Video :: A Joyful Slog « Harmless Noise

May 11th, 2012
Video :: A Joyful Slog

May 11, 2012
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Best Bands, Community of Independents, DCTV, Irish, Music, Online, Television

Adebisi Shank, ASIWYFA, Jape, Owensie, The Jimmy Cake
1066 Views

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Launched with a screening on Sunday night and an online upload on Tuesday, A Joyful Slog is a documentary about independent music in Ireland made by the Community of Independents crew at DCTV, and the YouTube video just racked up over 10,000 views in a few days.

One of the best signs of a doc, I’ve found, is when you want the subjects to just keep speaking. From Richie Egan talking about the Hope Collective, Julie from Road Records good as blessing Elastic Witch, Vincent Dermody reeling off real talk nineteen to the dozen all the way to the promoter Leagues O’Toole saying it’s a slightly ridiculous industry for people who don’t want real jobs, I couldn’t tear my ears or eyes away. Two other great speakers also came with extra bonus of finally having faces to pin to names I know well: Cathy from Sargent House and Ed from the Irish DIY Punk and Hardcore Archive.

A Joyful Slog takes a look at Dublin’s music scene today in the context of Do It Yourself as it stood twenty years ago, when many of the people featured were just starting out. Zines, record shops, gigs, labels, blogs: John Breslin kept the focus intently narrowed on the environment for rock bands then and now without wandering too far into the digital changes in music that seem to have blurred the definitions of DIY. Stepping back to just before the rise of bedroom production, it’s selective view tilted towards indpendent music that still resonates with the on-going effects of DIY as a necessity for punk and hardcore bands in the 90s. I’m not gonna break it down any further because there’s no doubt it’s worth the watch for anyone with an interest in what’s gone on here.

Thanks again to DCTV for inviting me to take part, I actually feel a bit awestruck in that company. 10,000 hits in 3 days is a major impact as far as the music figures here in Ireland are concerned, and for John Breslin, Barry Lennon and the guys at Community of Indpendents, I hope the end results bring enough joy to make all the slogging worthwhile.

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