My Inner Lester Bangs meets My Inner Gene Siskel: "Searching for Sugar Man" and "Cold Fact"

This came from the weekly newsletter here at our Consulate.  I thought, since I wrote it, that I'd re-produce it for you, my readers.  (Basically my family that feel pity that I write and read so I don't feel bad.)

On our recent plane flight, I found myself trying to find a movie to watch, and was captivated by the title of this film.  It looked interesting enough, and so I decided to hit play and see what it was all about.

“Searching for Sugar Man”, now playing at select Ster-kinekor theaters, is the story of a search for an enigma.  The movie tells the story of Rodriguez, a 1970s musician from Detroit that recorded two albums that were well received by critics but didn’t sell much in the US.  Dropped from his label, he disappears.  Usually that’s the end of it.

However, Rodriguez first album, “Cold Fact”, somehow ended up in South Africa, and the album became very popular, selling an estimated 500,000 albums.  One of his fans decides to find out what happened to him, and thus one of the most fantastical stories ever told begins.

Documentaries can be a tricky thing, as you put under the microscope real life people and expect their stories to entertain you like fictional stories do.  That’s why numerous movies nowadays say, “Inspired by true events.”  They seem like reality, but they’re fudged to make them more entertaining for viewers.  Good documentaries, like “When We Were Kings” or “Dogtown and Z Boys”, actually make reality better than fiction.  “Searching for Sugar Man” is one of those documentaries.  The story of how much music meant to people, in a country very far from where it was originally recorded, shows that humans are more alike that we are different.  As Roger Ebert said in his review of the movie, “I hope you're able to see this film. You deserve to. And yes, it exists because we need for it to.”  

Now, onto the album, "Cold Fact."  The album is quite good for when it was released.  I still don't know how Donovan made it big and Rodriguez didn't.  He SOUNDS a little like Donovan in his "Season of the Witch" time or a little like Harry Nilsson.  Good stuff.  The first song, "Sugar Man" is great in a slightly psychedlic way.  Backed up by what sounds like an orchestra, he hits the song well.  "This is not a song, it's an outburst" has some great imagery in it.  "I woke up this morning with a lake in my head, I splashed on my clothes and I spilled out of bed."  Just fantastic.  "I wonder" is an interesting song, as it asks, "I wonder, how many times you've had sex? and I wonder, do you know who'll be next?"  Brazen for 1970, and even a bit for today.  The rest of the album is just as good, and worth a listen.

If you have a chance, buy the album.  Not often you can hear something that's slipped through the cracks for so long that still sounds good today.