Friday, March 30, 10:00 PM at Regal -- Special Free Screening!

IF IT AIN'T STIFF, IT AIN'T WORTH A F...: THE STIFF RECORDS STORY
UK, 2006, 88 MIN
DIRECTED BY BEN WHALLEY
US Premiere

By the mid-1970s, rock and roll had devolved into bloated, corporate pap, so Stiff Records stepped into the breech. Tiny and perpetually broke, Stiff was initially thought to be a halfway home for has-beens and losers on their way to complete obscurity. But with Napoleonic arrogance and a hilarious streak of irony, Stiff turned the music industry on its ear by rediscovering fun. They invented New Wave with Nick Lowe, put punk on vinyl with The Dammed, and introduced the world to Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Madness, The Pogues, and many more. Stiff dominated the English charts in the 1980s, but its finances were never better than bleak. The company lived fast and died young, eventually selling out to the very corporations it mocked. But in the process, it created the template that independent music labels around the world still follow. In true Stiff style, this BBC-produced doc condenses the Stiff roller-coaster ride into a gleeful cinematic pop song and includes pithy contributions from every significant Stiff act, including those above as well as Devo, Tracey Ullman, Wreckless Eric, Lene Lovich, and others. For anyone who's ever worn a skinny tie or purchased a picture-sleeve 45, this is essential viewing.