Thought this episode was pretty great mostly due to the character of Ernst, who was hilarious with his dry quips in that lovely German accent (but they might be rubbing their pussies together...). We have enjoyed it so far. The music is fantastic of course. Everything else is heavily soaked in Scorsese's twisted sensibility and no doubt Mick Jagger's too. How can you not like it? The only thing is its a shame that the true horror of 70s New York as shown in Taxi Driver is no more. What a pity. We have also had fun trying to figure who the The Nasty Bits is based on. The Dead Boys or wot?
I guess I would have been surprised at Scooby Doo if I had ever watched it. Ghosty Ernst was a bit of a shock but what was more interesting for me was the revelation that Richie is one quarter Black. It was kind of implied in a previous episode when Daddy said something about "mulattos" referring to Richie's mother. As I am biracial, suddenly Richie has become more intriguing. Hopefully we will learn more about the backstory of Richie's past because they wouldn't make this Italian-American guy a quarter Black just to make him seem cooler. Something's up. Or not. Maybe they want to make him Black because he's going to be the one who will pump hip-hop up in a few years. This is being telegraphed by the appearance of rap pioneer Kool Herc.
The article mentions The Fifth Dimension but young people ought to know that in no way, shape, or form was this recording the actual Fifth Dimension. It stinks that HBO with all of it's money (including my subscriber fees) can't pony up the actual songs. I grew up with this music.
There are some comic moments. He sees Jewish people in Brooklyn on Shabbos and he remembers that it's Saturday and has to go to Zak's Bat Mitzvah. I'm Jewish, so I thought it was amusing.
Anyway, I'm in the middle of episode 7. Let me keep watching.
The article mentions The Fifth Dimension but young people ought to know that in no way, shape, or form was this recording the actual Fifth Dimension. It stinks that HBO with all of it's money (including my subscriber fees) can't pony up the actual songs. I grew up with this music.
There are some comic moments. He sees Jewish people in Brooklyn on Shabbos and he remembers that it's Saturday and has to go to Zak's Bat Mitzvah. I'm Jewish, so I thought it was amusing.
Anyway, I'm in the middle of episode 7. Let me keep watching.
I'm rather surprised by all these negative comments. Vinyl is a stellar show, and the way it blends fiction with history makes for inventive storytelling. I've always been a huge fan of that era, from its art and music to its drugs and depravity, and Vinyl does an amazing job weaving a provocative narrative with arresting visuals. Maybe it's just me, but I was hooked from the inventive opening credits to the gritty, realistic depiction of 1970's NYC. A stellar cast simply adds more icing to a delicious cake.
I know it's fun to hate, and our current cultural zeitgeist seems to reward those with the snarkiest view of, well, everything. But it's telling that someone who was not living in 1970's NYC (Gavin Edwards) seems to be such an expert on how 'realistic' HBO's depiction is. I suppose Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese should have consulted him instead of their lived experiences so their show would live up to the revisionist concept of the era. Or, maybe they actually know what was happening since they were there and some of you should chill with the sophomoric critiques. BTW Gavin, like I tell my college students, if you're going to criticize something (like you did with the depiction of Bowie) but not list any actual examples, then your critique is vacuous. What exactly did they get wrong? If you can't offer specifics, then you're only demonstrating your own ignorance.
I know it's fun to hate, and our current cultural zeitgeist seems to reward those with the snarkiest view of, well, everything. But it's telling that someone who was not living in 1970's NYC (Gavin Edwards) seems to be such an expert on how 'realistic' HBO's depiction is. I suppose Mick Jagger and Martin Scorsese should have consulted him instead of their lived experiences so their show would live up to the revisionist concept of the era. Or, maybe they actually know what was happening since they were there and some of you should chill with the sophomoric critiques. BTW Gavin, like I tell my college students, if you're going to criticize something (like you did with the depiction of Bowie) but not list any actual examples, then your critique is vacuous. What exactly did they get wrong? If you can't offer specifics, then you're only demonstrating your own ignorance.
