Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story (TV 2003)

Like a warped fun-house mirror, the song-poem industry has run parallel to the mainstream music business for close to a century; it's estimated that over 200,000 song-poems have been ... See full summary »

Director:

Jamie Meltzer

Stars:

Gary Forney, David Fox, Caglar Juan Singletary

Cast

Credited cast:
Gary Forney	...	Himself
David Fox	...	Himself
Caglar Juan Singletary
John Trubee	...	Himself

Storyline

Like a warped fun-house mirror, the song-poem industry has run parallel to the mainstream music business for close to a century; it's estimated that over 200,000 song-poems have been recorded since 1900. The genre's durability can be traced to three of our deepest American desires - to be in show business, to get rich quick, and to share and express our deepest feelings. We meet several of the "songwriters" - from an elderly woman to a young African-American man to a small-town Iowan with big-time dreams - each of whom has been in the "business" for awhile, churning out odd compositions that cover the waterfront of American obsessions, from Jesus to genitalia, from politics to Elvis. We also meet the producers (often known as song-sharks) who hold out the tantalizing promise of fame to their eager customers, and the has-been musicians who sit in studios, day after day and year after year, interpreting some of the weirdest lyrics ever written. Through fellow musicians and his son, ...

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 February 2003 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Complex

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Non-Violent Tae Kwon Do Troopers"
Caglar Juan Singletary
Music by Magic Key Productions
Performed by David Fox

User Reviews

A bizarre music documentary

Must be seen (or heard) to be believed. The premise is simple: Know those little ads in the back of magazines that claim they can turn a poem or poetry and a couple of bucks into a CD of full-fledged pop song(s)? This documentary profiles the people who write the lyrics (from all over our twisted, twisted nation) and compose the music (session musician burnouts who compose these songs off the top of the head in about 5 minutes).

"Non-Violent Taekwondo Troopers," to cite one example of the many songs featured in this documentary, would be kind of frightening and creepy if it weren't so chock full of non- sequiturs and flat-out funny lyrics-- kung-fu bicycles harnessing the power of Priscilla Presley and all.

If you think the songs are weird, just wait until you see the actual songwriters in the documentary. Their misguided musical dreams and charming idiosyncrasies make this documentary what it is.

Oh, and the DVD extras just add to the bizarre programming. It can hardly even be described. Just somehow rent or buy it and watch. Just watch.