HBO's Vinyl paints dark and dirty 70's music industry
HBO’s original series “Vinyl”, executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Terence Winter and Mick Jagger, premiered last Sunday, Feb. 14. The show proclaims itself to be centered around “sex, drugs and rock and roll.” So, in the much anticipated two hour premier, there was, shockingly, a good amount of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Mick Jagger’s fingerprints are present throughout the pilot, with huge chunks of camera time devoted to loud-blasting and adrenaline-filled concerts of up-and-coming bands. The pilot, expertly directed by Scorsese himself, takes place in early 1970s New York City, a dark time and place for the music industry in which the main character, Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), is a coke-addicted music executive trying to keep his once blockbuster company afloat. The pilot tracks Richie as he negotiates the selling rights of his company, American Century, to a German record label, PolyGram. Throughout these negotiations, Richie experiences many flashbacks to his