3
Good point. I'm enjoying Vinyl as a bingewatch and wished I would have waited until the entire season was up. I lived in NYC in the 70s but was in elementary school in 1973. However, that means I was the prime audience for the music from Donny Osmond and the Jackson Five (whom I liked) to Bowie (which I hadn't heard yet) to Hannibal (probably based on Sly Stone, whom I enjoyed). "Pillow Talk" was in this episode: It was one of the first records I ever bought.
I'm a real New Yorker and was alive and buying records in '73. In fact '73 was the first year I started buying records.
I'm a real New Yorker and was alive and buying records in '73. In fact '73 was the first year I started buying records.
Other than the fun to hate part, I am in agreement. I get a gross feeling inside after hating on something.
My thoughts on this article were said best by Riggan Thompson in his tirade at Tabitha Dickinson in Birdman.
I'll get back to my Scooby Doo because I didn't see the twist at the end and loved it. I would expect an article like this from a Gawker property. I come to the Times for substance, and I get snarky nonsense instead.
My thoughts on this article were said best by Riggan Thompson in his tirade at Tabitha Dickinson in Birdman.
I'll get back to my Scooby Doo because I didn't see the twist at the end and loved it. I would expect an article like this from a Gawker property. I come to the Times for substance, and I get snarky nonsense instead.
1
Great show. Binge watched today. Bobby Cannavale and Ray Romano kill it.
Love the Lester Crimes/Nasty Bits twist.
James Jagger. Wow.
I'm hooked.
Love the Lester Crimes/Nasty Bits twist.
James Jagger. Wow.
I'm hooked.
1
If I hadn't experienced the grim edges of 1970s New York I'd have more difficulty with this show...but despite some flat notes it's dead-on. Rampant drug abuse...lack of civility in the workplace...kids grabbing guitars to race out of music stores..driving out on Coney Island while completely wasted...that was indeed the era. When the German Ernst grabbed one of the complimentary yamikas at the bat mitzvah and started sampling the buffet to Richie's horror...that moment alone was enough to keep me watching for the remainder of this season.
2
I agree that that the biggest problem in "Vinyl" is in the crude, unrelateable repulsiveness of most of the main characters (Devon is the only exception to get much screen time...), but I'm surprised that respondents have failed to finger the real problem.
That would be not so much Scorcese or even Jagger, but the showrunner and scripter Terry Winters who also wrote the identically problematic 'Wolf of Wall Street' and only slightly better series "Boardwalk Empire".
Venal selfishness, violence and drug abuse are presented with numbing, repetitive excess and while ostensibly disapproved in all these presentations, on extended viewing one gradually comes to suspect that these characters in the viewpoint of the maker, are really privileged to be freed for normal restraints and having a great time...
That would be not so much Scorcese or even Jagger, but the showrunner and scripter Terry Winters who also wrote the identically problematic 'Wolf of Wall Street' and only slightly better series "Boardwalk Empire".
Venal selfishness, violence and drug abuse are presented with numbing, repetitive excess and while ostensibly disapproved in all these presentations, on extended viewing one gradually comes to suspect that these characters in the viewpoint of the maker, are really privileged to be freed for normal restraints and having a great time...
"watching the actor Bobby Cannavale turn up the volume until the knob twists off." That's the best part of the show. to quote some immortal rockers- it goes to 11.
3
thank god for the fast forward function. this show would be unwatchable if you had to watch more than 15 or so minutes.
what to me is funny about the show is that it is based on cameos of actors impersonating artists.
Seems like you could do the same thing in a Las Vegas casino.
Seems like you could do the same thing in a Las Vegas casino.
Richie drinks (this week chugging Scotch right out of the bottle) and does coke non stop. No one could function in any way shape or form consuming the volume of alcohol and drugs as depicted. Reminds me of the drinking on Mad Men. And this is at least the third episode in a row with Richie doing the same thing over and over again. Did the contract mandate 13 episodes and Martin S figured out that he was going to need a bunch of filler in the middle?
Ray Romano is the only reason I continue watching-well, other than attractive nude women.
1
I agree, it got tiresome. It's already fallen into something of a rut, with Richie doing mostly the same thing over and over. At least with Don Draper, we saw him at the height of his powers before his descent. I'm a bit surprised Olivia Wilde even took this part; but I guess Scorsese carries a lot of weight.
