Favorite Music Documentaries

P

Perham1

2,500+ Posts
The "Learning to Fly" thread got me thinking about the documentary on Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - quite good.

There's also a good documentary on Roy Orbison. Think it's called "In Dreams" and was for TV.

But the real reason I made this thread was to mention an absolutely great music movie: Tom Dowd and the Language of Music.

If you have Netflix do yourself a solid and get this.
 
I remember seeing the film "Jimi Hendrix" in the 70's ('73?) at the theater on the drag a couple of doors south of the Co-Op. Anyone old timers remember what the name of that theater was? I keep thinking the Texas theater, but I am probably mistaken.
 
This is probably not really what you are talking about, but I really enjoyed seeing the doc 'Conan OBrien Can't Stop' at SXSW. It's about the tour he went on between losing the Tonight Show and getting his TBS show. The reason I think of it as a 'music' documentary is not because he plays a little music in it, but because it shows what goes on with putting together and implementing a tour. I thought it was a good behind the scenes look at what probably goes on behind the scenes of any big-name traveling musician.
The Link

A similar doc, and one that obviously is more 'musical' is Flight 666 a doc that follows an Iron Maiden tour. This one shows a lot more music and less behind the scenes stuff.
The Link
 
Good thread. As a guitarist I really liked It Might Get Loud. Watching Jimmy Page throw down the intro to Whole Lotta Love was one of the best moments of the film.
 
I loved "Hype" about the rise and fall of Grunge music. It showed how the whole fad was viewed from Seattle.

The other is "We Jam Econo" about the Minutemen. It was an interesting time in music and they were the most interesting band.
 
We have ATT-Uverse and on the "Biography" channel they have run several excellent docs on Pink Floyd---a little too much Sid Barrett though--Led Zep, and the Who. However, VH1 carries the docs put out by FYE and those have been the best I have ever seen. Their version of Led Zep got into more individual narration, Freddie Mercury's life was so sad, and Eric Clapton made an even stronger fan out of me. Phenominal videos...well worth your time.
 
We Jam Econo was pretty great.

I have always liked the first two Decline of Western Civilization docs, especially the first, though the second, about LA metal, had more overtly hilarious rock and roll nonsense.

Urgh, A Music War was always a high favorite of mine.

End of the Century, about the Ramones, is pretty good, as is Julian Temple's The Filth and the Fury, about the Sex Pistols.

The doc about Thelonious Monk is great and there is a short doc about a picture of numerous jazz titans taken in Harlem that is pretty cool, as well -- I think it is called a A Day in Harlem, or something like that.

Ken Burns' Jazz was really great, even if it needed to be about twice as long and half as infected with Stanley Crouch (who I like) and Branford Marseilis.
 
Rush's "Beyond the Lighted Stage." As an avid fan, I can't say enough about how this documentary shows glimpses of Geddy, Alex, and Neil in ways never seen before. Truly amazing how three musicians have made phenomenal music over such a long span of time. A Grammy nominated documentary definitely worth watching.
 
I enjoyed both those movies tremendously, but they aren't exactly documentaries. But anyone who has a passing interest in Joy Division or Factory Records era music should definitely check them out. "24 hour party people" is particulary good, even if you think the Happy Mondays are shite. Very entertaining movie.

Good choices.
 
I didn't contribute "A Mighty Wind." All I said was that the theater in question was probably the Varsity.

And for the record, I kept meaning to come back to this thread and add "This Is Spinal Tap," the best music movie ever made.

"These go to 11."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top