Music Documentaries

[vint]

full disclosure: my list was just me going to wiki page for "music documentaries" and listing all the ones I have seen

Where/when did you see You Weren't There? I wanna see that! Is it online?

[Whet Bull]

I like Jandek on Corwood too.  That doc is pretty divisive it seems.  The way I see it, the film folds over on itself: the first half is people speculating about Jandek, offering fanciful (or... um, STUPID) interpretations, and projecting all kinds of personal desires and inecurities onto his work, the result being a probably completely inaccurate portrait of who he is; the second half reveals him to be an incredibly self-aware artist who enjoys fucking with his audience and who staunchly refuses to disclose anything about himself.  And the kicker is, that isn't quite accurate either.  So... I think it works.  

I missed Kill Your Idols on that list.  It's true, that movie is awful, judging from the bits of it I saw on IFC or Sundance or whatever.  A complete and utter piece of shit.  

[vint]

Jandek on Corwood is worth it alone for the shots of his record covers with his songs playing over top of it in brief snippets. It's like lil commercials for his music. Cool.

[tina]

full disclosure: my list was just me going to wiki page for "music documentaries" and listing all the ones I have seen

Where/when did you see You Weren't There? I wanna see that! Is it online?

I remember watching it in my bedroom when we were living Beadel Street.  I netflix'd it.  I don't know where you were, tour?

[tina]

full disclosure: my list was just me going to wiki page for "music documentaries" and listing all the ones I have seen

Where/when did you see You Weren't There? I wanna see that! Is it online?

I remember watching it in my bedroom when we were living Beadel Street.  I netflix'd it.  I don't know where you were, tour?

NEVERMIND - I read that as "You're Gonna Miss Me" --- I haven't seen You Weren't There, sorry, I lied

[tina]

I missed Kill Your Idols on that list.  It's true, that movie is awful, judging from the bits of it I saw on IFC or Sundance or whatever.  A complete and utter piece of shit.  

It's true, complete dog shit!  I think I saw it "Watch it now" on Netflix, but didn't make it through the whole thing.

I don't remember minding 1991:TYPB - but I only saw it years ago when I was in my Nirvana haze.

[Damn]

I missed Kill Your Idols on that list.  It's true, that movie is awful, judging from the bits of it I saw on IFC or Sundance or whatever.  A complete and utter piece of shit.  

It's true, complete dog shit!  I think I saw it "Watch it now" on Netflix, but didn't make it through the whole thing.

i don't remember that much besides a very very very very frustrated lydia lunch taking the piss out of EVERY YOUNG BAND ON EARTH it seemed ("young folks are STILL playing guitars! lame! how uncreative!! play a fucking tuba, for chrissakes!"), glenn branca doing kinda the same, less frustrated but drunker and some new bands of the time just embarassing themselves mostly by total blandness. funniest thing was this band (2 dudes, long hair? or were they more and hair shorter? see i CAN'T REMEMBER!) that had the biggest pseudo-ego (besides lunch) and that i NEVER EVER heard about before or after the doc. most idiotic interview partners i've ever seen. best dude was the drummer of bad seeds/bassplayer of teenage jesus and even he was a verbal poseur that seemed to be "reciting" his answers.

[NATE K]

I missed Kill Your Idols on that list.  It's true, that movie is awful, judging from the bits of it I saw on IFC or Sundance or whatever.  A complete and utter piece of shit.  

It's true, complete dog shit!  I think I saw it "Watch it now" on Netflix, but didn't make it through the whole thing.

I don't remember minding 1991:TYPB - but I only saw it years ago when I was in my Nirvana haze.

I watched TYPB with some friends not too long ago. It's okay. Everyone wore their clothes so big back then. HUGE! It's good for a laugh.

The footage is good, especially the Nirvana footage. I probably enjoyed trying to read Thurston Moore's various t-shirts best of all.

[Whet Bull]

I remember my least favorite part of TYPB was Thurston standing outside Iggy's trailer going, "Here, Iggy, Iggy!" like he's calling a dog.  Dude, fuck you.  Iggy sees him, ignores him, looks vaguely bemused. 

[poopfoote]

would love to see the akron doc.

my favs have already been mentioned:

dig, MC5 - true testimonial, american hardcore and the decline of western civilization 2 (especially the odin part)

and although not a true documentary, the Badfinger Behind the music is an entertaining hour

[janitorfrommars]

there are many problems with jandek on corwood - 1. the subject isn't really that interesting (except to fans of jandek) 2. the filmmakers' treatment of the subject makes it even less interesting and 3. the level of filmmaking is fairly hamfisted throughout.

documentaries like that one make me understand how an underground market based on nth generation shitty vhs dubs of concert footage could subsist for so long.

btw i'm half way through the patti smith dream of life documentary, which has potential despite (because?) crazy arty affectation

[erickelric]

funniest thing was this band (2 dudes, long hair? or were they more and hair shorter? see i CAN'T REMEMBER!) that had the biggest pseudo-ego (besides lunch) and that i NEVER EVER heard about before or after the doc. most idiotic interview partners i've ever seen.

Oh, you must be talking about ARE Weapons, the greatest band to ever walk the streets of New York City. I think they just started playing again. Aren't we lucky?

[Carolyn]

The best one I've seen recently is "Great Australian Albums: The Saints '(I'm) Stranded'". Great early footage of the band, interviews with Chris Bailey, Ed Kuepper, record producer Rod Koe and other Australian musicians from the time. Covers the early years, but then stops right after that album. It made me love the LP all over again even though I never really stopped loving it. Like a Behind the Music doc, but done right.

[Whet Bull]

there are many problems with jandek on corwood - 1. the subject isn't really that interesting (except to fans of jandek) 2. the filmmakers' treatment of the subject makes it even less interesting and 3. the level of filmmaking is fairly hamfisted throughout.

documentaries like that one make me understand how an underground market based on nth generation shitty vhs dubs of concert footage could subsist for so long.

btw i'm half way through the patti smith dream of life documentary, which has potential despite (because?) crazy arty affectation

If anything documentaries about subjects like Jandek or Roky Erickson or Half Japanese are problematic BECAUSE they try to appeal to an audience broader than those artists' existing cults.  

I disagree that the filmmaker's treatment of the subject is boring.  You're right that as a work of filmic art it is perfunctory but I don't go into a movie about Jandek expecting Tardkovsky or even Corman.  A filmmaker's obsession with Jandek immediately suggests to me a near-total absence of creative fire -- Jandek is quintessentially uncinematic; there is no story to tell, and his body of work is founded on stasis and goofball spectrometry.  Yeah, I said.  So what?  Wanna fight about it?  That said, the movie is a perfectly decent essay about the artist and about the nature of fandom, the art of audience manipulation, and the power of mystique.  It is more subtle than you give it credit for.  What does anyone expect out of a film like this?  Gimme Shelter?

[TheKLYAM]

we jam and devil and daniel are the only ones I've seen and i enjoyed both throughly