Here is the best part. You have a head start. If you are among the very young at heart.

April 13, 2008 3:21 PM

Young@Heart. What started as a 2006 British television documentary and became an audience favorite at the Los Angeles and Sundance film festivals in 2007 and 2008 opens across the United States this weekand will soon open in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Australia. The opening sequence showing Eileen Hall , then 92 , singing the 1982 hit from punk-rock group The Clash provided the inspiration for director Stephen Walker when he first saw the group on stage in London in 2005. Besides giving new meaning to lyrics from popular hits, the film is comedic and poignant as it explores friendship, old age and death.
posted by mrducts (23 comments total)

I saw the trailer for this at our local art house. My reaction was "cute idea for a few minutes perhaps, but can they really make a whole movie out of this?"
posted by ZenMasterThis at 3:29 PM on April 13, 2008

These people came from a generation that grew up listening to and singing the songs of Jerome Kern, Richard Rogers, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, George Gershwin, Harry Warren and their scores of only slightly less brilliant contemporaries. Now, we're supposed to think its cute to watch them croak the tuneless, dirge-like chants of possibly the most barren period in the entire history of Western popular music, as if this were some great triumph of the human spirit. Adding to the humiliations of old age, these people are forced to Jump Jim Crow to the "self-expressive" eructations of the crappy pop idols of their spoiled grandchildren. Pardon me while I puke.
posted by Faze at 3:40 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]

Faze wins World's Best Grandpa.
posted by basicchannel at 3:41 PM on April 13, 2008 [2 favorites]

Aw, Faze. *chucks your little cheek*

I doubt if they are thinking it's a great triumph of the human spirit, really. I think they're just having fun.
posted by jokeefe at 3:48 PM on April 13, 2008

"Don't Fear the Reaper"
posted by ColdChef at 3:50 PM on April 13, 2008

Young@Heart official website. *
posted by ericb at 3:53 PM on April 13, 2008

It takes a lot for the internets to make me cry.

This did it.
posted by localroger at 3:57 PM on April 13, 2008

Young@Heart: 'Schizophrenia' by Sonic Youth.

Young@Heart & David Byrne: One Fine Day.

Young@Heart Chorus: Walk on the Wild Side.
posted by ericb at 3:57 PM on April 13, 2008

The Band Behind the Chorus.

A Chat with the Chorus.

An Interview With Chorus Director Bob Cilman.
posted by ericb at 4:05 PM on April 13, 2008

Now, we're supposed to think its cute to watch them croak the tuneless, dirge-like chants of possibly the most barren period in the entire history of Western popular music, as if this were some great triumph of the human spirit.

What? I didn't hear any disco...
posted by pupdog at 5:31 PM on April 13, 2008

Wait, I thought Martin Scorsese made the documentary about geriatric rockers.
posted by mecran01 at 5:55 PM on April 13, 2008 [5 favorites]

Damn, Faze, who pissed in your Wheaties?

"Forced"? Wow.

Dude, lighten up.
posted by kcds at 6:14 PM on April 13, 2008

That trailer and those clips (especially "I wanna be sedated" and "Staying alive") really made my day. It put a wide,wide smile on my face.
posted by razorian at 6:44 PM on April 13, 2008

For anyone puzzling over "singing the [unnamed] 1982 hit from punk-rock group The Clash", it's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?".
posted by AmbroseChapel at 6:54 PM on April 13, 2008

That performance of "Fix You" may just compensate for the existence of Coldplay.
posted by aqhong at 6:58 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]

These people are having a blast, and I am having fun watching them. Good for them - at least they aren't sitting around rotting in rest homes.

An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress ...
posted by madamjujujive at 7:00 PM on April 13, 2008 [1 favorite]

They do "Where Is My Mind", right? Because if they don't, I will have to join them in thirty years or so just do to do that song.
posted by jokeefe at 8:27 PM on April 13, 2008

Having seen the movie yesterday, I highly recommend it. The chorus is having a blast, and his shines through the movie and through their performances. If I ever get a chance to see them live I will jump on it!
posted by Maastrictian at 8:43 PM on April 13, 2008

The combined age of this band is over 2,000 years. That's about 1,000 years more than the Stones.
posted by Camofrog at 10:32 PM on April 13, 2008

On Ebert and Roeper last night they showed a clip of Y@H preparing their rendition of James Brown's "I Feel Good". A sweet little 90-something year old, howling like James Brown. She looked like she was having a blast. After a lifetime of sitting back and listening to n-zillion renditions of the Great American Songbook composition, standing in front of the footlights and channeling the Godfather of Soup must be be a hell of a lot of fun.

"tuneless, dirge-like chants of possibly the most barren period in the entire history of Western popular music"? You mean the renowned Dirge-Like Chant era between 1950 and 2000? Young @ Heart's covers include Rolling Stones, Hendrix, Dylan, Talking Heads, The Clash, U2, Radiohead...
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 10:49 PM on April 13, 2008

LOL! Godfather of Soup? This is why I shouldn't be allowed to type after 18 hours straight of tax prep hell.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 10:51 PM on April 13, 2008

Based on the trailer, I was worried that the movie would laugh at the seniors too much, but that was not a problem. In fact, the movie was wonderful both musically and emotionally. Musically, many of the songs were perfectly re-interpreted by senior citizens. Lyrically, songs like "Golden Years" and "I Wanna Be Sedated" make much more sense when sung by seniors, as opposed to men in their early twenties. Musically, the seniors singing voices add tremendous gravitas to the melodies. There's only so far a great set of pipes can take you! Sometimes, a world-weary, gravelly voice can make a much better impression. Chris Martin sings Coldplay's "Fix You" beautifully, but the retiree who sings it in the movie, two octaves lower, makes a greater impression.Emotionally, the stories of these seniors had me weepy for the whole second half of the movie. Many of the chorus members are very engaging, and I feel better having met them.
posted by Lord Kinbote at 11:09 AM on April 14, 2008

Godfather of Soup could be a really good chain store. Coming to a mall near you!
posted by rmless at 2:28 PM on April 14, 2008