LAST HIPPIE STANDING DVD
Dear reader, did I ever actually tell you that I give a flying crap about techno and all its sub-genres? If not, then the time has come now to do this, because the documentary 'Last Hippie Standing' takes a close look at the hippie movement and its link with goa/trance music. I am highly critical of the whole hippie culture of the late 1960's/early 1970's, because it has been totally unworldly even if there was a little positive impetus on pop culture. But to believe that we are, for example, all brothers and sisters makes me cringe. The only thing that can be considered positive is their thirst for adventure and the associated pioneering spirit. I think it's pretty cool to leave everything behind and to start a new life in another continent.
On this, some of the old hippies were extremly consistent, which is admirable in my opinion. But in the 1970's, it was less dangerously to drive with a VW Bus through the Middle East. Today, one must fear that some maniacs will kill or kidnap you. Now what has this got to do with 'Last Hippie Standing'? Within 44:30 minutes, it will give the viewer a glimpse on the former hippie paradise Goa in India and draws parallels between the western goa/trance music and the longhaired dreamers. What's most interesting is the rare Super-8 footage of the early 1970's. It reminded me of the 'Summer of Love' series that was featured on the German-French TV channel Arte some years ago, because that serie had almost the same topic. However, it wasn't about goa/trance and that was very pleasant.
In contrast to this 'Last Hippie Standing' talks a lot about the spiritual and philosophical power of that kind of music. All that snobbish ramblings leave me absolutely cold, and when they show scenes from the Berlin Love Parade I'm close to falling asleep or to turn off my TV set. As outlined above, I don't have any relation to that scene and, fortunately, I never will because I think it sucks. Quite apart from this, I find that nothing comes close to the spiritual power of musicans such as John Coltrane or Blind Willie Johnson, but that is another issue. To be honest, I only wrote this review because I like Merlins Nose Records and I think that film-maker Marcus Robbin did a good job from a technical point of view. Nevertheless, I will never watch this DVD again.
(KK)