American Masters: Janis Joplin (PBS)

I just watched this on Netflix. It took me a long time to finally watch this because it's just so sad. We know what happens.
It does indeed take us to her highest accolades, glimpses of happiness, and the apex of her music was indeed the "Pearl" album. A well-done documentary. Let's not forget Janis.

It also reminds me of my musical partner throughout the 90s- another deeply talented woman who sang like one possessed; a probing and brilliant lyricist; a fine actress; wrote some NPR radio plays; funny, beautiful, intelligent, and unhappy. I miss her so much 14 years after she died in a car accident on the way to the methadone clinic, just as were we going to start writing again. This is why it was hard for me to watch this great documentary.......

I understand the reasons for using drugs. But dammit they'll kill you, careful or not.

Sorry everyone.

If you haven't seen Little Girl Blue yet, watch it!

 

I watched this earlier today on Netflix, and I am still feeling a lingering sadness. Her sweetness shone through in the film, but her sadness was palpable in some of those clips. She always seemed to have an underlying thread of sadness in her, it seemed, even in the scenes when she appeared happy.

 

In the summer of 1971, when I was 14, our dad came home one night with an armload of albums. Some Dylan, Jesus Christ Superstar, other stuff I don't recall, and Pearl. It became a go to record at our house that summer, and of course became ingrained into my internal music library forever. I love that album.

 

I saw this documentary (Little Girl Blue) on PBS a year or so ago. Now I have some confessions to make. I grew up in a very musical family. I played trumpet and some piano from the 3rd grade up into college. My go to bands in the 70's were Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith ....etc. I even sang in a grunge band in the late 90's. I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable in the music arena. Obviously I knew who Janis was and knew Mercedes Benz and Bobby McGee. But, I never really listened to her she was off in the fringes without a second thought. Some of that is because no one I knew listened to her and I was 9 when she died Oct. 4 1970.

So along comes the documentary and something said to me...record it and watch it later on. About two weeks later I watched it. I was about 5 mins into it and I was like...HOLY %$#@... is this girl talented. I was completely and utterly blown away and at the same time embarrassed... me... Mr. Music was finding Janis Joplin at age 54 and 46 years after her death. Since then my wife and I traveled to Virginia (From Mass.) to see A night with Janis Joplin (Go see it). I own just about all her music (listen to her everyday) and have two vintage posters of her framed up hanging on my wall.

I admit quite a transformation from on the fringes to being a huge Janis fan. But I am glad I found her.

 

The whole documentary is tough watch if you are Janis fan. It just has such a sad eerie feeling to it. Plus we all no how it ends. It took me a couple of time to get through it. It's tough to watch you're like wishing she could be watching it herself so she doesn't take that last dose of heroin. But...there is no turning back time and she is gone. Listening to Summertime as I type.

 

If you can find this 1974 film, it's what there was before the PBS show...

Janis (1974) - IMDb
Also she appears in the Festival Express documentary crossing Canada by train with the Grateful Dead, The Band, Ian & Sylvia and many others. I took the same trip on those same vintage of cars much later.

 

I plan to watch this as well. Gave Cheap Thrills a good listen today.

 

anyone get the soundtrack to this?