Live Forever (2003) Reviews

• More an enjoyable jaunt down recent key moments in recent UK pop history rather than a comprehensive or insightful documentary

  bob the moo2006-08-24

  In the mid 1990's British music exploded within the country to produce an unique scene called "Britpop". Against a backdrop of Tory government, the energetic and youthful bands of Oasis, Blur, Feeder, Pulp, Suede and so on dominated UK music sales and became inexorably linked to the rise of the ambitious and youthful New Labour political party, sweeping to power as led by Tony Blair. Featuring contributions from many of those involved, this documentary looks back at the period, the music and the politics. Sold to me as a good movie by another user I was looking forward to seeing this film as I was a teenager in the 1990's and did love the music. I had hoped the documentary would capture the sense of time and place, act as an introduction to those not around and evoke memories from those that were – a big ask perhaps but it has been done before with other subjects. On one level the film did work because it does have plenty of little nuggets and amusing moments courtesy of the main contributors. This is all well and good but it isn't enough to hold the whole subject together and the lack of cohesion is a bit of a problem. Many viewers have complained that many bands have been left out, which of course they have, but I didn't think that this was a major problem because the film was going for a general sweep and thus got the main players. However what was a problem for me was the film's failed attempts to link the music with the politics of the time. Of course their was a connection but it was nothing important or socially meaningful, it was merely Blair jumping on a bandwagon and being seen with the people of the day – something he continues to do whatever the popular trend is. It remedies this problem towards the end but for a big early section it is like a love letter to Blair's Britain. The film also fails to really get to grips with the whole sense of impact that the time had – it does it to a degree but not as much as perhaps the subject deserved. The talking heads are interesting but only their contributions don't dovetail together that well – instead each of them is worth seeing but they don't help the film move forward – in fact the film very much just relies on the passage of time as its driving force, which was natural to a degree but it does get a bit "this happened, this happened then this happened" in a way. It is still worth seeing though if you know the music and the period. It is funny and interesting and it is a shame that it couldn't have done more with the delivery to produce a more cohesive documentary. It does work reasonably well despite this but it is more an enjoyable jaunt down recent key moments in recent UK pop history rather than a comprehensive or insightful documentary.

• Half and half

  fleetmind2004-05-24

  This could have been good...and some of it was, but first of all, someone should have told this filmmaker that there were more than five bands involved with the Britpop scene, for heaven's sake! And before I go further I must ask...what in the world has Massive Attack got to do with anything? The filmmaker obviously is a big Massive Attack fan, while the rest of us just do not care. Actually, I like Portishead but the mention of them was out of place as well. So, wouldn't you think a documentary about Britpop would be about the whole scene? There are a million bands that could have been mentioned. Where was Supergrass (except for the brief video clip)? Where were the Charlatans UK? They showed us Louise Wenner talking a lot but never showed us Sleeper. And not once did anyone mention the word "Madchester." Oh, there was the slight nod to the Stone Roses but everyone knows that Britpop is the direct result of Madchester and to not mention that scene (or Shaun Ryder) is a crime. Who cared what the guy from Loaded had to say? Shees! Could have gotten rid of that useless Damien Hirst as well. There was too much talk about New Labour and Thacherism...blah, blah, blah. Sure it was a factor but this is supposed to be about Brit-POP, not Brit-TAIN. Princess Di...totally irrelevant to the topic. This documentary about music needed a heck of a lot more MUSIC. How can you talk to Jarvis Cocker and never mention that brilliant Michael Jackson incident? So what did I like? First of all, it was a hoot to check back in with the Gallaghers since my mid-90s fanship has fallen off. Noel was a bit more articulate and bright then I remembered him, and Liam was a whole lot dumber. Boy, is that kid stupid. But that is what makes him a rock star. He is absolutely pure...a good looking ape that is dumb as a post...but it works. I loved the interview with Damon Albarn. He is the epitome of a really bright, talented guy who is completely fed-up with all the crap. He was so wonderfully disgusted with everything. And rightly so.

