Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton is about avant and unconventional Los Angeles-based record label Stones Throw Records. This feature-length documentary weaves together rare concert footage, never-before-seen archival material, home video, photographs and in-depth interviews with the artists involved with Stones Throw Records.
Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton gives us an insight into the artists, history and culture of Stones Throw and furthermore it features interviews with Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Common, Questlove, Talib Kweli, Mike D (The Beastie Boys), Tyler the Creator, and others.
I thought the film had a great flow to it considering it comprises of juicy fragments of documentary footage woven together to bring the viewer the label’s history. It articulates the story of Stones Throw in a way which keeps you hooked into the film to see where it will lead you.
I lived in Los Angeles in the mid 80s and was active in the underground music scene and I think DJ Peanut Butter Wolf and his writers and producers did a solid and respectable job of bringing the feel of this type of underground music world to you. This is a feel good film not just made for the fans of Stones Throw, but for anyone with an interest in independent or alternative music. I recommend it is well worth your time to check it out.
While I was not familiar with many of these avant-garde artists, I found myself looking up their videos on YouTube after watching the film, since not only are you given a taster of the music and the thoughts behind their projects but the film also gives a more personal view into the people behind the music and endearing and making them more approachable to the audience…
A little history on Stones Throw Records:
DJ Peanut Butter Wolf founded Stones Throw Records. This LA based label has released critically acclaimed, left-of-center albums. Stones Throw is recognised as a leader in underground hip-hop circles since its launch in 1996, and has a world-wide cult following. It has been dubbed genre bending and also releases soul, electro, disco, and psychedelia. The label was born in 1996 when DJ/Producer Peanut Butter Wolf released his classic debut with the late MC Charizma.
Stones Throw is an international powerhouse in underground music, issuing more than 200 critically acclaimed releases, and introducing artists Aloe Blacc, Mayor Hawthorne, Madlib and J Dilla to the world.
Director/Producer, Jeff Broadway is the co-founder of the production collective Gatling Pictures. He produced his first film – Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story around 2010. Named one of the ten best independent music documentaries of all-time by Stereogum, Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton is Broadway’s third feature documentary.
Co-founder of Gatling Pictures, Rob Gordon Bralver, writer and director of Cure For Pain: The Mark Sandman Story, re-teamed with Broadway to edit and co-write Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton.
Check out some of the music:
Reviewed by Rosdaughr
Counter Culture 
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