The MC5 & The Stooges...two legendary bands from the late '60s/early '70s Detroit, Michigan rock 'n' roll scene, both of whom greatly influenced both the heavy metal & punk scenes, which at the time did not even exist. In 1988, then-college student Gil Margulis traveled to various locations in the US to track down original Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, MC5 singer Rob Tyner, and MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson, for in-depth interviews about each band and the Detroit scene as well as the music business in general during that era.
Asheton's lengthy interview, which sees him donned in sunglasses, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes throughout (at one point even questioning if that's what he should be doing on an interview!), is all over the place yet very informative, as he talks about the early days of the Stooges and shows locations where the band practiced and hung out. Both Tyner (who still had that wild head of hair at the time of the interview) and Thompson shed some insight on the impact of the MC5, and especially discuss how the band also became well known for not just their raucous music, but also for their political leanings, which at times became a hindrance as the media often latched on to that aspect over the actual music. Sadly, both Asheton & Tyner are no longer with us today, and Tyner's interview is actually the last one he ever did. Fans of both bands and the Detroit rock scene will find this an informative watch, but others might get frustrated with the choppy dialogue and edits, plus the production techniques are quite rough and amateurish overall (some of the audio levels and microphone placements are frustrating to sit through), but, if you think of this as a historical video document done by a college student, then it's easy to overlook.
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