I had a different take on Ernst. I thought that Richie killed him in that early flashback when he saw himself killing Buck Rogers. I thought in his drug-induced haze, he 'saw' Rogers while bashing Ernst's head against the ground. Thus the huge hole in the back of Ernst's head later.
I didn't get that Devon had a miscarriage though. What was the indicator of that?
Oddly enough, another show (Blindspot) I watched the same night (Monday), had another version of Life on Mars.
I had a different take on Ernst. I thought that Richie killed him in that early flashback when he saw himself killing Buck Rogers. I thought in his drug-induced haze, he 'saw' Rogers while bashing Ernst's head against the ground. Thus the huge hole in the back of Ernst's head later.
I didn't get that Devon had a miscarriage though. What was the indicator of that?
Oddly enough, another show (Blindspot) I watched the same night (Monday), had another version of Life on Mars.
1
Waiting for Nucky to show up himself this time and pop Richie on the beach.
3
The emperor has no clothes! The show is garbage and the level of over-acting by Bobby Cannavale is legendary. Please pass the ham.
5
You are all so cool, so critical. It's a TV show for God's sake. For me it has the flavor of the time, an interesting story line, some good tunes. More worth watching than 99% of TV. It's no Mad Men but it's good. Chill out. You want art read a book.
3
I liked seeing young Bowie. What a talent, and how sad that he's gone.
Also liked the Buddy Holly song/scene. Of course I'm old enough to enjoy classic rock and roll nostalgia.
Liked seeing Olivia Wilde though that merkin was on the gross side. But what a beauty.
Richie's fall has reached the point that I feel embarrassed for him.
Finally, really liked the character of Ernst; he was funny, well acted. Hope he haunts Richie some more.
Also liked the Buddy Holly song/scene. Of course I'm old enough to enjoy classic rock and roll nostalgia.
Liked seeing Olivia Wilde though that merkin was on the gross side. But what a beauty.
Richie's fall has reached the point that I feel embarrassed for him.
Finally, really liked the character of Ernst; he was funny, well acted. Hope he haunts Richie some more.
2
I felt like I'd seen this episode a million times before what with the coke meltdown and hallucination of a dead guy as the BFF.
A shame Scorsese attached himself to this - a boring retread of so many of his favorite tropes. Jagger? Did Jagger actually observe anything interesting about the record business or was he above it all?
This show is all style and nothing else. And as we know, 70s style was gaudy, trashy, no substance. The show has no substance.
Lastly, the actor playing Bowie was far too big and heavy to play that part. David Bowie was always a lithe, thin elegant man and weighed even less during drug-fueled 70s. Does whoever is casting this terrible show care whether the actors cast as famous people are remotely credible? This episode reminded me of how great David Bowie himself was playing Warhol in Julian Schnabel's "Basquiat." Schnabel is a great filmmaker. Maybe HBO should give Schnabel a contract to develop a series.....
A shame Scorsese attached himself to this - a boring retread of so many of his favorite tropes. Jagger? Did Jagger actually observe anything interesting about the record business or was he above it all?
This show is all style and nothing else. And as we know, 70s style was gaudy, trashy, no substance. The show has no substance.
Lastly, the actor playing Bowie was far too big and heavy to play that part. David Bowie was always a lithe, thin elegant man and weighed even less during drug-fueled 70s. Does whoever is casting this terrible show care whether the actors cast as famous people are remotely credible? This episode reminded me of how great David Bowie himself was playing Warhol in Julian Schnabel's "Basquiat." Schnabel is a great filmmaker. Maybe HBO should give Schnabel a contract to develop a series.....
2
Yes--that Bowie was way too big.
I noticed that too...David Bowie ws a slightly built guy. And he was actually very believable in Basquiat, as an older Andy Warhol.
I find myself watching this each week just to see how appalling it can get, with the boring and juvenile script, the screaming and wailing acting, and the clear body language of Ms Wilde saying "how did it all come to this?"
2
As you said, it was obvious from the start that "Ernst" was only seen by Ritchie, however the reveal (to me) was not that he was dead, but how he died (when the bloody back of the head was shown, I thought suicide, so it was a surprise to me that Ritchie was the cause of his death). As Ritchie looked to be DUI, I would have thought he would be held responsible, but hey, it was the 70's
1
I disagree about Noah Bean's David Bowie portrayal: his accent and lip synching may have been a bit off, but he captured Bowie's extreme professionalism (according to Phillip Glass, "even his rehearsals had rehearsals") and his old-fashioned charm, especially toward women.
