Hype!

Seattle at the end of the 1980s had a small local scene: bands who knew each other, a single independent label, and almost no outside interest. Then, after Nirvana broke, the record companies came to town. Local musicians suddenly found themselves part of a movement, and they were not the ones who named it. Doug Pray's documentary tells that transformation from inside the scene. Mark Arm, Chris Cornell, Dale Crover and many others speak, and the emphasis falls less on the music than on how marketing swallowed a local culture. The title says as much. The best-known moment in the film is footage of Nirvana playing Smells Like Teen Spirit for the first time, at the OK Hotel in Seattle on 17 April 1991. The recording is technically poor but it is the earliest known live performance of the song. Who it's for: Anyone interested in 1990s alternative music, the Seattle scene, and criticism of the music industry. Who it's not for: There are a great many talking heads and the narrative is loose. It is hard to connect with if you do not know the bands' music.