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Thread: Music Documentaries

  1. #1
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    Music Documentaries

    I remember the old thread having a lot of great suggestions of music documentaries and thought I should recreate the thread. I really should have made a list from the last one.

    I just watched "Dig!" a few days ago and really enjoyed it. It's almost unsettling however watching a band breakdown like that, as well as Anton's godlike view of himself.

    What else should I, and others look into for great docs?

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    Some of my favorites (in no particular order) as of this very moment:
    • Standing in the Shadows of Motown
    • Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
    • Madonna: Truth or Dare
    • The Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter
    • Joy Division: The True Story of the Meteoric Rise and Fall of One of the Most Influential Bands of Our Time
    • Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
    • Hype!
    • The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

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    Oh man!
    Madonna: Truth or Dare! Hell yes.

    I feel like I came into this thread with ideas, and then Madonna trumped them all and I have forgotten.
    I am not ashamed!

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    Some good'uns I've seen of late:

    Synth Britannia

    Until the Light Takes Us
    We're Living On Dog Food

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    This year has seen some pretty good ones, Martin Scorsese's George Harrison: Living In The Material World being the triumph of them all. The depth of emotion in people when they talk about him is quite extraordinary, even people who describe themselves as maybe not as close to George as others were. The U2 documentary From The Sky Down was pretty good as well, probably my favorite type of Rock doc that covers just one period of an artist's career. I even liked the Foo Fighters one (the name of which escapes me).

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    It Might Get Loud was cool to watch. Jimmy Page, the Edge & Jack White

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    There was an awesome hour long on Prince as part of the BBC's black musical history thing.
    Also Synth Britannia was pretty damn good.

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    Dig! is awesome even if you know next to nothing about The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre

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    30th Century Man was a pretty good documentary on Scott Walker. Interesting to see progression from Walker Brother to strangely vampiric-looking man, wearing a baseball cap and punching a slab of meat for percussion. Made me appreciate The Drift and Tilt a lot more too.

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    Started watching Iconoclast. Very interesting.

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    Quote Originally Posted by onthewall2983 View Post
    This year has seen some pretty good ones, Martin Scorsese's George Harrison: Living In The Material World being the triumph of them all. The depth of emotion in people when they talk about him is quite extraordinary, even people who describe themselves as maybe not as close to George as others were.
    Agreed, this is a REALLY good documentary. Loooooooong, but good. After watching this, I had "Beware of Darkness" stuck in my head for a month, ordered the deluxe version of "All Things Must Pass" and then had "Apple Scruffs" stuck in my head for months. So, um, beware, haha.

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    Dig! is honestly the best documentary of music I've seen. Anton is nuts, he's ruthless, yet he still comes across as more sincere and less of a terrible person than anyone in Dandy Warhols. The best scene in the movie is when they're playing the band showcase and Anton starts yelling at Joel, then Anton gets in a fight with another band member and all hell breaks lose, and the only thing Anton is upset about in the end is the broken sitar.

    Other doc's I like are I Am Trying to Break Your Heart and PJ20.

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    I like the documentary about Lil' Wayne. It's really fucking sad in certain parts.

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    I've been enjoying the Metal Evolution series, so far.

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    The last good one I saw was the Ministry documentary, Fix.

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    The best ones I can think of right now are Foo Fighters - Back and Forth, Gorillaz - Bananaz (coveres everything from self-titled through Demon Days), and It Might Get Loud. I'm sure I could think of more if I had my hard drive in front of me...

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    "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest" was really fun. It brings you back to the early 90s "bohemian" side of the hip-hop scene. Q-Tip is revealed as a production genius and the love/hate relationships between him and Fyfe (diabetic), the other group members and the larger New York hip-hop community is recounted. The documentary serves as a reminder that hip-hop can be deep while also celebrating positivity, fun, community and empowerment.

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    PJ20 all the way!!!

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    Heima anyone?

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    Heima ​defies description.

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    Ramones - End of the Century was enjoyable.

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    Thanks for all the suggestions so far, folks!

    Just found one from BBC Four called Heavy Metal Britannia which was pretty damn good too.

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    I have to agree with Scorsese's George Harrison documentary. It was such an engrossing film; I found myself watching parts one and two one afternoon in one sitting.

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    I loved that George Harrison documentary. Its second part was the most interesting and it definitely have a great scene where Eric Clapton was asked about the idea of him possibly joining the Beatles. Man, that would've been a disaster considering all the egos involved. I also liked the Pearl Jam and that U2 doc on Achtung Baby. It's a good year for music docs this year.

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    Watching Year Of The Horse for the first time in years. Great, great Neil Young doc about his relationship with the guys in Crazy Horse.

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    Thought of 'the heart is a drum machine' and 'blood into wine' as well the other day

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    Both Sigur Ros' documentaries "Heima" and "Inni" (although Inni is more of a live film than Documentary, but whatevs), are incredible. Heima probably being the best music documentary that I've ever seen.

    Also, The Flaming Lips' "The Fearless Freaks" is a really great and highly informative watch.

    And if you like U2, their new From The Sky Down doc about the making of Achtung Baby was great. It's pretty much made to only appeal to U2 fans though, so there's no use in watching it unless you love the band and you love Achtung Baby.

  28. #28
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    glad to hear that my two favorites, synth britannia & scott walker: 30th century man have been mentioned. essential viewing!

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    Quote Originally Posted by richardp View Post
    Also, The Flaming Lips' "The Fearless Freaks" is a really great and highly informative watch.
    Some of this was just downright hard to watch. Like the scenes with Wayne's junkie brother, and Wayne talking about how he almost died at Long John Silvers, and the scene with Steven Drozd doing heroin.

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    For fans of post-rock/metal and like-minded music (specifically Hydrahead Records, Neurot Records and Constellation Records), I highly suggest Blood, Sweat and Vinyl.


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