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Band:The Mission of Burma DVD:This Is Not a Photograph Released by:Music Video Dist. Writer: Sherri Carras Media: Myspace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

The band, The Mission of Burma’s, DVD has the tagline of “What happens when the most influential band you never heard of reunites after 19 years?”. That is one of the most accurate statements I’ve heard to describe a DVD like this. I truly never heard of Mission of Burma until I popped this DVD in to review. They influenced so many of the bands I listened to in the 90’s, including Nirvana, that it was familiar territory upon hearing them play.

Listening to this group get together and play highlights how little things change when it comes to good music, and talent. Their sound is still fresh, and kicks a lot of so called punk in the balls. The lyrics have thought put into them, and even though the music is all over the place at times, it has a trail the listener can follow. The grooves are catchy, and you can’t help but tap your feet along to it all.

What “Not A Photograph” is telling is not a tragic tale of loss over the band breaking up so long ago, or even a triumphant return. This, to me, was a story of how people who get along, and understand each other so well, can pick up where they left off nearly two decades ago, and sound just as good, if not better, than they ever did. This DVD featured a lot of commentary from contemporary artists like Sonic Youth, and Moby, and it makes your head spin to think how much this band influences music to this day. One section of performance shows members of Sonic Youth, and Moby, among others, up onstage playing along with The Mission of Burma. I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Moby, because he did not look like he belonged up there, even though he did a cover of That’s When I Reached For My Revolver. Then again, hard core Mission of Burma fans were probably ready to lynch him for desecrating a classic, so maybe that’s why he looked so uncomfortable.

The liner notes are very entertaining, and show how much of a sense of humor the band has. The man who wrote them also wrote a book about Mission of Burma, which sounds like it would be interesting reading. The wife of one of the members didn’t even realize her husband played music until she read that book! That’s how long the members had been out of the playing field. They had kids, normal lives, and were just average joes. For whatever reason they decided to get back together and play again, and it worked out wonderfully.

The Mission of Burma spawned bands like Husker Du, and eventually The Pixies. I couldn’t help but think about how different this band’s reunion was from The Pixies reunion. There was no bitterness, not an ounce of animosity towards anyone. It was refreshing to watch, and very enjoyable.

The layout of the DVD has the great ‘play all’ button on the extra features. The extras include several performances, both archival, and from the reunion tour. I thought that was a great thing to add, because you only got hints of the shows through the DVD. These extras allow you to get a taste of the real show.

Anyone who is interested in music history should pick up this DVD. They started off so long ago that you could easily dismiss them, but once you give their story a full listen, you’ll realize that the music you listen to today, no matter the style, is probably influenced in some way by The Mission of Burma. The fact they’ve put out a new album after this reunion tour is remarkable enough to want to watch these guys interact. They obviously know the secret to sticking together, and continuing to make great music. I think that’s a lesson a lot of musicians could stand to learn today, as well.

Band:The Mission of Burma DVD:This Is Not a Photograph Released by:Music Video Dist. Writer: Sherri Carras Media: Myspace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

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