简介：Likeawarpedfun-housemirror,thesong-poemindustryhasrunparalleltothemainstreammusicbusinessforclosetoacentury;it'sestimatedthatover200,000song-poemshavebeenrecordedsince1900.Thegenre'sdurabilitycanbetracedtothreeofourdeepestAmericandesires-tobeinshowbusiness,togetrichquick,andtoshareandexpressourdeepestfeelings.Wemeetseveralofthe"songwriters"-fromanelderlywomantoayoungAfrican-Americanmantoasmall-townIowanwithbig-timedreams-eachofwhomhasbeeninthe"business"forawhile,churningoutoddcompositionsthatcoverthewaterfrontofAmericanobsessions,fromJesustogenitalia,frompoliticstoElvis.Wealsomeettheproducers(oftenknownassong-sharks)whoholdoutthetantalizingpromiseoffametotheireagercustomers,andthehas-beenmusicianswhositinstudios,dayafterdayandyearafteryear,interpretingsomeoftheweirdestlyricseverwritten.Throughfellowmusiciansandhisson,ElleryEskelin,oneofthemosteloquentfansofsong-poemrecords,welearnaboutthelifeandtragicdeathofthemanaficionadosconsiderthegreatestsong-poeminterpreterofalltime,RodneyKeithEskelin.Usingavarietyofstagenames,thiswould-beclassicalcomposerbroughtaneeriebeautytomanyofthesong-poemsherecordedbeforeendinghiscareerandlifebyjumpingontoaHollywoodfreeway.AsfilmmakerMeltzersays,"Thebeautyofsong-poemsisthattheyarearesultoftheintersection,orcollision,ofordinarypeople'sexpressionsandthedesiresofmusicians/businessestomakeaquickbuck,makingthemusicasfastastheycan,usuallyinonetake.Whenthosetwoforcescombine,theycreatestrangelycompellingsongsthatareunlikeanythingyou'veeverheard."Shocking,funnyandheart-wrenchingallatonce,OFFTHECHARTSisafascinatinglookatoneofthestrangestsubculturesinourAmericanlandscape.…