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Underground > Radio & Music >

Scratch - The Movie

13:26 / 28.01.03

I dunno if this has been discussed here already - the film probably came out ages ago in america - but has anyone seen "Scratch - The Movie"?

Its a documentary about DJ's and vinyl culture. But don't be expecting judge jules prancing around with beers in his overpaid underskilled mits - this is about real DJ's. Turntablists.

Its got interviews, and short parts of performances by everyone who is anyone in turntablism and hiphop - Q-bert, Craze, Mixmaster Mike, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa (synchronicity with Kraftwerk), Shadow, etc, etc.

Its pretty good, quite comprehensive for its length, and contains lots of footage from sets with a huge WOAH factor. And the scenes with Mixmaster Mike and Q-Bert explaining their respective theories on scratching is bloody hilarious.

anyway... anyone got any thoughts?

14:27 / 28.01.03

I saw it. I liked it.

But then - despite the fact that it's about the most masturbatory, self referential form of music ever concieved - I have a lot of time for the stuff all those turntablist guys do.

My favourite bit: DJ Shadow cornered in his secret 'vinyl motherlode' in the basement of that old shop - just sitting there contemplating his navel surrounded by millions upon millions of forgotten records..

15:38 / 28.01.03

I liked it. It managed to combine the "hey, look at the funky shit these guys can do!" factor with "we really, really care about records". They're not just looking for funky drum breaks; when Shadow uses an old break, it's because he loves the track it comes from.

It was a nice introduction to the subject for someone who didn't know much, and the archive footage was fab. Favourite moment? The four of them at Q-Bert's, and after two nice displays of turntablism, Shadow does ridiculous stuff with a single vocal phrase... and then it's Q-Bert's go, and he just makes burp and fart noises. Which is just wonderful.

It's a nice, little film on the subject - at times a bit too flimsy, but I had a great time watching it.

04:42 / 29.01.03

I agree with the flimsy part, I felt it didn't go enough into any depths. I would've liked to see more stuff on really early turntablism - block parties and the like - but they covered a lot of ground.

the thing that got me was the complete and utter devotion to the music. That, in my opinion, is what separates them from your average MoS dj.

The Natural Way

08:38 / 29.01.03

It's just a different thing - I mean, I don't think you should even bother making the comparison.

Regrettable Juvenilia

11:49 / 29.01.03

It's pretty good - as a documentary about a specific culture that demonstrates both its flaws and strengths, it works very well... My only reservation is that it's obviously seeking to redress a perceived imbalance whereby hip-hop has been seen as mainly the preserve of MCs. This is all well and good, but Scratch is just the flipside of that - you couldn't call this a decent documentary about hip-hop as a whole, because MCs aren't really represented at all and in fact nor are other aspects such as beat production - there's just that brief bit with Gang Starr - "some DJs make records with rappers too!". That being said, I was surprised and refreshed at how relatively free of self-righteous 'underground' moralising/posturing the film was: it concentrated on the fact that these guys love this kind of music. (Oh, and it was almost all guys - that's what mean about showing the flaws, it really brings home what a boys' own culture this kind of underground hip-hop is...)

17:09 / 31.01.03

saw it and liked it. i was reminded of the part where the guy says 'what will they do when the electricity goes out' when i was at last year's scribble jam. the third day was in the park and they had tables and b-boys, freestyling what have you. then came the rain and everybody started packing up for the art show opening. well we weren't ready to leave. people started banging on boxes, coolers and table tops, clanking empty beer bottles together, clapping and stomping while drunken revellers danced in the rain.