So Wrong They're Right (1995)

I loved this documentary. I think that a person has to have one of two qualities to really like this film: (a) be sick of a society and marketplace that tells us what to consume, (b) really love music and especially music that came out before the mid-80s.If you fit both (a) and (b) this movie just may leave you hankering to get your own 8-track and panting to start up your own 8-track tape collection. It sure did that to me! Last and only 8-track I had was something I waved goodbye to when I sold my car in 1985 (it went with the car, along with my 8-track tape collection). Looking back now, I realize that was the LAST year I REALLY enjoying listening to music in my car or at home with full enjoyable abandon.Music on the radio took a nosedive about the same time the marketing powers-that-be deigned that all consumers must send their 8-tracks to the landfills and buy something new and digital. That may be just a coincidence, I don't know, but it just makes me hanker for 8-tracks again all the more. As several who were interviewed in this documentary said, I'm looking forward to hearing that "kah-chunk!" I shall be forever grateful to the director and producers and participants who made this film.

I saw this probably 5 years back and used to work at Kinko's with Russ Forster but we've since lost touch. Really enjoyed the film ... interesting characters that Russ encountered in his journeys. Interestingly, the film is not really about 8-track tapes at all. The people (I call them characters because they are characters in many ways), certainly share 8-track interest in common but they are quirky. I never figured out exactly why they are attracted to the obsolete technology. Why do I still own an 8-track player/recorder and what do I have in common with these people? My theory is that the people share a bit of a misfit self image, but the film does not choose to make this judgment for you.Very entertaining, recommended if you can find it. I have no idea how you could get a hold of this these days. It made the indie film tour 5 years ago, I don't think it ever made it beyond that :-(

"So Wrong They're Right (1999) delivers fascinating tales about 8-track tapes by the most die-hard collectors, including folks like Abigail Levine, James "Big Bucks" Burnette, and the nappy-haired Phil Millstein, who appears to have pulled off some sort of Frankenberry slurpin' hibernation feat in his parent's basement.The highlight of this gem is its' raw, amateurish footage, and its' candid commentary, complete with titillating insights from some very offbeat collectors. Some of the bands and/or artists mentioned are Lou Reed, the Stooges, Roxy Music, Johns Children, the Sex Pistols, Yoko Ono, Mingus and many others. The film's rough & worn, homemade quality only adds to its brilliance, prompting some to think it was made in the 1970's and not the 1990's.

This is a terrific little independent film that explores the world of a small group of very likeable eccentrics that prefer the dead recording format of 8 track tapes. I enjoyed the movie so much that I became a convert and picked up an 8 track myself.