Moog Movie Reviews

[thewaag]

Anybody seen the Moog Movie yet? I saw it this weekend and enjoyed it. Even my wife, who is not a Moog enthusiast, liked the movie.

Some interesting interviews, but I wish that some of them had less background noise. The Rick Wakeman interview was almost unintelligible what with the background conversations and the fact that the interview was being held in an echoing concrete hallway. As usual, Rick had something funny to say, and Dr. Moog was hiding his face in laughter. The scene with Rick playing was my favorite by far, as the man is definitely a virtuoso and his style is most to my liking, Moog-wise.

Robert Moog comes off as a very sweet kind of guy; very unassuming, and kind of spiritual in his approach to inventing. His personality was not what I expected. In his old pictures, he looked kind of "stiff" but, at least in this movie, he comes across as being very likable. I have even more respect for the guy now than I had before.

If you are a Moog nut (like most of us are), don't miss this movie if it comes close to your town.

[spaceness]

I saw it this evening in Santa Cruz. Bob was there in person answering some questions from the audience and doing a small performance (2 songs) with the new Theremin. There were also some vintage Moog modulars, minimoog, voyager, moogerfoogers, etc. setup in the lobby area for people to mess around with...very cool! I thought the movie was neat, but not stunning. I agree, it was very hard to hear the Wakeman conversation scene (crowd noise) which was kind of disapointing. But the live footage of Wakeman and Emerson was great! Seeing Bob again in person and fooling with the vintage synths was the best part of the evening for me.

[martin]

hi
i saw the movie in dublin ireland, and i loved it. was great fun although it was played very very loudly. had a headache after ... but other than that it was funny and dr. moog is really a great guy. i laughed most when he tapped that circuit board. just hope that board didn't go into a voyager afterwards!
very enjoyable movie - one thing though: it should have included some classic musicans, such as kraftwerk, wendy carlos, tangerine dream, and any of the other moogheads, such as mother mallard etc. it was a bit short, too.
still, go see! highly recommended
martin

[thewaag]

Martin,

I agree. Not having Wendy Carlos in the movie was a huge omission, especially when there was a feature on Susan Ciani whom, while known as a synth user, I do not particularly associate with the use of Moogs.

Still, the movie gave quite a look into Moog the man, and he seems like a lovable old soul.

Spaceness; Sounds like your event was GREAT, what with Bob Moog being present, and having other Moog keyboards available (and an old modular!) to experiment with. And I agree, I hope that I never purchase the Voyager that ends up with the circuit board that Bob hammered!

[LWG]

Martin,

Not having Wendy Carlos in the movie was a huge omission,

Surprised she didn't appear. An extensive interview with her can be found in
December 1979 issue of Keyboard Magazine. I can't presently locate an archived copy.


Regards,


LWG

[miditerranean]

I read on the official movie site that Wendy was asked to be in the film but she refused... (and was even going to sue?).

[theglyph]

I'de love to see this film. I purchased the soundtrack as soon as it was available and it is great! I can't wait for the DVD release.

Is Tomita mentioned in the film? It's interesting to here that Wendy Carlos was considering litigation.

So here's the BIG QUESTION!!!!! Wasn't Wendy once Walter??????

I hate to go there but i've heard about this issue and was wondering if anyone knows the truth behind this.

In my opinion, Dr. Moog gave her (or he?) a respectable career. So what's the deal?

BTW! Is Dr. Moog the person/voice describing analog synthesis on the first track of the MOOG Movie soundtrack CD?

Best wishes to all !!!!

[monads]

It's interesting to here that Wendy Carlos was considering litigation. So here's the BIG QUESTION!!!!! Wasn't Wendy once Walter?????? I hate to go there but i've heard about this issue and was wondering if anyone knows the truth behind this. In my opinion, Dr. Moog gave her (or he?) a respectable career. So what's the deal?

Yes, Wendy was once Walter. The whole thing was damn confusing until I picked up and read Analog Days by Frank Trocco. Walter basically underwent a sex transformation. At the time this was going on his/her recording Switched on Bach and the Moog synthesizer begin to blow up. Because of the identity crisis it became difficult to appear in public for venues or make appearances (not to mention Switched on Bach was near damn impossible to perform live because of the way it was recorded through conventional tape methods, splicing, etc).

Moog needed Walter as much as Walter needed Moog insofar as were concerned about the synthesizer and publicity. Without the other, Moog would not have become so big at the time, and Walter would not have completed the famous album that launched his career.

As to why he would seek litigation? My guess is obviously the ablum would come up as a topic of discussion (and of course the Moog modular used to make it), and Walter would really prefer to avoid this topic of discussion during a difficult part of his/her life with all that was going on. Who knows, maybe the video was going to show both still shots of Walter/Wendy? My guess is as good as yours but if me I wouldn't want to talk about it either given the circumstances.

[alphajerk]

i saw the movie yesterday at the Asheville Film Festival and thought it was wonderful. kudos to the filmmaker who did an absolute amazing job, and the person who put together the opening sequence [cant remember their name] was brilliant.

im sure everyone could find who got left out, whatever techinical issues [hard to record backstage in a concrete hallway, but i didnt miss a word.... even over the laughter of the theater] but in the end was a great movie about someone who seems quite well enlightened in the grander scope of the universe. definately a must see.

i thought the soundtrack was quite lovely as well, especially some of the LFO's humming out of the sub bins at the theater. just amazing.

[spacefuzzz]

i saw it last month and i thought it couldve been longer,more in depth.
stereolab should have been interviewd because in my opinion they helped the second wave of popularity during the the 90's. they turned me on to neu!, can and faust. lots of new bands started doing the motorik krautrock thing after that. then people started listening to esquevel and lounge, it was a wierd time 90's indie rock. but i did like the movie and i was moved when the they asked him about his pet chickens, he looked so sad! at any rate im glad it was made and that i was one of the six people who saw it in the whole joint! it was like going to a porno or somthing.........