MC5: Kick Out the Jams

The cover blurb breathlessly describes this item as “an exploding kaleidoscopic mind-trip filled with sparkling surrealism that cuts to the heart of the musical-mystical-political-chemical nexus of the MC5 experience.” Sounds thrilling. And now, here's a slightly more accurate take: MC5: Kick Out the Jams sucks--it's both unwatchable (the picture quality is godawful, and the “sparkling surrealism” is a lot of pretentious nonsense signifying nothing) and unlistenable. The Detroit-based band, renowned for its radical politics (yeah, right: their platform called for “rock ‘n' roll, dope, and fucking in the streets”), may have been a powerful, even inspiring live act, but the sound quality--Dolby Digital 5.1 mix notwithstanding--couldn't be worse if it came from an 8-track cartridge your dog buried in a garbage bin. And then there's the music, which consists of relentless noise with nary a good tune within earshot (“audio performances were selected to complement the visuals”--meaning that the songs we see the band play are not the same ones we're listening to). The MC (or Motor City) 5 have been beatified since their late-‘60s heyday as an “important” band that never got its due. But unlike others, including the Velvet Underground or Detroit's own Stooges, their reputation far exceeds their actual accomplishments. Still, there's one saving grace: MC5: Kick Out the Jams is only 35 minutes long, not including the incomprehensible 2003 bonus “interview” with John Sinclair, the rabble-rousing pothead who was also the group's manager. Not recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)