Whiplash

Fuck I love music. Its so awesome. We get along so well. I think, [as in most good relationships] I love it most when it surprises me. And when I saw Whiplash, well…it definitely did that. I mean, its a fucking brutal film….but I love it.

Back Story: The most dynamic musician I have ever had the pleasure of watching is not someone you would immediately expect. It happened a couple of years back while I was watching Cinematic Orchestra at the Palais Theatre in St.Kilda with my wife and some dear friends.

Now, if you know anything about Cinematic, you’ll know that they are all about the music. An amazing project that has bought the essence of jazz into an electronic fueled world. [And done it amazingly I might add] So as I am watching these guys play, it strikes me that because they are not there for show, all of them are literally standing still, focusing intently on their part to play. All but one.

Try to imagine 5-6 musicians on stage. A couple to the left. A few to the right. But in the middle, holding the entire stage together sat a man by the name of Luke Flowers. The drummer. And because everyone else on stage was fairly static in their movements, it seemed as though he was the only one moving. I swear I watched him drum for 2 hours solid, and like I said before, was the most dynamic musical experience I had ever had.

Now lets be very clear here…I am not saying it was my favourite musical experience. I am specifically talking about being impacted by the way Flowers moved. I think I just love the fluid nature of drummers. From Luke Flowers to Danny Carey & from John Bonham to Neil Peart, I really do marvel at them, but this is why Whiplash, a 2014 film about a vehemently determined, up and coming drumming student’s relationship with possibly the most aggressively bombastic drill sergeant of a teacher you could ever imagine, surprised me in the most wonderful way.

What results is a film that captures so many elements of true musicianship [albeit taken quite to the extreme] and what is often forgotten when we hear the craft behind the music. Because as much as I might get just a little kickback for saying this, I don’t think it’s about the music at all. Its about a musician’s personal story and how it then gets translated into their music. And this my friends, is something I can attest to. Not because I am one. But because I grew up next to one in my father. Time after time. Scale after scale.

But what the film really says is “look at how intently single minded some people are by nature to master their craft”. And that…that is something I think we all aspire to. Sure, it doesn’t always lend itself to a balanced family life or healthy relationships, but there are elements to the greats that we really do admire. Unfortunately because of this imbalance, they mostly end up crazy balls of antisocial weirdness that struggle in other aspects of their life.

There are so many aspects to this film and its corresponding soundtrack that trigger my musical sensibilities. But then partner this with the story that drives the film, and it’s easy to understand why it won Academy Awards. The music in this film is classic. They’re mostly standards that have been revamped for this kick arse take on the essence of unwavering diligence, but if you are a jazz or big band fan, please take the time to give it a listen.

To begin with, this album has been divided into three parts.

Section #1 “I Want To Be One of the Greats”. This section is all about the big tunes. Brass, big and tight. The most integral tracks in the film are here and quite rightly so. These are the tracks that make you want to move. But we’ll return here…

Section #2 “If You Want the Part, Earn It” is all about the score and the soundbytes. Composers Justin Hurwitz & Tim Simonec who crafted this album and film show their hand at taking two steps to the left while still using jazz elements to create intensely mood driven snippets to fill this piece of cinema with.

Section #3 “He Was A Beautiful Player” has some new tracks [mainly] from Hurwitz & Simonec. A couple of tracks “When I wake’, ‘No Two Words’ and ‘Casey’s Song’, all at the end of the album sound like they should be coming out of a gramophone. Add to that a beautiful sax driven track called ‘Intoit’ that has Stan Getz all over it, and it becomes a really nice completion to the album.

But as I said, this album is all about Section #1. Three tracks mainly. The ‘Overture’ by Hurwitz is as good as any standard. After watching the film you sorta feel like it is, which says a lot about how good it really is. Then there is the title track ‘Whiplash’. You hear it so often during the film, but I know this track pretty well before this so it’s really nice to see it performed exceptionally for this occasion.

But if you haven’t seen this film, I am remiss to talk too much about the last track ‘Caravan’. It is the thread that runs all the way through this film and rejigged especially for the story line, and the version on the album is exactly that. It is…well, it’s…um, you’re just gonna have to see it. If you have, you’ll know what I mean.

So instead of putting a video of it which might spoil it for some, have a listen.
Its an old story, but it’s fucking timeless. Enjoy.

M /