Not only are there loads of documentaries, but there are VINTAGE newscasts that make some second-hand sources look like fools:
http://youtu.be/QB74JaVoWLA
I really enjoyed this ancient Geraldo "exposé". If you ever wondered about late 70's America, here it is! It has stuff I haven't seen on TV in a million years, like REAL SOUTHERN PEOPLE!
I mean it's a "must do" if you're educating yourself about rock and roll music!
― I am Sporadicus! (I M Losted), Friday, 9 May 2014 17:36 (ten years ago) link
No idea if it's any good, but I was on YouTube trying to find something on album cover art, and found an hour-plus documentary called Under the Covers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9wJrqC7tXI
Phrase I love from upthread: "contains trace elements of Rick Wakeman."
― clemenza, Saturday, 10 May 2014 00:13 (ten years ago) link
That xpost Beefheart doc turned out to be really good, though mostly as an introduction; guess the same is true of this Hawkwind, but it's really got the visuals, the continuous sounds through the lightyears (listen on headphones),the succinct comments that don't intrude. Dave Brock refused to be in it because Nik Turner was, but he's got an interview, almost as long, on this same page (with a couple of Hawkwind concerts and albums too)Wonder if he's still keeping Hawkwind going, and if Nik & co. still are Space Ritual?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDJzAldD6t-ps&v=JzAldD6t-ps
― dow, Saturday, 14 June 2014 05:00 (nine years ago) link
― dow, Saturday, 14 June 2014 05:01 (nine years ago) link
A really fantastic Rush documentary. Once you get beyond the useless celebrity eulogies in the first couple of minutes, it is nothing like you expect. The rare music documentary that may even be more enjoyable for non-fans while still taking the musicians at the center of it very seriously throughout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAUtQhOFWFA
― Three Word Username, Sunday, 15 June 2014 12:42 (nine years ago) link
Is that the one which has that famous argument with Alex and his dad? From your description I am exactly the audience for that.
― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 15 June 2014 14:20 (nine years ago) link
That's the one!
― Three Word Username, Sunday, 15 June 2014 14:36 (nine years ago) link
Phrase I love from upthread: "contains trace elements of Rick Wakeman."Should be noted that this is cancelled out by the simultaneous presence of Bernie Worrell.
― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 15 June 2014 16:08 (nine years ago) link
Taking a look at the Beefheart doc now, watching Switzerland-Ecuador out of the corner of my eye.
Wow, Zappa in a mellow tone.
― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 15 June 2014 16:11 (nine years ago) link
And making a reference to young Don as the protagonist of "Institutionalized."
― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 15 June 2014 16:12 (nine years ago) link
And Ry Cooder doing an excellent imitation of the good captain!
This documentary is bringing out the best in everybody.
― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 15 June 2014 16:18 (nine years ago) link
Zappa is mellow in the movie mostly because he's dying.
― Three Word Username, Sunday, 15 June 2014 18:04 (nine years ago) link
Of course.
When "Hothead" started playing, could have sworn it was Television playing "Friction."
― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 15 June 2014 21:04 (nine years ago) link
Rush video blocked in my country on copyright grounds.
― That's How Strong My Dub Is (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 15 June 2014 21:28 (nine years ago) link
Use a chrome extension called Hola :)
― sinister porpoise (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 16 June 2014 14:44 (nine years ago) link
Hawkwind doc up thread was excellent
― sinister porpoise (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 16 June 2014 14:45 (nine years ago) link
This one about NYC in 1977 was amazing. NYC rap, disco, punk in their social context.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSOj9UUjtCk
― that's not my post, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 02:49 (nine years ago) link
yeah that 1977 doc is really well done.
― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 07:16 (nine years ago) link
oh cool I need to watch that
― dem bow dem bow need calcium (seandalai), Tuesday, 17 June 2014 11:56 (nine years ago) link
"We Jam Econo: The Story of the minutemen". Really well edited, with some fantastic rare live footage. The story is told in chronological order, but the live clips are not -- they are used to illustrate various points made about the band in the story and interviews, and it's very effective. Also the drummer made me cry at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmKGusadv08
― Three Word Username, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 20:11 (nine years ago) link
"we jam econo" is indeed fantastic, and i was close to tears from start to finish.
― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 20:15 (nine years ago) link
yeah it's the greatest. very teary
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 17 June 2014 20:19 (nine years ago) link
Will check that and the one about NYC in '77. Just now watched this 'un about The Fall, I get about 3-4 words from most of Mark E.'s offstage sentences, but they're always apt 3-4, and very good comments from all hands on deck. Had totally forgotten about the shows with Michael Clark's dance company! Excellent excerpts; hope to find the completes. Must check current Fall too. Anyway here's the link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InXwZc4RS7M&feature=kp
― dow, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 20:47 (nine years ago) link
Every time I watch We Jam Econo I go through a couple of days feeling like minutemen were the only rock band that was worth a shit in this world
― sinister porpoise (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 19 June 2014 01:18 (nine years ago) link
otm
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 19 June 2014 01:30 (nine years ago) link
really enjoyed the rush doc! they seem like great guys, and love the fandom of it too.
― niels, Friday, 20 June 2014 13:53 (nine years ago) link
My god, youse guys are so write about We Jam Econo---ideal music/talk ratio, as well it might be considering how short so many of their songs are: can do 2 sentences/whole song---but many directors would not manage this (gotta say, that's understandable too, considering how intriguing a lot of these uncommentaters are). Wonder what ever happened to those ten sets of song lyrics Meltzer gave them for the proposed collab, with him singing and playing sax?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmKGusadv08
― dow, Saturday, 21 June 2014 03:50 (nine years ago) link
Cant link atm but the Mark Sandman doc is on Vimeo (with Spanish subtitles) also incidentally features Watt
― Master of Treacle, Saturday, 21 June 2014 11:39 (nine years ago) link
Thanks. Just watched this good Can documentary, from 1999, 1 hour, 27 min. Mostly music, mostly long performances.Would like to see full-length "I Want More," with the disco gold dust women, and this is the only one where audience, well some of the audience, move with the music, rather than staring, like the students in The Blow-Up. From 1971 on, we get various vocalists, the funk-and-then-some, tophatted bassist, when Holger transfers to his tapes, shortwave and Morse key; excerpts from previous Continental docs, stretching out on The Old Grey Whistle Test, in the home stretch with comments and remix excerpts from Carl Craig, Sonic Youth, James Lavelle and U.N.K.L.E, the Orb ("The first time I heard about Can was in this thing about the Sex Pistols"). The music never stops, or takes a backseat to talk.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNhuwkmmzak
― dow, Friday, 27 June 2014 05:17 (nine years ago) link
Nico_Icon---starts with some sordid road stories (thanks, James), but they pertain, as does his "We were sort of planets around her moon." And it gets better, though some of the comments are in German, French, Italian. Music always sounds great, and a very nice performance surprise at the very end:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1vkiQdEU7M
― dow, Friday, 15 August 2014 21:26 (nine years ago) link
Brilliance and sadness. Links make this a nine-parter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC0DayWUY64
― bodacious ignoramus, Saturday, 16 August 2014 07:06 (nine years ago) link
Well yeah, I've posted this elsewhere, but this was the perennially shared DVD of "the best music doc ever" round my friend circle, of course now on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WahnZ1HcW00
― faghetti (fgti), Saturday, 16 August 2014 07:41 (nine years ago) link
More pain from Daniel Johnston,,,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usP3dUJBrQo
― bodacious ignoramus, Saturday, 16 August 2014 07:47 (nine years ago) link
sorry... DJ is not free
― bodacious ignoramus, Saturday, 16 August 2014 07:50 (nine years ago) link
I've had Step Across The Border's soundtrack for ages, gotta see the doc. Here's one about The Church of Saint John Coltrane, via WFMU--haven't watched it yet, but I have faith:http://aeon.co/video/culture/the-church-of-saint-john-coltrane/
― dow, Sunday, 12 October 2014 23:13 (nine years ago) link
Trailer for A Band Called Death, streaming on Amazon Prime, Hulu, and sometimes YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzxnnQHrZBQ
― dow, Sunday, 2 November 2014 23:10 (nine years ago) link
Well worth watching, especially once you get past introductory celeb endorsements.