On a more general note, why is Gavid Edwards watching, let alone commenting on, this show? While I didn't like the pilot, it has steadily improved, and last night's episode was my favorite. I'm glad I stuck with it, but unless there's a gun to his head, Edwards shouldn't.
On a more general note, why is Gavid Edwards watching, let alone commenting on, this show? While I didn't like the pilot, it has steadily improved, and last night's episode was my favorite. I'm glad I stuck with it, but unless there's a gun to his head, Edwards shouldn't.
4
Well, he gets paid to critique, so...Thankfully we don't have to agree.
I've watched all of the episodes and they've left me feeling depressed at the end of each. Maybe they do represent an accurate portrayal of the music scene at the time, but the story is not compelling.
Seems like each episode stars Richie just circling the drain.
Seems like each episode stars Richie just circling the drain.
3
I'll be blunt here . In a past life [ and a DBA nom de plume ] I lived thru this era of NYC and the music business not to mention met many of the real characters portrayed in this series and I can tell you the overall accuracy of the series is frightening . The fact is as my wife can attest to it feels like I'm reliving a past I'd much rather forget . Is there the occasional wretched excess for TV's sake over dramatization here and there ? Yes .. but the overall realities of the era are being accurately portrayed ... and that includes the portrayal of Bowie back in the 70's . Suffice it to say I'll guess Mr Edwards has no clue what the 70's music scene/business looked like .. never mind any of the actual people involved .
16
What I continue to love about this show is the music. . .how it's used to create mood, tell the story, add counterpoint, enrich. The experience as a whole is like watching a music video: audio first, video in support only. I enjoy Vinyl as long as I listen first. (Hey, even the music under the opening credits is a minor miracle!) It's when I start to expect strong story lines and well developed characters that I'm disappointed.
3
Overall I am enjoying the show but this episode was a little tired with so much cocaine use..
2
Having lived through those days... that is exactly the point!
2
I'm done. Last night's episode was a complete waste of time. I lived thru those days here in NYC and even though I wasn't part of Warhol's entourage I did live in NYC and like most of us who were here and loved the entire music scene a(et al) this show is a real stinker. I believe they should have either set it in the 70's and focused on the music or the murder story. Too much is being lumped together in one show in one season. Plus most of the characters are despicable human beings. However I did like the cop doing a bump of coke (in last weeks episode), which I think was rampant in the NYPD in those days. Maybe that would have been a more interesting story......
3
I'm enjoying this show much more than your recaps.
This episode was the best so far. Great direction. Wilde turned it up a notch. Cannavale was a great, manic mess. Bowie was beautiful.
There was just much more energy all around, sorely needed.
This episode was the best so far. Great direction. Wilde turned it up a notch. Cannavale was a great, manic mess. Bowie was beautiful.
There was just much more energy all around, sorely needed.
4
I have never seen a TV show that is so full of sound and fury and yet signifies nothing. How did they manage to make such an exciting era so boring? This series had so much potential, but has proven to be like a bad car wreck you can't turn away from. Like the coke addicted, ADD addled. loud obnoxious adolescent that it is, Vinyl can't calm down long enough to figure out what it Is supposed to be about. Missing is the sense of joy, wonder and excitement about the music of that era. Instead we have coked up Richie Finestra bellowing about "real" music, his mouth agape, a raging bull ruining the lives of everyone who gets in his way. But Richie is not talented or special, he's just a coke addicted music producer who has already killed two people, sees dead people everywhere. and next week goes to meet Elvis. I had no idea this show was supposed to be a parody.
10
I'm enjoying the show but your review was great. You write better than the guy who penned the original article.
Then again, the Times comments are always better than the articles.
Then again, the Times comments are always better than the articles.
Many rock stars are gay and hide behind the " bisexual " label and that goes for record producers as well. The writers and producers of Vinyl could add more interesting story lines if they got real and stop banging that heterosexual drum so hard.
