Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Playlist: T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

Why? Never before released video of legendary 1964 concert. Hey, Quentin Tarantino said it was one of the top three rock films ever.

Q might be right. T.A.M.I., which stands for "Teenage Awards Music International" for some acronymistic reason, was shown briefly in theaters at the time and only on a handful of occasions since. Filmed by director Steve Binder in something called Electronovision, the transfer is impressively crisp and as a pop cultural artifact, this is pretty hard to top. Check out the headliners: The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, James Brown, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry. Everyone was so young and generally still a few years from their creative primes. And it's non-stop music. No filler, no commercials, which today is an unfathomable notion. Whether you like the music or not, it's still cool, and important, to have this footage. And I now know what I'm getting my Mom for her birthday.

One thing I have to mention: James Brown was a freak. Have you ever actually watched him perform? It's amazing. He moved in ways people should not be able to move. And that includes breaking out a proto-Moonwalk that a little boy in Gary, Indiana no doubt saw as well.

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