NXNE Film Review: Sounds Like A Revolution

Sounds Like a Revolution is a documentary based on the newest generation of activist musicians. Erykah Badu narrates the film which features artists ranging from Anti-Flag to Michael Franti, with interviews from The Dixie Chicks, Steve Earle, Ani DiFranco and a bunch of other artists who have faced persecution for their views and political voice. One of the main issues addressed in the film is how the Corporate idealism of the music industry today has made it nearly impossible for main stream musicians to have any views and beliefs other than sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. Indie labels have become the only way for any artists to have real creative freedom, and with this, the political activism of these artists is finally spreading to today’s youth.

I watched the movie with my boyfriend, Mike, who isn’t quite as politically active as I am, but isn’t completely ignorant to what’s going on in our world either. We didn’t completely agree on all of the aspects touched upon throughout the movie so here’s what we both thought:

The Good Stuff:

I thought that the movie was well-made and did address the larger issues of today’s politics within North America, and mostly within the United States. Another aspect that I liked about it was that the film was based around more unknown artists and discussed, with complete frankness, the issue of corporate idealism and how it has effected all aspects of free speech within the music industry.

The Bad Stuff:

Well, Mike didn’t think that the artists were doing enough, and although I don’t think that violence is the answer (as we can see with Iraq, Afghanistan, etc, etc, etc) I did have to agree in this respect. I don’t think that playing a few songs can really make a difference, and although Fat Mike from NOFX made a point of saying that he and his band were solely responsible for convincing their apathetic punk fans to go out and vote during the last election, I have to disagree. I mean, sure, they probably convinced a good portion of their fan-base to go out and do so, but I attribute most of it to the PSAs put out by people like Leonardo DiCaprio, and other more well-known celebrities, as well as the fact that there was actually someone worth voting for this time around (The Obamanator).

Now, I don’t want to step on anyone’s politically-sensitive toes while writing this review, so I’m not going to express my personal views on anything, but I do recommend this movie for someone who actually cares about politics more than the average-Joe. No, it doesn’t touch on the Bob Dylans or the John Lennons of the past, so don’t go in expecting that; the movie is strictly about the modern-day musician-activists. I don’t think that the average person would really find this movie interesting or worth watching, and neither did Michael. I liked it, and even though I watched it at 1am on a week-night, it kept me up and interested the entire time.

Watch the trailer here: Sounds Like a Revolution

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