HBO offering two distinct killer covers of Bowie's 'Life on Mars', back to back! 'Girls' ended with an slow, eerie rendition, not sure which one I liked better....Very psyched for the Bowie Tribute shows next week at CH and RCMH!
2
Thanks. I knew it was a show I watched on Monday; but I thought it might have been Blindspot.
2
Many of the scenes were needlessly too long. Ritchie was getting tiresome with his holler-after-the-bump antics...
1
That felt like the longest hour of my life. And by the way, why was a stolen car not being looked for by the police? If there was so much crime in NY at the time, why did Richie wake up with his nice sunglasses on his face?
1
This was the 1970's. I remember reporting a stolen car to the NYPD and they didn't even take a report.
2
Ernst has been shown previously, he is Ingrid's lover in Episode two. That is the first clue as to why Ernst is not real, it does not make much sense for him and Richie to be hanging out, because they were associated through the women. I think this review is harsh. This episode had the best plot so far. It was very well done. Also, David Bowie was perfect, not really sure what you are looking for.
5
I think you think this show is supposed to make sense. Perhaps you missed it, but being coked out and stupid in so many ways is nostalgic in a happy, train wreck, glad that's over kinda way to many of us. Maybe you're too young to remember? Anyway Carnavale looks like he does. As do the rest of the folks writing this show. Don't listen to the whining of these guys, writers! This is great fun!
6
Then the show should have been called "Cocaine" instead of "Vinyl"
1
Major dis in the recap to Olivia Wilde, who had some of her best scenes in this episode, but was barely mentioned by the author.
3
What?! There are people who weren't shocked at the end of Scooby Doo?!
3
I thought when Richie went home to find Devon and they came together in a moment of reconciliation the coke binge would end and Richie would do a "rocky" - get off the canvas and get the record company on track which would be fun to watch but the writers insist on focusing on his demons and on his marriage and less on what I thought the series was about. This series is now a major disappointment. Mick - please share some insight into the record business with the writers - that would truly help! Are you out there Mick? Focus on the development of the Nasty Bits instead of an idiot stealing a guitar. Marty? Do you want your name on this jumpin jack flash is trash trash trash series?
3
After all the hoopla this show is turning into a big disappointment. It really should have focused in on the music and less on Richie's coke addiction not to mention the needless murder subplot. Not sure how much longer I am going to watch this...
13
Actually as one who lived thru and survived the era I'm glad " Vinyl " is focusing on all the wretched excesses , horrid business dealings , complete lack of ethics of any kind , excess drug and alcohol consumption etc that went on behind the scenes of the music business and in fact still do . Consider " Vinyl " fair warning to anyone considering entering whats left of the music business . Thats the way it was back then .. and thats the way it still is .
11
Wow, your hatred for this show continues. I'm not sure what it is - the influential people behind it? The sensitive portrayal of New York to insiders? In any case, I should note that Ernst appears earlier in the series as Ingrid's partner. I'm surprised you missed it. I'm also not sure what the problem is with Noah Bean and Bowie - he's more of a MacGuffin so a reasonable facsimile is not a terrible thing. Some people are truly larger than life and hard to imitate. I actually thought there was a stroke of brilliance in having Richie stagger into a Bat Mitzvah - an event proclaiming the willingness to accept adult responsibility - as an immature man incapable of managing his own affairs. As for sympathy for his descent into drug induced hell - I don't think there is any. Scorsese has a knack for developing morally ambiguous characters that you are forced to look at (Travis Bickle, Whitey Bulger). I'm more interested in seeing how his company is able to survive in spite of him rather than because of his insight into what makes a band great.
6
Scorsese didn't develop Whitey Bulger, who is real. You may be mixing him up with Frank Costello, who wasn't.
I gave up on this debacle after the 3rd episode. There are no likeable characters and the writing is poor. The flashbacks are so poorly produced, you don't realize they're out of sequence. Terence Winter's association with the show gave me high hopes, but the writing staff can't hold a candle to The Sopranos. Maybe if they brought "Dice" back for a 1 hour flashback where he ad-libs incoherently....
3
"I gave up on this debacle after the 3rd episode"
Yet here you are, commenting on episode 6.
Yet here you are, commenting on episode 6.
11
Exactly.
