1. The resurrection of the legend
He shot himself in the head during a performance.
He doused himself with gasoline on stage and set himself ablaze...
There is no uniform version of Rodriguez's death in South Africa; but the consistent point is that in all versions he committed suicide, To die in the distant 1970s, on a stage that belongs to oneself, is a dreamy end for the artist.
South Africa in the 1970s was plagued by a policy of apartheid and cultural isolation. Rodriguez's music has gradually spread since it was brought into South Africa by the United States and banned by the rulers. The content of the lyrics, to the mysterious suicide in the legend, all declare an anti-mainstream rebellion and independence and freedom. . Just as the Beatles were to the "Beat Generation" and Rodriguez was to the young South African group at that time, he was as exciting as an underground spiritual leader. Everyone hums "Sugar man, won't you hurry...", and the free thought in the lyrics is as deeply rooted as it grows out of one's own heart, and finally put into practice and bravely fought for.
This scenario sounds fairly familiar. Every revolution has its own sacred song. During the Czech "Prague Spring", people sang Hey, Jude from the Beatles by their own singers; in East Germany, people listened to Public Enemy and Beastie Boys with the Stasi behind their backs; When Iran was mired in harsh fundamentalist rule, people relied on black-market tapes from the Swedish band Abba to nourish their souls.
If it weren't for two curious fans, perhaps for South Africans, their great Rodriguez would always be the legendary man with a legendary death, only on the vague covers of records, on car radios on Sunset Boulevard , on the CD rack in every home. Sigman, a record store owner nicknamed "Sugar Man" and a music reporter, were trying to find out the truth about Rodriguez's life and death, but unexpectedly learned that the mysterious Uranus superstar is still living well in the faraway Motor City. , "Alive".
"You're more famous than Elvis in South Africa," sings "Sugar Man" when South African record store owner "Sugar Man" Sigman told the twilight Rodriguez over the phone. The rocker of yesteryear fell silent. In the place where he has lived his whole life, he has only sold a few dozen copies of his two records. He was terminated by the record company two days before Christmas, and his life after that has nothing to do with rock stars. For nearly 30 years after the production and release of his first album, "Cold Facts," in 1970, he lived in obscurity in his hometown of Detroit by selling hired labor to support his family. And all of a sudden, someone from the other side of the Atlantic told him that his songs had influenced generations in a country, sold hundreds of thousands of records, and had fans all over the country... Finally, they invited him to sing in South Africa. meeting.
Second, the legendary silence
In 1998, Rodriguez came to Cape Town. He rides in a luxury car, lives in a penthouse, has full-time bodyguards, splendid clothes, and millions of fans... It's like returning to where he really belongs, where he and his music finally get the attention they deserve. The concert tickets were sold out, people screamed for him and went crazy for him, even his own daughter married a South African here and had a South African child...
The underappreciated former singer finally ushered in the salted fish On the day of turning over, not only the reporters in the film, but all the audience should want to know the most: how will he feel? Is it the bitterness of the vicissitudes of life? Or the joy of being fruitful? All the answers were revealed at the moment of the concert. "Thank you for keeping me alive", in a calm tone, is the most touching emotion a singer can express to his audience. Without a word of explanation, he expresses everything with his music.
If Rodriguez had stayed in South Africa and lived the high-quality life of a celebrity, everything would seem to be back to normal - the legend was finally living the life he deserved.
Had fate not locked Rodriguez in Detroit decades ago, but had given him any chance to learn about South Africa, he would no longer be an ordinary man, but an ordinary celebrity.
But if so, nothing makes sense anymore. He will no longer be the Rodriguez people are familiar with, not the Rodriguez people love, not the "sugar man" in the circulating songs.
That silent and rebellious "God Rodriguez" would never choose such a life.
Therefore, he still wore sunglasses and a black narrow-brimmed hat, wrapped in a long black trench coat, and slept on the sofa in the penthouse suite on the night before the concert. After the concert, he returned to the house where he had lived for 40 years and continued his ordinary life. Life. It's like the saga of resurrection belongs to someone else, and he's still the nameless singer who played and sang alone in the smoke on a Detroit street corner 30 years ago.
The film ends on an ordinary morning in the Motor City, with Rodriguez pushing up the window, staring for a few seconds, then turning around and disappearing into the window. The ending seems unexpected, but it is so reasonable, it seems that from the beginning, we know his final choice.
The legend of silence is not the only one. In the 1970s, when there were many talents, there were many singers who gave one or two masterpieces that shocked the world, but they were always unknown. Only the songs gradually spread and eventually became a household name. I remember there was a former singer in "BJ's Diary of a Single", who only released a golden song and disappeared, but he still has the illusion of being recognized by passers-by and made a lot of jokes. Although it is a comedy, it is still feel sad. While Rodriguez's talent is so obvious to all that everyone wonders how such a genius couldn't sell, as an Indian-Mexican, he's not destined to be Bob Dylan. There seems to be no answer, but it is self-evident. Timing is an all-too-important thing, and as Rodriguez himself said, in music, nothing is certain.
The legend that is willing to be silent is not often there. How many people will choose to walk down when they finally reach the pinnacle of their reputation after going through the storm? When his musical talent finally turned into real money and fame, Rodriguez chose to give up everything but music. Yes, if his "rebirth" really made any difference for him, it was that he could finally sing his songs to more people. His love for music is not mixed with any desire for profit, and the same is true for life. Apart from that, he has nothing else.
3. The recitation of legends
Many people will have an unknown but talented idol in their hearts. In order for the idol to get the fame he deserves, people are willing to promote him to anyone they know, support his cause in any way, and follow him in any way. The lucky ones, like Rodriguez, will be known by word of mouth among South African fans; the unfortunate, like Rodriguez, all their talents can only be confined to the narrow circle of their hometown and never see the light of day. In any case, the singer is a legend, and the fans are only responsible for reciting the legend.
But this story is not only that, those persistent reciters are the creators of the legend, and they have also become the legend itself. If it weren't for the two fans, the legend would not have been resurrected, nor would it have become a legend. Star chasing seems to always be associated with words such as "naive", "paranoia", "crazy", so the more one grows up, the more accustomed to taking artworks out of the artist's body, all the emotions are suppressed in the heart, on the surface Neither praise nor criticism, rational and indifferent. No one does an unprofitable thing out of passion—most don't. Because of this, what those two fans did becomes the legend recited in the film.
A large part of Rodriguez's achievements stems from his own talent and ability, but what is more remarkable is his pure and unrequited passion for art. His low-key and simple is precisely because he does not want to get anything from his songs, he simply wants to sing. Just like the pianist 1900 under the lens of Donatore, because of the powerful force of pure love, it directly touches human nature and is shocking.
The achievements of the two South African fans are precisely because of a curiosity about the truth and a completely non-utilitarian heart. The relationship between fans and idols is not just a simple relationship of give and take. Through respect, trust and pure passion, they can finally achieve each other. Including the director of the film, Ben Dejelu, the shooting period was extended from the planned six months to six years. The funds were exhausted and there was no follow-up capital injection, so he had to use the APP downloaded on his iPhone for $1.99 to shoot the last 10% of the film. Content. The driving force that supports and drives all of this is that simple and pure enthusiasm that even seems a little crazy.
On the journey to find Sugar Man, every reciter is part of a legend, and every one of them has achieved an independent legend. Rodriguez, who chanted "Sugar Man", rose to fame but still lived a simple life; Sigman, who chanted the legendary history of his idol, opened his own record store; chanted the book of it all. Dejerew brought back an Oscar statuette... What connects each of these legends is a love that sings, recites, and records.
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