Music documentaries

[non capisco]

Yeah, I enjoyed that documentary but it hinged on you believing a lot of bullshit like literally no-one outside of South Africa had heard of Rodriguez since the 60s. 'Sugar Man' cropped up quite regularly on things like Late Night Tales compilations and the sort of mixes you'd get on night time Radio 1 in the early 2000s.

My bugbear with music documentaries is how so many of them these days want to illustrate their story with shitty little animation inserts. That new Shane McGowen one is the latest offender for this, countless cutaways to poxy little Joel Veitch-esque renderings of a cartoon child McGowen drinking beer and dancing on a table with leprechauns and whatnot. I first noticed it on the Stooges one from a few years back, think the Kurt Cobain 'Montage Of Heck' film may have done it a lot as well. It always looks crappy and dated and feels faintly patronising. I'll take a slow pull out/pull in rostrum camera on a photo over a childish rendering of a schoolkid listening to a radio and a lightbulb appearing over their head any day.

[NoSleep]

My bugbear with music documentaries is how so many of them these days want to illustrate their story with shitty little animation inserts. That new Shane McGowen one is the latest offender for this, countless cutaways to poxy little Joel Veitch-esque renderings of a cartoon child McGowen drinking beer and dancing on a table with leprechauns and whatnot. I first noticed it on the Stooges one from a few years back, think the Kurt Cobain 'Montage Of Heck' film may have done it a lot as well. It always looks crappy and dated and feels faintly patronising. I'll take a slow pull out/pull in rostrum camera on a photo over a childish rendering of a schoolkid listening to a radio and a lightbulb appearing over their head any day.

Are they trying to mimic the brilliant series "Mike Judge Presents Tales From The Tour Bus" do you think?

[SteveDave]

Are they trying to mimic the brilliant series "Mike Judge Presents Tales From The Tour Bus" do you think?

I forgot about that series. Some amazing episodes. Even the people I didn't necessarily care about were a great watch. Swamp Dogg appearing in the Johnny Paycheck one was a lovely bonus.

[JaDanketies]

"I said she was fucking Goofy"

Mickey Mouse in court.

"Mr Mouse, I'm afraid that your claim that your wife is 'crazy' is not grounds for divorce."

"Your Honour, I didn't say she was crazy. I said she was fucking Goofy."

[JaDanketies]

My bugbear with music documentaries is how so many of them these days want to illustrate their story with shitty little animation inserts. That new Shane McGowen one is the latest offender for this, countless cutaways to poxy little Joel Veitch-esque renderings of a cartoon child McGowen drinking beer and dancing on a table with leprechauns and whatnot.

That reminds me to recommend the TV series Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus.

[SteveDave]

That reminds me to recommend the TV series Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus.

I forgot about that series. Some amazing episodes. Even the people I didn't necessarily care about were a great watch. Swamp Dogg appearing in the Johnny Paycheck one was a lovely bonus.

[JaDanketies]

oops

[thugler]

The Shadows At Sixty.

It's on the Iplayer and it's a strange watch in a lot of ways.  Paul McCartney's not 'normal', but Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch are a totally different abnormal.  It just lets them get on with expressing their weirdness, without judging.

There aren't episodes of drugs or wild antics, but there is pantomime, and a reminder of what pantomimes used to be like.

Well worth a watch, subtly strange.

Loved this! as you say, pretty odd guys and the naff stage moves are hilarious

[Custard]

Heh, that's great

Ended up quite enjoying Once Were Brothers. Focused more on all members of The Band as it went along, though you can tell a lot was being left out. A good watch though

[pigamus]

The Scottish one where that touring band goes round the Highlands in the seventies and they all have a nervous breakdown and the bloke threatened to sue and they couldn't show it for years as a result.

[NoSleep]

You've just reminded me:

Trouble At The Top - Bucks Fizz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2dAMA3R4pA

Bucks Fizz invite the burger van man and tory cunt David Van Day (formerly of Dollar) into the band and the shit (not one but two Bucks Fizz's) hits the fans.

[Custard]

Trouble At The Top is fantastic. Pity it's so short, as a two hour version would've been amazing!

[mrClaypole]

You've just reminded me:

Trouble At The Top - Bucks Fizz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2dAMA3R4pA

Bucks Fizz invite the burger van man and tory cunt David Van Day (formerly of Dollar) into the band and the shit (not one but two Bucks Fizz's) hits the fans.

