What music documentaries have you enjoyed?
I've realized recently how much of a throughline music documentaries and behind-the-scenes features have been in my life. Like watching whatever VH1 "Behind the Music" was on or watching Prodigy's "Electronic Punks" VHS for the umpteenth time.
What music docs have you really enjoyed historically or recently?
I've been working my way through Hip Hop Evolution on Netflix and it has been a real joy re-familiarizing myself with 90s and aughts hip hop and diving deeper into the 70s and 80s. I feel like they've done a really good job covering the history and the context for the different styles emerging.
Sound City details the history of the prolific LA studio where many well-known rock artists have recorded. There is a palpable reverence for analog recording and the Neve Electronics 8028 mixing console specifically. I thought it was interesting to learn about and hear from the different bands about their experiences there.
I'm guessing most people have seen Peter Jackson's recent one, Get Back, so for something more obscure... if you're a Depeche Mode fan there's a series of short docs on YouTube, one for each album up through Exciter I think. Really cool history on the band and the process of creating each album, cut together from interviews with the band members as well as many of their team and recording collaborators.
The Sparks Brothers
I will admit I had never heard of Sparks before, but I will watch anything Edgar Wright puts out, since his days making Spaced. The first talking head was Beck. If Beck says he likes/respects a musician or group, I am willing to listen. It's an amazing story of two brothers who basically stuck to their guns, didn't blow it all during the tough times, and kept at it.
I have since come to love Sparks and their ethos and managed to see them live last year.
Oh my gosh, yes! Same story here. Hadn't heard of them, and after seeing the trailer for the movie ("Your favorite band's favorite band") I was like, how the hell have I gone this long without being aware of these guys? Huge fan now, big respect to them, and yeah Edgar Wright did a great job with the movie.
I just came here to recommend it, I really enjoyed it.
I knew them since forever but didn't realize they were so influencial.
I actually went see them live yesterday in Brussels. I was impressed by Russel's voice range and power nearly identical to what it was on their first album some 50 years ago.
Have you heard Lil' Beethoven or Hello Young Lovers?
It Might Get Loud.
At its heart, it's three generations of electric guitarists (Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White) discussing their approaches to the instrument. There's a short history of each of their respective bands woven in and segments where they try to play each others' songs together. There's also a slew of unused footage available on Youtube from the play sessions.
It was interesting (though not directly addressed in the film) that The Edge/U2 developed their style partly as a form of rebellion against Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin's style, and then Jack White developed his style partly as a rebellion against The Edge/U2's style.
Moonage Daydream is about David Bowie and it's magical. There's no narration and it needs none. Bowie's story unfolds through his own words and footage clipped from various sources throughout his career and is masterfully blended together.
'Weird: the Al Yankovic Story'. An incredible documentary of the tragic life of a singer. 100% factual, of course.
On a more serious note, 'Bananaz' is a pretty cool one on the creation of Gorillaz first 2 albums, lots of cool footage that I never would have seen otherwise. Avaliable on Youtube.
Ken Burns' Country Music blew my mind.
Hearthworn Highways is probably my all time top 1 music documentary. There's so much in it that's awesome (especially if you're into that kind of country music) from then up and coming legends. But the scene that stands out the most, for me, is this one with Townes van Zandt. Makes me, and Seymor, cry every time :')
Edit: I also saw Slave to the Grind a while ago and enjoyed it. Not at all my kind of music, but I found it really interesting. If not for the music, for the people pictured. So many originals! :D
I loved this, the song Stay a Little Longer was my introduction to this documentary. It hooked me instantly as it put me , viscerally back in time, to my childhood.
Sitting around and drinking and smoking pot and playing whatever instrument was the big thing in the early seventies.
I loved when the people in my world did this. I was so happy to see that little slice of time so well represented.
I loved that scene with Seymour too, he was going through an entire gamut of feelings.
