I watched with some pleasure Susan Lacey's American Master's documentary "Inventing David Geffen", a sort of nearly two hour extended act of fellatio but on a very interesting music guy, who deserves it… except maybe he doesn't.
Here's Geffen for dummies:
1. Brooklyn boy joins William Morris and drops out to manage Laura Nyro.
2. Founds Asylum Records in 1970 with Neil Young's manager. Sign Joni Mitchel, Dylan, discovers Jackson Browne, CSN&Y, etc.
3. Founds Geffen records in 1980 and signs Guns N Roses, John Lennon, Peter Gabriel, Sonic Youth, etc.
4. Founded Dreamworks, the last independent Film Studio in 1994.
Fair enough, a smart guy no doubt. But take another look. As the Yippies and Black Power were kicking out the jams, Geffen championed soft rock. Punk rock completely blew past him and while kudos for signing GNR, nobody thinks Geffen had a damn thing to do with Nirvana's success because, well, because he didn't. He never sullied his hands with rap at all and he wouldn't know art if it bit him in the ass. The guy sued Neil Young for fucks sake.
Geffen was, is, a ruthless son of a bitch with a taste for the sweet stuff and it lead him well with Laura and Joni (his greatest achievement was having Mitchel write "Free Man In Paris" about him.)
Now we have that straight, check it out yourself:
Watch Inventing David Geffen on PBS. See more from American Masters.