Who doesn't know the phrase "You had one job" that jumps out at us every time someone fails at the only task they had.
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So the docu-music "Women of Rock" had only one job: to tell the story of the women who wrote the rock and roll soundtrack of our lives.
Throughout four episodes, representing four decades, we were supposed to enjoy the contribution of women to the most kicking musical style there is.
But instead of a fun and properly played rock marathon, we got a cacophony of noise reminiscent of musicians trying to tune the instruments back.
Even the division into decades gets lost later on.
Luckily the girls really did good rock and roll, and somehow keep you interested.
"Women of Rock", photo: courtesy of yes doku
Already in the first episode, dedicated to the first black female singers in rock, I needed two opthalgin pills: even before the chance to enjoy a quarter of a story about Aretha Franklin, the editing already jumped to an overview of the struggle for black rights, from there a short V-note about the power of Nina Simone, including half a chorus, then c 'Eka Kan sits down in front of the camera and generally talks about the Black Panthers, and from there she goes on to what it's like to be a singer in a club band.
Chaka Khan in "Women of Rock", photo: courtesy of yes doku
If it's not enough that in "Women of Rock" the musical narratives are mixed with the social ones - and the interesting testimonies are disturbed by clichés - it suffers from a disproportion in dividing the time between legends like Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin, and an overly long story of a singer from the "Label Trio" , about writing clothes and submitting to male producers.
The second chapter moves to the 70s and the breakthrough of the singer songwriting, and here too the rush celebrates.
The third and fourth episodes are perhaps the reason to sample something from the series, because they celebrate the female gospel in the Eighties and Nineties:
Alanis Morissette,
Shania Twain, Sheryl Crow, Debbie Harry, Courtney Love and others, with feminist texts and an unapologetic attitude, at a time when women are still fighting to be part of the front of the stage.
"Women of Rock", photo: courtesy of yes doku
"The Women of Rock" lifts up the stars of the genre, and embraces their struggle against male predation, sexual harassment and image patterns that tried to define them, from the moment of the birth of rock as "criminal music that harms the youth", until the moment before the genre is buried.
To her credit, she is steeped in the stars themselves, who sit freely in front of the camera and create moments of empathy here and there.
Alanis Morissette, photo: Gettyimages
But when the four episodes are over, it remains a messy piece that doesn't leave a mark like its subjects.
But if necessary, then yes - Alanis wins without a doubt.
"Women of Rock", yes docu, yesVOD
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