LIFE IN ONE CHORD

Q&A Screening with director Margaret Gordon hosted by Kerrie O’Brien, Senior Culture writer from The Age
FRI DEC 05, 6.45pm

Dunedin may seem like an unlikely location for a musical revolution, yet it became the locus of an indie music movement that was heard around the world. Riding the wave of the Dunedin Sound was Shayne Carter a loudmouthed teenage punk whose scrappy devil-may-care attitude is perfectly mirrored by Margaret Gordon’s cheeky and incredibly entertaining rockumentary.
Early on Carter objects to having to narrate the film from his droll memoir and blithely suggests bringing in broadcaster Carol Hirschfeld to perform the task instead, which is exactly what Gordon does. We get taken on a self-deprecating tour of some of Dunedin’s less desirable suburbs allowing Carter to reminisce about his schooldays, including a sister-traumatising first gig in the school hall.
Gordon’s film also acts as a bit of a primer on the Dunedin Sound with scene bigwigs like The Clean and The Verlaines at first surpassing Carter’s teenage punk ambitions until Straitjacket Fits is born out of tragedy and international stardom awaits. Carter is still living the punk life, and still performs as Dimmer, making now as good a time as any to celebrate a Life in One Chord.
“It’s hard to think of a better film about music out of this country”  – The Spinoff
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Very touching… a triumph of video and recording research.” – The Listener
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I’ve watched Life in One Chord twice now, and I honestly can’t think of a way it could have been made much better.” – The Post