I commented because this is the first piece of criticism that I read and could comment on. I saw about 5 minutes of the show after the 3rd episode, and my opinion was totally reinforced. It stinks.
Great Scooby Doo line. This show is simply awful. Major disappointment.
4
I thought it was a great episode. I didn't see Ernst as a ghost until I saw his head-wound. As for Ritchie doing a bunch of cocaine, if you didn't expect that by this episode you are even more dense than I am for believing Ernst was real...
6
Totally agree, terrific episode. My only quibble was with the Bowie lookalike - too fat for a coke head.
Brian
Brian
1
Last week you missed that Sal said his Mom was mulatto and this week you say Ernst was "previously unseen" but he was in Episode Two.
In addition, you were supposed to know Ernst wasn't real but not "why" Ernst wasn't real. The visitations by the ghosts (like Buddy Holly) are one of the most important plot points of the show (especially if you understand the historical reasons they were picked).
My feeling is that you are too dismissive and not very attentive to the details of the show (all due respect).
In addition, you were supposed to know Ernst wasn't real but not "why" Ernst wasn't real. The visitations by the ghosts (like Buddy Holly) are one of the most important plot points of the show (especially if you understand the historical reasons they were picked).
My feeling is that you are too dismissive and not very attentive to the details of the show (all due respect).
10
Well, at least there was some full frontal nudity to compensate for this atrocious episode (so far the worst of this entire, incredibly disappointing series).
2
Must be hard to do a recap of a show you seem to loathe so much.
4
Absolutely right and just what I was thinking. This guy Richie is a huge a-hole and I don't care about him or his possible "redemption". This is a far thornier problem than whether the Nasty Bits are three years too early stylistically. "Vinyl" still hasn't passed the Bechtel test: the female characters exist to either tempt or thwart the men. Poor Olivia Wilde got naked for this?! (Though I'm betting that was a merkin.) Fauxie was crap but Fake Ronson was convincing, down to the sanded top of his Les Paul. Still, this show is a headache on steroids and I ask WHERE'S THE JOY?! Rock & Roll is - generally speaking - joyful music and this show IS A DRAG.
11
I'm glad someone else thought it was a merkin.
1
i think you're too hard on this episode…cannavale's mania was riveting and i love scooby-doo endings. they get me every time. What Richie suffered was more than a hallucination and the choice of Ernst as his hallucinatory sidekick as he slides down toward hitting bottom is interesting and has dramatic relevance. His sober moment/Ernst reality-check at the end seemed powerful. While this show is generally panned, I still can't stop watching it.
8
Why are people panning this show? It captures the stupidity and excesses of the 70s better than any other show I've seen. Maybe some folks don't want to be reminded?
2
Ernst isn't "previously unseen". Watch ep 2 if my memory serves me well.
This show is just the worst. I can't believe someone at HBO watched this garbage and thought it was good enough to renew for a second season before the pilot had even aired. So glad the HBO audience isn't buying this garbage and the ratings are in the tank. Maybe after Season two of "True Detective" and now this trainwreck, the powers that be at HBO will start putting some effort into their shows again instead of just slapping a "prestige" label on mediocre to bad shows and hoping noone will notice just how tired and lazy they've become...
7
I never make comments online, but I'm hoping HBO is actually looking at these reviews and not just the FB ones :) I wanted to like this show so much. I really did. I love everyone in it, and of course Scorsese, Winter, etc. But honestly, this is bad television and I think that Cannavale- as much as I love him- doesn't know what this guy is supposed to be. I'm hanging in there until Season 2, but they're quickly losing me.
4
I loved Season two of True Detective-its different from Season 1 but who cares about that? It was great.
2
Hmmm... I don't think that many people who are commenting on the review know what goes into making a TV show, especially one set in a specific era. The design is spot on as is the wardrobe. The cast is excellent. There are some flaws in the writing/story line but this is a new show and must grow into its own. If you hate it, don't watch it. But there are people who are interested and yes, it is better than 98% of TV out there. Please don't be happy for bad reviews, as a previous grouchy commenter stated... this is a huge collaboration by very talented people... I hope it does well and gets better as thebstory snf the actors grow. I love the music and its fun to watch a show set in an era that was important in the mysic and art scene.
2