Filmmakers Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling profile Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz in this music-saturated documentary, accompanying Strachwitz to Texas, Louisiana, and Appalachia to visit his favorite artists. For 60 years, the German immigrant has been releasing records from roots musicians of all kinds, from blues to zydeco. Richard Thompson believes that many of these artists would still be unknown if not for Strachwitz, who says he's just putting out music that he enjoys. Since Strachwitz prefers to record musicians where they perform, he has never owned a studio. “It ain't no mouse music,” he explains, citing his catch-all term for inauthentic sounds. In 1960, Strachwitz released his first album, Mance Lipscomb's Texas Sharecropper and Songster (according to Ry Cooder, he would sell records out of the back of his car). Other notable speakers include Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and Flaco Jiménez. With Strachwitz's help, Lipscomb, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Mama Thornton, and others were able to make a living on the folk festival circuit and European tours, opportunities previously unavailable. With the publishing royalties from Country Joe and the Fish's “Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag,” Strachwitz also opened Down Home Records in El Cerrito, CA, which houses Arhoolie's offices. For of all his good work, however, Strachwitz can be petulant, and Simon and Gosling capture him here pulling faces when he hears "mouse music" and chastising vendors who don't make beverages to his exacting specifications. Still, a well-rounded portrait is always preferable to the sanitized version. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)
This Ain't No Mouse Music!
Kino <span class=SpellE>Lorber</span>, 92 min., not rated, DVD: $24.95, Mar. 10 Volume 30, Issue 3
This Ain't No Mouse Music!
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