Emshwiller, Maggie Gee, your friends and mine such as Bill Crider and Ed Gorman and James Reasoner (even as the Italians, my cousins, seem to helping Joe Lansdale Break Through), nearly everyone I've touched on for Friday's Forgotten Books and most that most others have...as to who should throw in the towel, nobody I can think of, though there are plenty who could be doing better, at least on average, such as Stephen King...who am I to deny all those Anne Rice fans their latest fix of boredom? (Not boring at all for them.) And not her alone.

Todd Mason said...

Ah...I think I missed your singers, actors, politicians, etc. Or perhaps the entry was revised? That makes it a work of days, rather than hours. We could stand to lose the whole current Supreme Court, frankly.

R/T said...

It is probably easier to point out those who should be consigned to oblivion than naming those who have been unjustly overlooked (i.e., consider the irony involved in looking at the overlooked). At any rate, to simply weigh in briefly to get the ball rolling, I would offer this general statement about those who should be consigned to oblivion: out-of-office politicians. What I mean is this: politicians, when holding office, have a legitimate podium from which to speak; however, when no longer in office, those same politicians ought to know that their time on center stage is over, and they should graciously surrender the limelight to the succeeding generation of office-holders. In the United States, for example, too many former office holders of both major political parties continue to dominate the headlines, radio programs, and television screens. Some even win Noble prizes and rant on and on about pseudo-science, but I'm not prepared to mention any names.

R/T said...

Follow-Up: In the spirit of equal time for opposing points of view, since I have already noted my impatience with the Nobel prize winner, let me also throw in a former SOH whose frequent TV appearances (in which he offers political commentary) do little to interfere with his, his wife's, and his daughter's promotions for their commercial/publishing enterprises.

Charles Gramlich said...

This was very weird. One day I mentioned Anvil to Lana, a band who I've enjoyed over the years but who almost no one elese had ever heard of. Suddenly the very next day there was a story about this movie. Talk about about synchronicity.

George said...

Can I nominate sports teams? Both the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres have failed to win a Championship EVER. I'm convinced that only when new owners take over these teams--owners who want to WIN instead of just making money--will the Championship dreams of loyal Bills and Sabres fans be realized. Until then, go Red Wings!

pattinase (abbott) said...

The Detroit Lions. No one can beat that.