// Category Archive for: Retrovirus

Not Your Mother’s Biopic: Gus Van Sant’s Milk

By Maureen

“My name is Harvey Milk, and I am here to recruit you.” At many of his public appearances, the late politician uttered these words. They’re also my words, because I am also here to recruit you . . . to see the film version of Milk’s life, directed by Gus Van Sant.
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1 Top Class Manager—The Notebooks of Rob Gretton: Q & A With Lesley Gilbert

By Emily Carney

A review of 1 Top Class Manager can be found here.

“[Journalist] Paul Morley’s line of questioning was about a new underground forming outside the system – how do you see the role of the band? . . . Personally I would rather adopt a different role with regards to everything. . . ”
An excerpt from Rob Gretton’s notebooks, circa 1978

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Bands, Posters, Lights, Money: The Notebooks of Rob Gretton

By Emily Carney

A Q & A with Lesley Gilbert, Rob’s widow, can be found here.

Rob Gretton, Joy Division’s manager, has attained legendary status due to his massive presence in Manchester’s musical history, and due to his various depictions in cinema. He’s been portrayed in two major films: 24 Hour Party People (directed by Michael Winterbottom, 2002) and Control (directed by Anton Corbijn, 2007). He has been depicted as being brusque and pint-loving-yet-sympathetic by actor Paddy Considine in 24 Hour Party People; he is rendered as being somewhat harsh and expletive-using by actor Toby Kebbell in Control. A new book, entitled 1 Top Class Manager (referring to Rob referring, well, to himself), consists of Rob’s journals and notebooks from the period between 1978 and 1980, when Joy Division began to make their mark upon the world of popular music. These notebooks set out to “humanize” the myth of Joy Division while underscoring the enormous work it took to make the band successful.
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Popshifter‘s Best Of Lists

Pete Best

Most publications give you their “Best Of” and “Top Ten” lists in their December issues. But what about giving props to of all the great things you embraced in the penultimate month of the year?

That’s why Popshifter has decided to provide you with our favorites now, so that you can add them to your list of “Things To Check Out In 2009.”

In addition to the lists our staff compiled, we’ve also posted the lists from some very special guest contributors.

Enjoy!
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1 Top Class Manager—The Notebooks of Rob Gretton: Q & A With Lesley Gretton

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The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Film Remakes, Part Two

By Michelle Patterson

Read Part One of this series here.

In the previous installment, I explained what separates the good film remakes from the bad and the ugly. There should be a lot of care taken to avoid any of the mistakes of the past, or in the case of a particularly artistic original film, one should not overdo what made that film so good in the first place. Bludgeoning the audience to get a message across won’t make them roll over like kittens and beg for their bellies to be scratched; it will leave them numb and confused, desperate to go home and crawl under the covers to make it all just go away.
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Licorice Pizza: My History With Vinyl

By Jesse Roth

It was an otherwise forgettable commercial for some product or service that was of no use to a middle school kid like me. Airing several times during evening broadcasts in the mid-1990s, it featured several scenes of children around my age with a voiceover expounding on the values and traits of this new generation—the one later to be known by the rather uninspired label “Generation Y.” One scene in particular showed a young girl leaning against the window on a school bus listening to a Walkman. The image was rather innocent but was coupled with the following line:

“They’ve never owned a record”
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The Gonzo Tapes: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

By Lisa Haviland

“For me, it was the first time I’d ever even heard an artillery shell fired and when they come in and hit, it’s a, ah, unnerving experience. . . When you’re out in a jeep that continually backfires and boils over and stops by the side of the road in the midst of voluntary convoys and hoards of refugees, yeah, you tend to think that maybe the world is about to come to an end.”

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Ten Songs That Made Your Parents Want To Kill Themselves

By Jim R. Clark

The title here is pretty self-explanatory. Maybe you just broke up with the love of your life and you just want to while away a few minutes wallowing in self-pity? Well, why should your parents have all the fun, eh? Let’s take this depressing journey into musical history together. Join me. If you dare.
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The Forgotten Music

By Less Lee Moore

Years and years ago, a friend made a mix tape of old records she’d scrounged up from another friend’s grandmother. These were all pieces in the style of what was once called “Easy Listening” or “Elevator Music,” i.e., orchestral, instrumental versions of popular songs. The Muzak Corporation began producing music of this type in the 1930s.
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