― Thackeray Zax (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 2 November 2014 23:53 (nine years ago) link
from geeta, via the twittervine:
Great, rare doc by Charles Atlas on NY noise, feat. John Zorn, Lydia Lunch, Arto Lindsay, & more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-2sb9DcgUI … via @visaforviolet
― dow, Monday, 22 December 2014 03:22 (nine years ago) link
Another via Twitter (another haven't had time to watch yet): My Nashville---BBC doc, intrepid Bob Harris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mg0cbPObxA
― dow, Monday, 22 December 2014 03:49 (nine years ago) link
Worthwhile Crass Documentary -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LQ1CvwF7BQ
― MaresNest, Monday, 22 December 2014 09:03 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAfJZxi0hio
^^^^ Documentary with English subtitles about Polish new wave rock under Communism in the eighties.
― Wristy Hurlington (ShariVari), Monday, 22 December 2014 09:25 (nine years ago) link
Flying Nun: Heavenly Pop Hits includes really old NZ videos you've probably never seen:
http://youtu.be/sjUDemQFznA
― SCOTTISH PEOPLE ONLY (I M Losted), Monday, 26 January 2015 13:13 (nine years ago) link
haven't seen that since it was first shown here, but the sight of m4rtin phi11ips' dead possum art is bringing it all back :-/
5 seconds into part 2 and you can see a roof/chimney just down the street from where i'm sitting.
― no lime tangier, Monday, 26 January 2015 14:10 (nine years ago) link
TRIBUTE, an early-'00s look at tribute bands, is one of my favorite documentaries
http://vimeo.com/78953694
― maura, Monday, 26 January 2015 14:49 (nine years ago) link
Intriguing, thanks! Hope Lez Zep is in there. Dunno if this is the whole thing, but looks promising; will check both of these when more time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyzL6D-5znY
― dow, Monday, 26 January 2015 15:22 (nine years ago) link
"From $3.99" on YouTube and well worth it: 20 Feet From Stardom, about back-up singers (I saw it in a theatre, was blown away, plus it got me thinking about white male classic rock superstars' reliance on black female & some male supersources, even aside from white male etc. w music of Chuck Berry etc.; also still quite evident---no big lectures here: more show than tell, though lots of cogent lines from all concerned)
― dow, Monday, 26 January 2015 15:32 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWyUJcA8Zfo
― dow, Monday, 26 January 2015 15:33 (nine years ago) link
20 Feet is on Netflix instant too
― Wu-Tang Clannad (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 26 January 2015 19:41 (nine years ago) link
February 9th only. Not perfect but worth seeing
Starting right now, for 24 hours only (until 10 a.m. Eastern tomorrow), Pitchfork.tv is hosting a full stream of Kiley Kraskouskas' film The Last Song Before The War, a feature documentary about Mali's Festival in the Desert. Festival in the Desert was a music festival held annually near Timbuktu, beginning in 2001. In 2012, Northern Mali was taken over by separatist rebels and Islamic militants, and the festival was forced into exile. The Last Song Before The War tells the festival's story, featuring performances from the 2011 edition. The film features Vieux Farka Touré, Tinariwen, Leni Stern, Oumou Sangaré, Habib Koité, Bassekou Kouyate, Amy Sacko, Group Amanar, and Tartit, with appearances from Bono of U2 and writer Banning Eyre. Watch the full film below, for 24 hours only.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 9 February 2015 15:26 (nine years ago) link
Christ is there ANY music documentary Bono hasn't insinuated himself into? Now he's an expert on Malian desert music? GO AWAY.
― Hadrian VIII, Monday, 9 February 2015 17:01 (nine years ago) link
Sorry! Link to Night Flight is in here:https://mailchi.mp/nightflight/fugaziinstrument?e=42851f1305
― dow, Saturday, 17 December 2022 20:11 (one year ago) link
Only tangentially music, but I watched this Milton Glaser (famous Dylan poster, various album covers) documentary off YouTube last night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ1YHqgZzGQ
― clemenza, Tuesday, 17 January 2023 00:52 (one year ago) link
This is so great -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO4N_wgbl-o
― MaresNest, Friday, 15 September 2023 21:06 (eight months ago) link
I have no idea who Miller miller miller and sloan are but watched the first 10 minutes and the music sounds fantastic and the documentary interesting.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 15 September 2023 21:15 (eight months ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWP_fmRnDEc
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 19 September 2023 15:46 (eight months ago) link
The Death (band) documentary^
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLvCp7zqzxs
― MaresNest, Tuesday, 19 September 2023 15:47 (eight months ago) link
I actually saw a bit of that - also didn't know who they were before, but one of those guys went on to build a pretty good career as an engineer. (He even worked on 3 Feet High and Rising.)
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 19 September 2023 17:46 (eight months ago) link