• The rise and the fall of Britpop

  getback_loretta2004-05-16

  John Dower's Live Forever documentary is a funny and brilliant insight into the Britpop huge phenomenon which took place from the early to the late nineties, a time when Britain wasn't "great"… it was cool! Among other icons such as Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Massive Attack's Del Naja or Sleeper's Louise Wener, we find the stars of the film: Oasis Gallagher brothers (in fact, the documentary is named after their probably biggest anthem ever) and Blur's Damon Albarn. Listening to their interviews, we clearly remember a time when the working-class heroes Liam and Noel Gallagher leaded the fierce rivalry with the middle-class bohemian Blur boys. Far from being a one-sided documentary, Live Forever also reflects the political and social framework during the days of the Cool Britannia, and so show us how Blair's New Labour seized upon Britpop to bolster its own public image, leading it to its end. A simply hilarious Liam Gallagher, an often puzzled Damon Albarn, an honest and always stylish Jarvis Coker and a witty and sarcastic Noel Gallagher, together with the superb soundtrack of the film, take the nostalgics back to the "madferit" days of not just a musical phenomenon but a way of life. If you liked "24 Hour Party People", don't miss this masterpiece.

• Rose-tinted spectacles

  Ricky_Roma__2006-07-26

  Liam Gallagher is a wonderful human being. You don't believe me? Just watch Live Forever and witness the Manchunian ape-boy respond to the interviewer calling him 'androgynous'. At first he's puzzled, but when the word is explained to him he wonders whether he's being called a girl. But then when this curious word is explained in even greater detail, he admits that yes, he is indeed a pretty boy. "I take care of me hair." What a guy. But even more endearing than this is when Liam is asked what the characteristics of a great rock band are. "'aving it," he replies. And then after a lengthy pause he continues, "And by us 'aving it, hopefully some other people will learn how to 'ave it." And as he says this, he turns to the camera and does a sly 'Bang, bang' with his fingers. Liam, can I give you a hug? But Liam isn't finished. Just when the dumb bastard couldn't get any more lovable he says that the S Club Juniors are: "Good little kids, man." I have no idea what goes on in that man's head, but the words he incoherently pukes out are pure gold. Further evidence of Liam's genius is in his reaction to 80s pop stars. "You ain't got nowt to say. You don't look like rock stars. You look like dicks in tights." And then to cap everything off, during the end titles, he tells a bizarre story of how he fought his brother as a child and came home with broken limbs and a shotgun over his shoulder(?!?). That's life on Planet Liam, I guess. But it says a lot for Britpop when a man of Liam's limited mental capacity became a cover boy. Here's a guy who can barely string a sentence together and who thought he was playing one night at Knebworth instead of two. It wasn't really a movement forged by insight and intelligence. Having said that, Jarvis Cocker does pop up to prove that not everyone involved was brain dead. And Noel Gallagher is good value, too. And although he seems to take himself far too seriously, Damon Albarn (when he decides to stop fiddling with his ukulele) has some reasonably intelligent thoughts to share as well. But having said all that, was the music any good? Well, like any scene, some of it was and some of it wasn't. Of the bands that are featured, I think the early Oasis stuff still holds up. It has tons of energy, and unlike Nirvana, there's no whining. But I have to say that I can't stand songs like 'Parklife' and 'Country House' (even 'Common People' is grating) – they sound to me like novelty records. And of course, while idiots like James Brown (not THE James Brown) were talking about the glory days, I couldn't help but think of bands like Dodgy and Menswear. But it's notable that almost all the more interesting bands of that era only get a brief mention. You hear a snatch of The Verve, you hear a few thoughts from 3D out of Massive Attack and Portishead is quickly referenced. And it's also worth noting that while various media figures talk about how big Oasis became, they never really were the biggest band in the world. If anything, Radiohead were bigger (they were the only British band of the era to crack the States). However, Radiohead only get a brief mention. (It's probably to their credit that they're never really associated with 'Britpop'.) And another band that only gets a brief mention is The Stone Roses; you'd think 'The Second Coming' never happened, even though everything else in the film pales in comparison. But thankfully the Roses ignored Britpop and produced a record that had more in common with Led Zeppelin than The Beatles, thus ensuring that music critics quickly wrote it off. But the band's influence is mentioned at the beginning of the film when Spike Island is referenced. And it's a shame that they weren't the ones to make it big. They were smarter than Oasis, they wrote better songs and they were better musicians. Indeed, Oasis are just Stone Roses Lite. I mean, as cocky Liam and Noel are, beneath it all they're quite respectable. Sure they swear a lot, but they constantly doff their cap at their favourite bands, appear on chat shows and play the game. The Roses on the other hand were little bastards. Their arrogance was through the roof. But they also had integrity. They certainly wouldn't have turned up at Downing Street and they certainly wouldn't have chugged Tony Blair's genitals at The Brits. And it's the whole sorry episode of Noel going to visit the new Prime Minister that shows how empty the Britpop movement was. It wasn't about rebellion, it was about new rock stars acting like old rock stars; as dangerous and rebellious as they want to be, they also want to be part of the establishment. And it was truly sickening to see Noel's mug on the New Labour magazine proclaiming that a speech Tony Blair gave made him cry. These were people we worshipped at the time…and they were f***wits! (Just as stupidly, Damon Albarn says he once thought that New Labour were actually interested in what he had to say.) But although Britpop was a superficial movement (we see lots of shots of Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Jo Guest and Loaded Magazine, and people like Damien Hurst are interviewed – wow, those were certainly halcyon days!) and the music wasn't as good as we all remember, it at least gave us Liam Gallagher, a man who is as dumb and blindly confident as all good rock stars should be. He certainly beats Chris 'Fair Trade' Martin and Tom 'Touchy-Feely Fat Boy' Chaplin.

