Documentary review: Before the Music Dies recognizes ‘good music’ for what it is

by Sarah Hall

FORT WORTH — The annual Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards kicked off Wednesday night with Lone Star Film Society’s screening of Before the Music Dies. In Andrew Shapter’s documentary about the homogenization of popular music, he shows us what “real” music is, through the eyes of “real” artists like Elvis Costello, Dave Matthews, Eric Clapton, Erykah Badu, and more. The Fort Worth native released the film in 2006 and has been touring town-to-town ever since to promote it.

As a “Pink Panther” from Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Shapter says this was a homecoming of sorts, as the film is dedicated to his late brother, a Fort Worth musician himself.

Shapter’s purpose for the film? Before his brother John passed away, they “shared concern that the industry had abandoned both musicians and fans,” Andrew Shapter said. So he took it upon himself to travel coast-to-coast in the search for “real music.”

The film revealed how the Video Age we’re in places too much emphasis on beauty and youth, not talent. To add to the dilemma, top executives of major record labels are no longer “music guys” willing to shape an artist, but more so “Wall Street guys” who care more about getting money -- and fast. This, along with corporate-owned radio stations all over the country, has led to a repetitive cycle (especially on the radio) of instant-hit pop stars with beauty but no real talent.

The solution? Shapter urges music fans everywhere to “break your habits of the radio and try something new.” The Internet, with sites such as Pandora.com, provides a venue for new music to explode onto the scene and reach a new audience. While the Internet is a good place to find out about music, don’t forget to actually buy the album or make an effort to go see the band live, the documentary suggests; piracy is never going to get these talented musicians what they deserve!

The night ended with a live jazz performance by Ephraim Owens, just in case the audience hadn’t got the message that “real music” is always better than an Ashlee Simpson sing-a-long. In fact, in Before the Music Dies, interviewers met with Simpson fans outside a concert and learned a concertgoer hadn’t even heard of Bob Dylan.

And don’t even get Shapter started on vocals. The documentary took a 17-year-old beauty queen with a mediocre voice and tweaked her vocals to sound synthesized. (Think Madonna.) She makes Shapter’s point well: It’s not about the vocals anymore, unfortunately. If you’ve got a tight little body and a pretty face, that’s good enough for them.

Next up for Shapter is a documentary called Happiness Is, another road trip film that discovers the myths and truths behind happiness. And what he finds makes us feel all warm and fuzzy: Happiness is within.

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