Anyone who knows me outside of the world of art and craft knows what a music head/record nut I am-- more specifically, a 60s music head. Because of this, it was especially pleasurable when I happened upon the short article Rock of Ageis: "The T.A.M.I. Show Directed by Steve Binder by Robert Enright in the latest issue of Border Crossings (which most know is an art magazine as opposed to a music magazine).
The T.A.M.I. Show is a feature-length concert film from 1964 showcasing some of the most popular rock'n'roll/soul groups and artists of the mid-sixties such as The Beach Boys, James Brown, The Stones, The Supremes and Lesley Gore as well as a few minor garage acts like Boston's The Barbarians. Enright argues that both the film's visual style and the artists represented captured that very particular period of early/mid-sixties innocence and idealism just before the civil rights movement, Vietnam and a general sense of social unrest and cultural upheaval in the U.S. The article emphasizes the idea of the performances foreshadowing future events, with nicely articulated asides on Leslie Gore's "You Don't Own Me" as a proto-feminist anthem and a potential early assertion of her identity as a lesbian, and the fact that the Beach Boys performance on T.A.M.I took place only two months before Brian Wilson's (first?) nervous breakdown.
A cool article well worth reading if you dig music. Also, search The T.A.M.I. Show on Youtube for some excellent footage from the recently released deluxe DVD edition of the concert.
Photos: The Supremes and The Beach Boys on the T.A.M.I Show
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