Cool Daddio: The Second Youth of R. Stevie Moore
Four hundred albums in, the secret godfather of indie rock R. Stevie Moore is finally leaving the bedroom.
Son of Nashville session bassist Bob Moore (who played with Elvis and Roy Orbison), Robert Stevie Moore caught the music bug like no other. This self-confessed recluse spent decades creating twisted, catchy beat pop, lo-fi rock and freak-folk, distributing cassettes by mail order to outsider art obsessives.
It took 40 years and over 400 albums for Rolling Stone to proclaim his 1976 compilation Phonography as one of the most significant indie albums ever, for collaborations with XTC and Ariel Pink, for Wire to put him on the cover. Today, his name serves as a secret password in indie rock circles.
Aghast that his talent remained mostly unacknowledged, directors Imogen Putler and Monika Baran spent over a year shadowing the ageing Moore — into his bedroom, onto the stage and out in the world. Featuring ultra-rare footage, music, and cheers from superfans Ariel Pink, MGMT, Mac DeMarco and more, Cool Daddio cements Moore’s legacy as one of the weirdest and best.
“R. Stevie Moore may well be the most talented, interesting pop musician never to have released a record on a major label.” – Pitchfork