Last night on my local PBS station ran an indie documentary I'd meant to see a few years back "Young At Heart". The subject is a chorus of Northampton MA senior citizens who perform contemporary songs.
OK, sounds kind of boring, doesn't it?
But what if the songs these octogenarians are performing included hits by The Ramones, David Bowie, and Sonic Youth?
Oh yes, now you see my point.
The film paints an intriguing portrait of a throng of indomitable seniors and their driven chorus director Bob Cilman as they rehearse, sing for prison inmates, and contemplate their next European tour. And the songs? Well when was the last time you heard a pair of little old ladies coo "My future is static, it's already had it, I could tuck you in, and we could talk about it" from Sonic Youth's 'Schizophrenia'; or hear a group of people who deal daily with the threat of Alzheimer's deliver the lines "Well we know where we're going, but we don't know where we've been. And we know what we're knowin', but we can't say, what we've seen. And we're not little children. And we know what we want. And the future is certain. Give us time to work it out" from the Talking Heads' 'Road to Nowhere'? Climan's music direction and song selection is amazing as is the passionate, quirky performances from the chorus. Check out the clip below to experience the angry old man take on Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and you'll see what I'm talking about.
And this one, to see the aforementioned clip of 'Schizophrenia'.
And be sure to click here to see the chorus' video for "I Wanna Be Sedated"
