Music Documentary Gems.....................Eisenthal

Music Documentary Gems to Watch Now

by Lily Eisenthal

Great documentaries rely on great personalities. There are so many big personalities in music, it’s no wonder that music docs are so watchable and entertaining. They can introduce you to artists you’ve never heard of, give you intimate portraits of superstars, and even make you feel like you are there, experiencing a concert first-hand. These documentaries blend music and reality in magical ways. Here are some favorites that you can find in our very own libe or on the ‘net.

DiG! (Ondi Timoner, 2004) - Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols

DiG! will always be my #1 favorite music documentary. Funny and heartbreaking with great psych-rock in between, it’s a must-see. This film follows two bands, the Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, over the course of several years as they navigate the music industry, what it means to “sell out,” and an increasingly bitter rivalry. Anton Newcombe’s (frontman for BJM) egomaniacal personality shines through, producing the doc’s most memorable moments. Strangest scene: Harry Dean Stanton shows up at a BJM house party.

Don’t Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, 1967) - Bob Dylan

Do you want to watch Bob Dylan be a total dick to everyone he meets? I know I do. This black and white feature follows Dylan and his entourage on his 1965 tour of England. Watch for Joan Baez’s funny faces, a Donovan-versus-Dylan “folk-battle,” and Dylan’s evisceration of a TIME Magazine news correspondent. Includes what could be considered the first lyric-video for “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Strangest scene: Dylan holds a giant light-bulb during a press conference and says, “Keep a good head and always carry a light-bulb.”

Searching for Sugarman (Malik Bendjelloul, 2012) - Rodriguez

Probably the most fascinating of them all, Searching for Sugarman follows the story of ‘70s Detroit-based singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who is described as an “American Zero, South African Hero.” He produced two solid albums that never found an audience in the US but somehow made their way into apartheid-era South Africa and turned Rodriguez into a folk-hero. The film follows two South African fans as they go on a quest to find out who the mysterious musician really was. Cold Fact (1970) could qualify as the most slept-on rock album ever in the US - 6 people bought the record when it first came out, and it’s brilliant.

20 Feet From Stardom (Morgan Neville, 2013) - Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer

This is like required reading for your popular music education. Backup singers have laid the foundation for so many terrific pop songs, but they rarely get the credit they deserve. 20 Feet explores the strange space that these (mostly) black women inhabit and introduces the unknown voices that round out and enrich those old songs you love. I live for Merry Clayton’s raw vocals on “Gimme Shelter.”

Want more? Check out:

Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, 1984) A rad Talking Heads concert doc

One Plus One/Sympathy For the Devil (Jean-Luc Godard, 1968) The creative process for the Rolling Stones’ song mixed with politically subversive imagery