As someone who has achieved massive success on her own terms as a singer-songwriter (her 1993 single “What's Up?” from her band 4 Non Blondes hit No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has 1.7 billion views as of today on YouTube) and has written a number of hits for other artists (P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys), Linda Perry seems like someone who must have it all figured out. And while she's certainly managed a long, impressive career in volatile music on her own terms (her guitar at the 1993 Billboard Music Awards proudly displayed the word “d-ke” at a time when few women were out and proud), new documentary reveals the tortured man behind the edgy, imposing exterior.
Linda Perry: Let it die here, directed by Don Hardy, premiered at the Tribeca Film festival on Thursday (June 6) and offers a compelling portrait of an artist who can't stop searching and reaching, but is never quite sure to what end. While Perry is full of insecurity and self-harm, talking heads like Brandi Carlyle, Christina Aguilera, and Dolly Parton offer a much more positive (and accurate) summary of her substantial talents.
After the riveting film, Perry and a full band took the stage for a rare live performance of many of the songs featured in the film. The new material showcases her incredible songwriting, and her signature creative voice (aided by her demanding work ethic) hasn't diminished a moment since she burst onto the national scene more than 30 years ago and then promptly faded from the limelight. of publicity. The wonderful new song “Feathers” is a heady mix of soul, alt-rock and Americana, “Let It Die Here” deserves Oscar consideration and “Beautiful” (made famous by Aguilera) was a delight to can be heard being sung by the woman who wrote it.
Between songs, she thanked the filmmakers and talked a bit about the emotionally raw film, including a scene where she dances while crying and reflects on her life. “Sometimes [the creative process] it can get the best of me like you saw for a whole hour and thirty minutes of how I can spiral because I just don't believe in myself,” Perry said. “It's great to know that something I say, something I write, something I do can matter.”
With characteristic honesty (and a bit of laughter), she admitted that “the wardrobe I see is beyond embarrassing to me, but I feel for her, that girl on that screen at that time. I just wanted to hug her and say, “Jesus, relax.”
Towards the end of her eight-song set, Perry's child, Rhodes (whom she shares with ex-wife Sara Gilbert), presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Perry kept Rhodes on stage with her for the final two tunes, including the requisite “What's Up?” finale, even giving her child the microphone to live a bit of the anthem (to be honest, her child fared better than some of the people from the audience she invited on stage to sing).
While Perry has been very busy — she's worked on projects from Ringo Starr (Crooked Boy) and Kate Hudson (Glorious) already this year — the documentary and her live set make one hope that the singer-songwriter will give equal footing to both in the near future. It's been a long time since Linda Perry has written songs about Linda Perry, and it's clear that she has a lot to say.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/linda-perry-let-it-die-here-documentary-tribeca-1235703929/