Monthly Archives: August 2012

The Niles Files: Words as Weapons | l’etoile

Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching for Sugar Man is filled with aerial views of sleeping cities and long shots of desolate streets with the winter steam rising. What people we see on those streets are obscured by space, anonymous, and dwarfed by the metal and brick overhead and grizzled concrete below. On top of the images, borderingContinueContinue reading “The Niles Files: Words as Weapons | l’etoile”

Just a movie review? Perhaps. You be the judge | The Steve Alexander Group

Every now and then a film comes along that, from what you hear about it, promises a morsel of wisdom, insight and perhaps a message that will affect us and endure beyond its hour and 30 minutes. “Searching for Sugar Man” starts out as more than a morsel – soon delivering the whole cake –ContinueContinue reading “Just a movie review? Perhaps. You be the judge | The Steve Alexander Group”

“Searching for Sugar Man” documents lost folk songs | CNN on Youtube

Filmmakers document one Detroit construction worker/songwriter who never knew he was the ‘Bob Dylan’ of South Africa.

Nuwe lewe in Wildernis ná oorloë en swaarkry | Die Burger

Op ’n rustige koppie bo Wildernis aan die Tuinroete bly Eva Rodriguez. Sy is die dogter van “Sugarman’’, die sanger en liedjieskrywer Rodriguez van Detroit, die man wie se rasperstem en siniese lirieke al jare lank die hulpelose woede verwoord van jongmense wat in establishment-sisteme vasgevang is. “Sy musiek het in Suid-Afrika spesifiek aanklank gevindContinueContinue reading “Nuwe lewe in Wildernis ná oorloë en swaarkry | Die Burger”

Live From Newport: Rodriguez – “The Establishment Blues” :: Featured Videos :: Paste

For the second consecutive year, Sennheiser and Paste teamed up to film and record artists at the Newport Folk Festival. This year, we stepped things up at the Paste Ruins by offering festival attendees a unique chance to listen to these sessions through wireless Sennheiser headphones, creating an intimate experience that brought fans closer toContinueContinue reading “Live From Newport: Rodriguez – “The Establishment Blues” :: Featured Videos :: Paste”

Rodriguez and his place in The Story Of Rock | Brian Currin

Almost all the recent fan messages on the Sugarman.org website are from people saying they have never heard of Rodriguez before. Many even apologize for not listening to him in the 1970s. I can’t remember when exactly I first heard ‘Cold Fact’. For me his music just always seemed to have been there. A numberContinueContinue reading “Rodriguez and his place in The Story Of Rock | Brian Currin”

Rodriguez | Roundhouse

Known for his classic songs ‘Sugar Man’ and ‘I Wonder’, Rodriguez spent years in the wilderness before the enthusiasms of people like David Holmes brought a whole new audience to his music. The film ‘Searching For Sugar Man’ celebrates his extraordinary body of legendary songwriting – and after selling out the Royal Festival Hall onContinueContinue reading “Rodriguez | Roundhouse”

The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | Like A Whirlwind: Rodriguez And The Search For Sugarman

At times it’s a story that almost beggars belief. Searching For Sugar Man, if you’ve not seen it already, is a documentary about Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, the 70-year-old singer-songwriter from Detroit who released two glorious, largely unheard albums some four decades ago, then promptly vanished without trace. Various grisly rumours about his unfortunate life –ContinueContinue reading “The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | Like A Whirlwind: Rodriguez And The Search For Sugarman”

Movie – Searching for Sugar Man | Rickie writes….

If you are as unfamiliar as me, the story is of Rodriguez, a struggling, talented singer-song writer from Detroit who makes a couple of albums at the turn of the 1970s, having been signed by a label run by an ex-Motown boss. It sounds like the start of the American dream with comparisons to BobContinueContinue reading “Movie – Searching for Sugar Man | Rickie writes….”

Searching for Sugar Man – Music – This Is Africa

In apartheid South Africa, “Sugar Man”, the song featured in the title of this documentary, was banned – the label scratched off records so that the track could not be listened to. The song itself is an excellent example of Sixto Rodriguez’s work; while on first listen it is clear that the song is aboutContinueContinue reading “Searching for Sugar Man – Music – This Is Africa”

Rodriguez: “They made love to my music, but they also made war to my music” – Minneapolis – Music – Gimme Noise

Back in the late ’60s, the singer-songwriter Rodriguez was slated to be Detroit’s own Bob Dylan. Although he made a couple of terrific records, they only made it as far as the cut-out bin in the United States. Over time, however, his music caught fire in South Africa, and he became revered from afar, influencingContinueContinue reading “Rodriguez: “They made love to my music, but they also made war to my music” – Minneapolis – Music – Gimme Noise”

David Letterman lavishes praise on ‘Searching for Sugar Man,’ Sixto Rodriguez | TV and Radio | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

Add David Letterman to the growing list of Sixto Rodriguez fans. When the Detroit musician performed last night on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” the CBS host praised him and the new documentary about his life, “Searching for Sugar Man.” via David Letterman lavishes praise on ‘Searching for Sugar Man,’ Sixto Rodriguez | TVContinueContinue reading “David Letterman lavishes praise on ‘Searching for Sugar Man,’ Sixto Rodriguez | TV and Radio | Detroit Free Press | freep.com”

American singer is a huge hit in South Africa… without knowing it | Erin Burnett OutFront – CNN.com Blogs

Imagine if Elvis Presley grew up and lived his whole life in a foreign country, and that he had no idea that his wildly popular music had made him the king of rock and roll here in the United States. But for one man, this is no dream. It actually happened to Sixto Rodriguez, aContinueContinue reading “American singer is a huge hit in South Africa… without knowing it | Erin Burnett OutFront – CNN.com Blogs”

Sixto Rodriguez, and a Q. & A. with the Director of “Searching For Sugar Man” : The New Yorker

Record collectors and documentary filmmakers often look for the same thing: a moment when someone does something remarkable without being seen, a gap that turns the witness into a proprietary liaison between that moment and everyone else. Crate-diggers dream of finding that record, the one that sounds like music you know rendered in a versionContinueContinue reading “Sixto Rodriguez, and a Q. & A. with the Director of “Searching For Sugar Man” : The New Yorker”