Rock Documentaries

I like watching documentaries in general and rock documentaries in particular. Anyone seen any good ones you can recommend? (I'm not looking for the usual suspects as I have probably seen it.)

 

I enjoyed Heavy Metal in Baghdad

 

Maybe not "rock", but "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" about The Funk Brothers [the backing players] is one of the finest I've seen.

 

There has to already be a huge thread that lists tons of stuff on here somewhere.

 

I just watched Sound City, a doc about the legendary L.A. recording studio. Highly recommended.

 

These are probably my favorite non usual suspects docs:
Anvil: Story of Anvil
Devil and Daniel Johnston
We Jam Econo
Joy Division
Motorhead
clash future is unwritten
luna tell me you miss me
Dig!
Fugazi Instrument
Roky Erickson You're gonna miss me

 

I would not have made the distinction. I watch docs for all types of music, even country.

I'd like to see a running list started if it hasn't been done already.

 

I would agree with the Roky Erickson "You're Gonna Miss Me"
"Jandek on Corwood" film is a realy interesting look at another 'outsider' musician.
"American Hardcore" is an excellent film about hardcore punk-rock.
Penelope Spheeris' "Decine of Western Civilization" parts one & two, are both excellent - part one is Los Angeles punk in the late '70s & part two covers the later '80s hair-metal boom in L.A.

 

There is another thread around here somewhere about this--

The last good one I saw was "Last Days Here" on Netflix streaming

 

You're Gonna Miss Me is amazing.

Jandek on Corwood on the other hand left much to be desired. Too little information to try to stretch out and fill an entire feature length doc. Plus Jandek reveled himself and started playing live shows like two months after the film came out. Talk about bad timing.

 

Last Days Here. The story of Pentagram's lead singer Bobby Liebling. Very highly recommended.

Another vote for You're Gonna Miss Me.

 

Any (almost) of the classic albums documentaries.

 

We Jam Econo is a great, great doc on the Minutemen. Saw it before I really even knew the band's music, just caught it on, I believe, IFC one day, and thought it was fascinating.

And as a huge Rush fan I may be slightly biased, but I have it on good authority that even casual fans enjoyed Beyond The Lighted Stage.

 

Yes! We Jam Econo
Excellent doc. If you buy the DVD there are two complete shows included

 

Not really a documentary , but the movie "24 Hour Party People" is a fantastic film recounting the life of Tony Wilson and the birth of Factory Records!

 

Born to lose.

 

Another State of Mind (1982) - Covers the adventures (as well as the misadventures) of punk bands Social Distortion and Youth Brigade as they tour across the US and Canada in a broken down school bus.

 

I love "The Filth and The Fury" about the Sex Pistols, it's all in their own words, done really well and brutally honest. Not a huge fan of them, but this one is better than most.

I saw a trailer for a movie about Ginger Baker that I hope turns up on Netflix one day and there was also a 2 part series about the Eagles recently that was really good and I can't stand the Eagles. There was also a recent Rush documentary that gave me a different image of the group, still can't listen to their music, but they all seem like good down to earth guys.

 

There is a new documentary out about The Source Family that is really good.

 

I recommend Mother Hips in "This is the Sound"

 

Yep. Even if it's not one of your favorite albums, it's still interesting to hear how it was made and the stories behind it all. I really liked the Pink Floyd - DSOTM & Meat Loaf - BOOH ones.

 

Couldn't You Wait? about the band Silkworm is great. If you have the slightest interest in 90's alt-rock, you should see this.

 

Ghost Blues: The Story Of Rory Gallagher/ Netflix

 

queens of british pop

…. Under Review

Rock Family Trees….

Hawkwind

Free - Inside Free

Paul Simon's music

Tad - (Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears)

X - The Unheard Music

Radiohead - Meeting People Is Easy

Grand Funk Railroad – History

Walk On By - The Story Of Popular Song

Robbie Robertson-Documentary

Dookie documentary

Imagine – The story of the guitar.

The search for Robert Johnson

Sweet Home Alabama – The Southern Rock Data

The Story Of Rory Gallagher

The Sweet documentary All that glitters

Edith Piaf biography

Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock and Roll

Amy Winehouse - The Girl Done Good

THE PAUL WELLER STORY

Mark Knopfler: A Life in Songs

The Undertones - Here Comes The Summer

Frank Zappa BBC

Andrews Sisters, Queens Of The Music Machines

The Pixies - 'Gouge'

John Peel's Record Box

Pavement - Slow Century

Good Rockin, Tonight. The Legacy of Sun Records .

Ronnie Hawkins: The Legend

Patti Smith - Dream Of Life

New York Doll

 

The last while has been an incredible time for music documentaries. There's been so many good ones. The last while I really enjoyed Twenty Feet From Stardom, Sound City and BBC4's documentary on Quadrophenia.

The documentary on Death that Scott Mosier produced sounds great, I was listening to him explain it on the Smodcast podcast he does with Kevin Smith on the way home from the Who show I saw in Hamilton last Februrary. I look forward to seeing that. Although I guess some people are saying it could have been better, I'd really like to see the new Big Star documentary at some point as well.

Some of the Sexy Intellectual DVDs are quite good. I especially liked their ones on Frank Zappa, The Freak Out List and From Straight to Bizarre (the Bizarre/ Straight Records story.)