Some Kind of Monster
Most bands go through some forms of conflict, especially if they have existed for many years. Some Kind of Monster was filmed to show Metallica making a new album. Instead they got the singer going to rehab, the bassist quitting the band, producer stepping in as a band member, and a "Performance Enhancement Coach" (basically a therapist for professional environments.)
Radiohead : Meeting People Is Easy depicts the band during the OK Computer tour and their accession to fame. It's... Good but sad, it's pretty much a diary of Thom Yorke's mental breakdown.
Tom Dowd & The Language of Music which looks to be hard to find. According to the site:
This was my recommendation. I think I’m responsible for a few hundred thousand views on the “Tom Dowd Layla” YouTube video, and I have a copy of the documentary.
For OP: Tom Dowd was no ordinary person. He worked on the Manhattan project as a teenager then innovated the multi-track recording method while producing for some of the biggest names in music.
https://archive.org/details/elton-john-two-rooms
Two Rooms about Elton John and Bernie Taupin is a good celebration of two great musicians.
Not a specific documentary, but I always enjoy Trash Theory videos when they release on Youtube. You'll find 30-60 minute video essays that target specific bands or genres across the music spectrum. Usually deep dives into genre influences, development timelines, and interesting backstory and details.
David Bowie: Cracked Actor was possibly the first music doco I ever watched; it's incredibly interesting to watch Bowie at the height of his cocaine-addled existence, interspersed with great musical numbers.
Also, not a doco, but I feel like I have to mention Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, just because it's a masterpiece of a biopic. Like I said, not a documentary, but I imagine if Bob Dylan commissioned a film of his life, this is precisely what it'd look like.
I've learned most of what I know about Bowie's character from documentaries on other musicians. He really faced his demons and was a kind and patient, and available person to so many others in their struggles.
Imho he really "won" this life thing, and gracefully.
Some day I’ll fly which is about John Mayer is phenomenal.
It might get loud by Jack White
The life of Riley which is about BB King.
Billy Idol - Behind The Music
Wild story.
I started writing a comment about how the real loss when MTV/VH1 went all-in on reality was that we lost high-quality documentaries about artists featuring their peers, but apparently "Behind The Music" is back? https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/behind-the-music/ No idea if the quality is still there, but thought others might like to know.
Holy shit, that's great - thank you for sharing this
The Velvet Underground had one on Apple TV about two years ago. Loved it, and I was lucky enough to see it in a theater.
Two films that have widespread critical acclaim as films themselves, that happen to be about music:
Searching for Sugar Man
Stop Making Sense about the Talking Heads.
The one I keep thinking about is Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World.
It was such an eye opener and led me to find modern music culture in Indigenous life. Funny enough I found several on Instagram.
Link Wray's song Fire and Brimstone is one I have to play at least weekly now.
He did a performance of this song as an old man and still had a powerful presence and voice.
Dig!
Follows the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jones Town Massacre as they climb through the music scene. Both bands were pretty close at one point and good friends, and it's interesting to see how the dynamics change as the Warhols ascend into stardom and BJTM spiral into chaos.
A headbanger's journey
And (arguably even more interesting) Global Metal.
Edit: probably to arguably
The Warped Tour documentary ‘No Room For Rockstars’ is definitely my favorite
https://youtu.be/b7-kvgRfiu8
I'm just going to preface this by saying that it's not going to be for everyone, but as a big fan of Black Metal music and the absolute batshit crazy history behind the subgenre I recommend Until The Light Takes Us and Pure Fucking Mayhem. Seriously, even if you don't enjoy the genre, the behind the scenes in the genre was so crazy during the 1990s that I still think it's worth a try just out of morbid curiosity.
20 Feet from Stardom is brilliant. It looks at backing singers for big bands and tours, and also touches on the ways in which black artists were used and usually uncredited during the Jim Crow era. Really interesting and some incredible displays of talent that are mostly hidden
Nirvana is my favorite band so naturally i would pick Kurt cobain: Montage of heck. I haven't watched it since forever so i have forgotten a lot, but it was pretty interesting and also featured some songs kurt cobain had written and covered, which i dont think had been shown before.