I searched the forum and didn't find a doc thread. Maybe there's one in film/tv. Anyway, if you're into grunge, proto-punk stuff, I'm Now The Story of Mudhoney is good. It's mostly talking heads mixed with live footage, so aesthetically not cutting edge. But the story is interesting and the music is great (not a surprise if you're a Mudhoney fan).
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Is it on YouTube?
Sounds interesting, I know nothing about them bar a few songs. -
I think this is the same one I watched a couple of months back (I'd be surprised if there were two competing docs). I texted my son after it and said we'll go to see them when they eventually go ahead with their UK tour (it's been re-scheduled at least twice already), and wowed him with the "Nirvana were their support band, not the other way round" fact.Originally posted by danielmak View Post
There is quite a seam of them on Amazon Prime (over here at least), the L7 one was good too, It is one of the reasons I took to Prime a lot more than I did to Netflix, which sort of remains my daughter's domain (though I am working through The Queen's Gambit). I've got a few in the lengthy watchlist, I'll report back if I find anything worth recommending.
White Riot has been on Sky Arts recently, and worth seeing, but think it is back on pay-per-view streaming now.Comment
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Yes, as Walt notes, AE, this one is on Prime. I enjoyed the L7 doc as well. I knew them back in the day so that doc resonated a bit more because of that connection. I've been in the middle of the Radio Birdman doc as well but keep forgetting to finish it. Also, on Prime. There is also a great mix of DC punk documentaries. I think Salad Days might be on there. And the doc about Jawbreaker is on there as well, which is interesting. Jawbreaker never had the same fame as Mudhoney or L7 but are probably doing better now in terms of ticket sale (now being pre-covid) and the story about their rise and implosion is both common (interpersonal relationships) but also unique (feeling the pressure from the underground to remain underground).Comment
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I think I may have mentioned on another thread that the Bluenote documentary on BBC (still on iplayer I believe) is well worth watching.Comment
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Interesting Conny Plank one available on UK Prime with appearances from wingco.Comment
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This one is on Starz in the US so I'll check it out. I'm a fan of the label (as much as I can find time to listen to jazz--probably have about 40 jazz CDs and many would be on Blue Note).Originally posted by Tony C View PostComment
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I liked the Mudhoney one.
I haven’t seen any of the DC ones recently, but I think I’ve seen them before.Comment
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Amandla - music of resistance during apartheid. Released in 2002. Still on Netflix I think.Comment
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I also liked the Mudhoney one, was surprised to see Mark Arm working in the Sub Pop warehouse, surely the songs on Superfuzz Bigmuff get played enough to keep you housed and fed? Or probably not, but every song on that record is timeless and superb.
Netflix is poor for music docs, but there are 2 superb ones to see out. The first is the story of Big Star "Nothing Can Hurt Me". I love Big Star, but that documentary made me appreciate the Chilton Bell fleeting moment of hyper creativity more than ever.
The other Netflix doc I liked a lot was "Camaronn Revolution", detailing the life of the hard living Flamenco singer.
There are so many good documentaries on Prime, the L7 one is really good as mentioned. There's a superb Beefheart documentary called "under review", it looks nothing special, but it's totally worth watching.
"Finding Joseph I" about HR from Bad Brains is really moving, dealing with HRs mental health issues.
My absolute favourite music documentary on Prime, and I'd rate it as one of the best documentaries I've seen, is "As the Palaces Burn", which should be about the hard gigging, second division metal band Lamb of God, but ends up being a court room documentary covering the surreal manslaughter case of singer Randy Blythe. I'm fairly sure I posted about it on here after watching it, but it is a faultless bit of right-place right-time documentary making, but what really makes it is the emotional maturity of Randy Blythe, who is a bit of a f*cked up waster at the start of the documentary, but grows to become totally self assured, lucid, wise and honourable as he faces a huge prison sentence for a crime he was totally unaware of committing.Comment
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Btw, in the midst of the Prime love in this thread (I really don't get the fuss about Netflix) "The Battle for Algiers" is on Prime right now, unmissable.Comment
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I watched The Go-Go's one that came out a few months ago. It starts really strong, then peters out significantly at the end skipping a fairly massive section of time and kind of short-shrifting Jane Wiedlin. Worth watching if a fan just for the early years and the 'formative' UK tour with Madness & the Specials. Middling recommend.
The Tribe Called Quest one (from a few years ago made by 'that' guy Michael Rapaport (ugh)) is essential watching if a fan, but a bit of disappointment overall. There are bits that I could have watched more of that felt cut short to focus on the 'bitterness'. Left kind of a bad after-taste.
"A Band Called Death" is worth a watch. Captures a certain side of the United States very well.
Just marked Amandla to watch later. Not sure how I've missed that.Comment
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Not much on Netflix, as far I can see. But the Tribe Called Quest one that Matt mentioned is on there, as is Hip Hop Evolution.
Not really a documentary and I don't even know what it's called but I really like the programmes on BBC4 where they just sit musicians in front of the TV and show them clips of fantastic artists and they just wax rhapsodic about them. Nothing more than that but it just works. Partly because I always appreciate creative people talking about other creative people but mostly because the two ones I have seen featured Roxy Music and Stevie Wonder.Comment
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On that line, google "Big Boi Kate Bush" from pitchfork. Great stuff.Comment
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I'll check out the Big Star doc for sure. I'm a big fan of their music.
I liked the GoGos doc and the Tribe doc. GoGos did feel a little VH1 Behind the Music feel but that Stiff 7" and the first album are still really good so I was into it.
I posted about this before, but I really recommend a doc about a college radio show in New York in the early 90s-late 90s (maybe) called The Stretch and Bobbito show (or something like that). If you are into rap and liked that Tribe doc, look for this one as well. It's a really good doc about New York underground rap becoming more mainstream.
I also posted about this in the TV/film thread but Prime has The Other Music documentary, which was a record store in New York. Again, I have a personal connection so am a little biased but as a music fan, it's a really nice doc about an eclectic shop and how much the employees loved music. Definitely not the High Fidelity record store snobbery.
I keep contemplating that HR doc because I love the Bad Brains, but I feel like I'm better off keeping my head in the sand. Haha.Comment
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Somebody should just reboot Behind the Music. They all followed the same pattern.Comment
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Yes, I remember you posting about that 90s rap show the other week in the hip hop thread. Where can you watch it?Originally posted by danielmak View PostComment
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The trailer is here. It looks like in the US right now it is only available as a stream for rent, but I don't know about other parts of the globe. Youtube has a link with the same title but it's an old radio show. (EDIT: It might be on Netflix outside the US.)
https://stretchandbobbito.com/film
Last edited by danielmak; 26-11-2020, 01:14.Comment
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I think the Big Star doc has been taken off Netflix. Just tried to access it but not available. Pity, I quite fancied that.Comment
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There's a Fela Kuti one hanging around on the iPlayer for another 24 days.Comment
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Replied. Thank you.Comment
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The Big Star documentary is definitely worth seeking out.
As is one on Gene Clark. I remember reading something comparing the two which said although the Clark one was presented as a tragedy and the Big Star story as a triumph, it should really have been the other way round.Comment
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Where might I find the Gene Clark documentary?Comment
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The recent Dave Crosby doc, is also on Netflix. Well worth a lookComment
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