Many people know that vinyl is making a comeback. I think we all know someone with their own turntable. Whether they play new or old records, they all have a passion for it. Now a new television series is emerging, and it is based on the rock n roll industry at it’s prime, the 1970s, on HBO called Vinyl.
Produced by Martin Scorsese and ‘Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger, they pulled ideas together to create and write scenarios and problems that were faced by the rock industry. But over all, Mick Jagger helped create this series to give more perspective on where bands are born and where they die, along with some issues producers face.
Numerous stars are in the gig like Bobby Cannavale, Juno Temple, Ray Romano, Olivia Wilde, and even Mick Jagger’s son James Jagger. Cannavale as a record producer, and Juno Temple as an ambitious girl looking to find the next big band. Ray Romano is the big shot in promotions, and James Jagger is a striving early punk rock artist.
The series stars Bobby Cannavale as Richie Finestra, an executive record producer whose possible selling of his record label American Century, turns into a downward spiral for his company, himself, and his family. His escape route is sex, drugs, and rock n roll, often the common saying of rock n rollers in the 1970’s. His main goal is to keep the company alive and on it’s feet.
Juno Temple plays the strong role of Jamie Vine, a girl who is willing to help Kip Stevens, James Jagger, and his band The Nasty Bits. Vine is a strong young adult who shares her knowledge of music and strives to make a big step into becoming a record producer.
It is an insight into the life and the effort put into looking for new bands, not to mention producing means criticism once, either harsh or nice, it can go either way. The producers can only tell them so much though because they don’t want to take away from what makes the band’s own unique sound.
There is no lying. The 70’s were a crazy time. Read any autobiography written by a headliner in the 70’s and many of them will still question how they are alive today. For the amount of drugs that were so easy to get a grasp on, it was hard for them to not have it eventually become a part of their life.
The show itself is insane, in the pilot a band literally brings the house down. The idea of sexual harassment in the workplace seems like a normal occurrence. But what is the most interesting is that many people will still hear music and names that they will recognize, whether that be something they found on their own, grew up with, or their parents favorite music.
Sometimes it feels that none of this could happen, but I think that’s something the directors are trying to tell you, maybe something along the lines of that being in the big leagues of music can sometimes seem surreal. Where multiple stories are told, each one having their own struggle, of creating a name for themselves, or finding stability. But the show keeps coming back to people fighting for what they want, and what they need, even if that is hard to keep. The series is definitely something for someone who loves rock music, or is interested in the producing world. Give Vinyl a spin, and find out if it works for you.
