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What Music Movies Are Worth Watching?


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I asked this question quite a long time ago, but what's being shown on services like Netflix is always in flux. They have a bunch of music-oriented documentaries, Hulu has "Eight Days a Week," and so on.

 

Have you seen anything recently that you would recommend?

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I enjoyed the Elton John film. I am a big fan already, so....

 

The Echoes of the Canyon I liked even better - about the Laurel Canyon scene, etc. Also already a big fan.

 

There's a fascinating film about Thelonious Monk called Straight No Chaser. Highly recommended for jazz fans.

 

nat

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I saw Echoes of the Canyon. It reminded me of when music was more of a social phenomenon. That's one of the things I really miss about big studios - interacting with other musicians and engineers.

 

For those who want to know what the 60s musical explosion was about Echoes of the Canyon gives a pretty accurate idea. Besides, who doesn't like Rickenbacker guitars? :)

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This is old but absolutely stellar. A TV crew filmed a show on a Muddy Waters tour with Big Moma Thornton, George "Harmonica" Smith, Big Joe Turner.

It don't get no realer than this.

 

 

This is old be great too and maybe a bit off the beaten path. Joni Mitchell on tour with Jaco, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny and other first chair musicians.

 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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This one just came up in Keyboard Corner and is well worth watching.

 

 

The most recent issue of Tape Op is devoted to Dub music, from whence came Hip-Hop. Lots of interesting interviews and history there, subscription is free. www.tapeop.com

 

Last but certainly not least - EVERYBODY needs to see "Rumble, The Indians Who Rocked The World." Very important for those who want to understand the true origins of American Music.

Rumble really filled in the blanks for me, I knew something was missing from the usual "Africans and Europeans blended their musics" stories that have been told so often. There is more to that story, this is it.

Available for a small fee on YouTube.

 

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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One in studio concert that I stumbled on a year or two ago is "The Homewood Sessions" . Recorded in an L.A. TV studio over a period of several hours. I love the 1970 hippie vibe. And someone named Sweet Emily who was a fixture in a Tulsa music scene (I think she was making a pie during the filming). This was when I was a big fan of Leon's piano playing.

The Homewood Sessions (Leon Russell)

 

 

A documentary on Chet Baker, cool jazz trumpeter and vocal crooner.

Let's Get Lost (Chet Baker)

 

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YES! Thanks Dave for posting those. I've seen Standing In the Shadows of Motown 3 or 4 times, a classic. James Jamerson is still my first choice for most influential bassist of all time - Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Geddy Lee and I am sure many others cite him as an important influence.

 

Haven't seen 20 Feet From Stardom, will add it to my "must see" list - the movies about The Wrecking Crew and the Muscle Shoals studio band.

The Andantes were amazing and few know of them.

 

Bit of trivia, Larry Knectel - keyboards and sometimes bass with the Wrecking Crew - moved up here to Whatcom County. I was here when he was here but too stupid to seek him out.

I ended up in a band project with his son Lonnie, who is a brilliant bassist/saxophonist/EWI-ist. That band went nowhere but we've remained friends and I hired him for a studio session plus the band I am now in used him as a pick-up bassist for a couple of shows last summer. He used to tell Larry Knectel stories at practice, could probably write a book.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Bit of trivia, Larry Knechtel - keyboards and sometimes bass with the Wrecking Crew - moved up here to Whatcom County. I was here when he was here but too stupid to seek him out.

Also a member of the band Bread...and I believe he was the piano player on Bridge Over Troubled Water as well.

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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Bit of trivia, Larry Knechtel - keyboards and sometimes bass with the Wrecking Crew - moved up here to Whatcom County. I was here when he was here but too stupid to seek him out.

Also a member of the band Bread...and I believe he was the piano player on Bridge Over Troubled Water as well.

 

dB

 

Yes, he won a Grammy for the arrangement on Bridge Over Troubled Waters. He was in Bread.

And he played on so many iconic records that it staggers the mind.

Lonnie said every year Phil Spector would send Larry an Christmas card.

 

One of the "unsung icons" who made the music happen, there are MANY!!!!

Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco etc. To say nothiing of the Funk Brothers or Muscle Shoals and certainly there would be a crew like that from NYC? Cheers, Kuru

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I stumbled across Hitsville: The Making of Motown on Showtime last night (I don't know where it is available otherwise). It was really good. Much of it was interviews with Berry Gordy and his best friend, Smokey Robinson. It's amazing both those guys are still around and seem fine. They are also hilarious together. :) Other interviews included Holland-Dozier-Holland, Valerie Simpson, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson brothers, and others. Much of it was about how Gordy created and ran the business, including what he learned from his time on the assembly line at Ford, which he took to the "factory" of making hits and stars at Hitsville, U.S.A. I need to see Standing in the Shadows of Motown to go with it. They did leave out a lot, probably because it was covered elsewhere.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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I stumbled across Hitsville: The Making of Motown on Showtime last night (I don't know where it is available otherwise). It was really good. Much of it was interviews with Berry Gordy and his best friend, Smokey Robinson. It's amazing both those guys are still around and seem fine. They are also hilarious together. :) Other interviews included Holland-Dozier-Holland, Valerie Simpson, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson brothers, and others. Much of it was about how Gordy created and ran the business, including what he learned from his time on the assembly line at Ford, which he took to the "factory" of making hits and stars at Hitsville, U.S.A. I need to see Standing in the Shadows of Motown to go with it. They did leave out a lot, probably because it was covered elsewhere.

 

Some of the story is probably lost forever or just the short version is available. It would be fascinating to hear James Jamerson's story but he is gone, his tales untold.

I'm sure there are many others, what happened to The Contours, who cut Do You Love Me instead of the Temptations and gave Motown one of it's first smash hits?

 

EVERYBODY needs to see Standing In The Shadows of Motown, the songs are still vibrant and alive, classic pop masterpieces.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Here's a mad one: "Phantom of the Paradise," Brian DePalma's carnival of a 70s rock opera based on Faust. It doesn't age well in certain obvious ways, but the Paul Williams songs are pretty damned good and suit the show well. Its also infamous for the presence of T.O.N.T.O., which appropriately stands in for the Phantom's classic pipe organ. Its the ideal double-feature with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," but both are one big groaning, eye-roll as you laugh. The musicianship is tight in both movies, which is easy to enjoy. Honorable mention for the Monkees' "Head" and Zappa's "200 Motels." If you're prone to smoke weed, these four justify clearing your schedule for it. They're pretty hoary, so you'll have more fun. :puff::laugh:

 

If you prefer bodice-rippers, check out "The Red Violin." :cool:

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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Just stumbled onto this, first song is playing right now, it jumps right into music. A Tribute to Muddy Waters wth an all star line-up.

 

 

Koko Taylor is killin' it. Keb Mo, Buddy Guy, Greg Allman, G.E. Smith Band along with Barry Goldberg and Charlie Musselwhite etc

 

Some footage of the Rolling Stones playing a small club with Muddy Waters.

 

Not much talkin', just rockin'.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Here's a mad one: "Phantom of the Paradise," Brian DePalma's carnival of a 70s rock opera based on Faust. It doesn't age well in certain obvious ways, but the Paul Williams songs are pretty damned good and suit the show well.
Oh boy, when I was sixteen I dated someone who loved that movie. I remember, like, the first half, maybe?

 

Will echo that 20 Feet from Stardom is a must-see. Also, the 90s Beatles Anthology doc is well worth the many hours it takes to watch, if anyone still hasn't seen that.

 

The Classic Albums mini-documentary series pops in and out on Amazon a lot. Some of them are just fair, but others have some wonderful insight... the one on The Band's self-titled album (also delves a bit into Music from Big Pink) is one of the best; Levon demonstrating his approach to singing and drumming is worth the price of admission, and then there's the occasional cut to Garth Hudson improvising chorales on early 90s synthesizers instead of actually engaging in an interview.

 

Also, I just re-watched Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous," and it remains one of my favorite films.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Not sure if it's available anywhere else, other than on DVD or on Marillion's own streaming service "The Space" (on marillion.com), but try to track down "Unconventional". How they've connected with their fans, and turned a label-less "cult following" into a series of great conventions and weekend gatherings. Not to mention allowed them to survive as a band, and keep creating great music.

 

Trailers...

[video:youtube]

 

[video:youtube]

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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Bill Frisell created music for an exhibition of photographs called "Disfarmer", named after the photographer Mike Disfarmer. Very remarkable photographs - mostly poor farmers and family members, mostly from the 40s.

 

Frisell put out a CD of the music, but there's also a great DVD that cuts between shots of the photographs and video of Frisell's band playing the accompanying music.

 

Here's 10 minutes out of the whole that's on YT:

 

[video:youtube]

 

nat

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  • 4 weeks later...
Netflix's "The Eddy" is a good eight-part series and has some excellent Jazz. All the music, and there's a lot, is played live during the recording by real musicians. The music is quite good! I read that they were thinking of taking the band used in the movie on the road, but coronavirus changed all that...
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I recently watched the Bob Dylan documentary, No Direction Home, I believe it was called but I can't remember if it was Netflix, Amazon Prime or one of the other things we have now. It was very interesting and much longer than a normal movie. I was particularly amused by the press interview clips with the thought of media discussion that's been happening in other threads here.
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