Be Here to Love Me…for free

Edit: Yes, I know the link is 404. You can borrow the DVD from Netflix…

Some say the web will make cable TV obsolete. I’m skeptical, but hopeful. I’m not a TV junkie myself. It seems like a lot of valuable real estate on cable/satellite TV is wasted on asymmetrical communication.  Apparently people with more money than I think it’s a good deal, though. That’s their prerogative.

Myself I’m skeptical, but hopeful.  I stumbled upon an example over the holidays of why I’m hopeful the web will displace programmed TV: SnagFilms.

SnagFilms.com is a website where you can watch full-length documentary films for free, but we’re also a platform that lets you “snag” a film and put it anywhere on the web. With a library of over 1500 films, and rapidly growing, you’re bound to find films that resonate with your interests. We make it easy for you to find a film that shines a light on a cause you care about. You can then open a virtual movie theater on any web site, so any one can watch your favorite SnagFilms for free.

Townes Van Zandt died this day 14 years ago. Be Here To Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt is a documentary that came out 7 years ago. It’s not something you’re going to stumble upon on USA Up All Night, or even CMT (the once-upon-a-time country music television). I’ve been wanting to see it for years, but I don’t do Netflix and never got around to getting it off Amazon.com. What a mistake.

Townes thru the eyes of Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, and Joe Ely, as well as his wives and children. And through his own eyes in a number of interviews over the years.  I challenge anyone who cares anything at all about music to watch this movie without a tear in your eye.

Others know Townes and his music better than I but I’ve tried hard to learn what I can learn, about the music and the man. And now thanks to the generosity of this website I know what I’ve been missing.  Even with 100+ channels programmed into cable/satellite TV, the idea that a programming director is going to slot in my particular interest at a time I personally find particularly convenient is, at face value, laughable.  With tools like these we might yet be less consumers of media than active participants in our self-edification and entertainment.

God bless Townes Van Zandt, those who were there to love him… and those who are here to tell us his stories again.  Keep the dream alive.

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