In the late 1970s, residents of Love Canal, a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, discovered that their homes, schools and playgrounds were built on top of a former chemical waste dump, which was now leaking toxic substances and…
Tangled Up with Dylan: The Ballad of AJ Weberman
In 2006, A.J. Weberman, along with some of his former students, appeared in a documentary film about his exploits as a Dylanologist. The film includes a performance by Peel and Weberman of “The Ballad of A. J. Weberman,” a tribute…
Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell
“Wild Combination” (2008) is director Matt Wolf’s visually absorbing portrait of the seminal avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, cellist, and disco producer Arthur Russell. Before his untimely death from AIDS in 1992, Arthur prolifically created music that spanned both pop and the…
‘Every Everything: The Music, Life & Times of Grant Hart,’ the Drummer from Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band’s continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardcore punk band, and…
Padre Pio Documentary
Padre Pio, also known as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina , was an Italian friar, priest, stigmatist and mystic, now venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Born Francesco Forgione, he was given the name of Pius when he joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Padre Pio became famous for exhibiting stigmata for…
‘First Call’ is About Drinking In Manhattan at 8 AM
A 50-minute documentary about people from Manhattan who liked to drink in bars during the morning. Most New York City bards during that era offered “first calls” ie. the bar opened and would/could serve you alcohol starting at 8 a.m.…