• Live Forever...Only In Britain

  colparker2004-08-22

  First off let me say that Theo Robertson makes a crucially key point in his post below. While Britpop was a great period for music in the UK, they sure as hell weren't exporting much of it to the US. Bush, The Spice Girls, Elton John, and Radiohead. That's pretty much it. One of the Elastica songs got some minor air time in '95, and Oasis had some so-so hits with Wonderwall and a couple others...but that's it. As for Blur? Ha. The only Blur song known by the average American is "Song. 2" and that hardly fits into the Britpop mold. Pulp, Suede, Gene, the Manics, Supergrass...forget it. Anglophiles and transplants were the only people in the US celebrating the Britpop phenomenon at the time. I even remember listening to a couple of "face-offs" on 91X (influential modern rock station in San Diego) in the summer of '95. This is where the DJ plays two new songs, and callers vote on which is their favorite. The winning song then goes temporarily into rotation. Anyhow, the two songs I remember being featured were "Common People" by Pulp and "Country House" by Blur. Both songs got obliterated (one by, I believe, a White Zombie song and I can't remember the other). Both actually had listeners calling in and saying how much they hated them and how cheesy and British they sounded. Just for the record, I called in a voted for both. For "Common People" I think the DJ said something like, "Oh, you're the first for that one." The 80's on the other hand, were HUGE for British music. Whether it was Duran Duran or The Cure, the early and mid-80's were easily on par with the British invasion of the 60's as far as records sales and popularity goes. With that said, I was lucky enough to live in London from January '95 through May '95 and if you were IN Britain, well, it was pretty cool. The movie nicely encapsulates the sense of excitement happening in the UK at the time. Every week it seemed like the NME had either Brett Anderson, Damon Albarn or the Gallaghers on the cover (although Richie James of the Manic Street Preachers, who had just gone missing, was probably the second biggest story next to the "Britpop thing"). I personally loved the music...just about all of it...but that's also because I really dig British culture. And that's really what I think Britpop was all about - Brits celebrating being British in their music for the first time (in a mass way, anyway). The guy from Massive Attack makes a good comment early on in the film which was not only insightful, but also tied his band in with the rest. Essentially he said that prior to the Britpop era, most big name British bands adopted a certain Americanized sound...in most cases with their voices and in their lyrics. He hated doing that and, like Jarvis and Damon and Justine and all the others, instead celebrated being British in his music. And that, really, is what makes Britpop "Britpop" - it's British Pop music. It's by, about, and for Brits. Americans didn't get it. Then again, it wasn't for them.