I can watch that over and over again. David Van Day is brilliant at being a cunt

[steveh]

Three that I particularly liked from the past few years:

808

The story of the legendary drum machine. Like so many music docs there's a famous talking heads bit at the start but once it gets past that it becomes more interesting and covers both the 808's use from hip hop to house and beyond plus why it sounds like it does.

Uncle Art

Not big on games, but this is a lovely doc on legendary British games musician Dave Lowe. Brought back a lot of memories about the limitations of attempting music on Spectrums and Atari STs then ends on the orchestration of the music from Elite.

Lee Thompson: One Man's Madness

In which Lee Thompson plays the parts of everyone in the story of his musical life, from relatives to band members to Neil Brand, while using their original voices. A lot of later history I had no idea about (like Crunch).

[kngen]

Fair came to Scotland in the early 90s and the local indie scenesters were all over him, like it was JFK visiting Berlin or something. Because of the buzz, I felt obliged to see him twice while he was here, but couldn't get the adulation at all. Maybe I'd just embraced grumpy old man-dom a decade or two too early, but there was an air of Emperor's New Clothes hanging over the whole thing, though I kept it to myself as I wasn't in a position where I could afford to offend the local indie pop stars more than I absolutely had to.

I'd probably really like him now.

It would be around this period that he helped my old flatmate move out of our house in Kelvinbridge. I carried a table downstairs with him. Given our relative physiques at the time, it had the aesthetic of the 'Laurel and Hardy move a grand piano' sequence, but it passed without incident.

[sevendaughters]

I liked that Jeremy Deller documentary where he shows bits of rave footage and British culture to sixth formers and does a lecture on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thr8PUAQuag

[Pauline Walnuts]

The Scottish one where that touring band goes round the Highlands in the seventies and they all have a nervous breakdown and the bloke threatened to sue and they couldn't show it for years as a result.

Tutti-Frutti?




(Winky face)

[DrGreggles]

Lee Thompson: One Man's Madness

In which Lee Thompson plays the parts of everyone in the story of his musical life, from relatives to band members to Neil Brand, while using their original voices. A lot of later history I had no idea about (like Crunch).

Watched this recently. Very entertaining.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I always recommend the Dave Clark documentary that's occasionally on BBC4 - it's good for all the wrong reasons, and unintentionally hilarious throughout. It's supposed to be about the DC5 but actually it's all about DC and the number of high status talking heads he can get on-screen singing his praises.

https://youtu.be/GfOlijx0tZU?t=6757

That's one of the funniest vanity projects I've ever seen. Clark presents himself as one of the leading lights of '60s pop, an artist on a par with the Beatles and the Stones, when in reality he was just a canny businessman with zero musical talent. A total chancer.

Macca in particular looks slightly bemused during his interview, as if it's only just dawned on him that he's expected to say glowing things about the Dave Clark fucking Five. It's well worth a watch.

[DrGreggles]

Clark's shit 80s musical had about 25 minutes devoted to it.
Whereas the deaths of 2 DC5 members are mentioned in a single sentence.
Astonishing vanity from Clark.

_{Written by Dave Clark
Edited by Dave Clark
Produced by Dave Clark
Directed by Dave Clark
Music based on tunes originally whistled by Dave Clark}

[Custard]

The new Zappa one is avaaaailable

[lazarou]

Obvious choice alert but Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story is wonderful and one I've revisited quite a few times.

[Bingo Fury]

The Scottish one where that touring band goes round the Highlands in the seventies and they all have a nervous breakdown and the bloke threatened to sue and they couldn't show it for years as a result.

Here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzmpYKW-8GU&t

Because I can't resist plugging it every chance I get.

[studpuppet]

Here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzmpYKW-8GU&t

Because I can't resist plugging it every chance I get.

Cheers Bingo - I'll have a look at that. Sounds like they got the backbone of the story for Tutti Frutti from it, though?


Are we interested in audio documentaries here as well as visual ones?

[JaDanketies]

A friend of a friend is the star of this documentary where he and his mum go on a tour with Cradle of Filth. His mum initially doesn't like them and thinks it's all devil music, and is somewhat underwhelmed by the reality of them sitting in greasy spoons drinking tea and being polite.

[Yussef Dent]

Macca in particular looks slightly bemused during his interview, as if it's only just dawned on him that he's expected to say glowing things about the Dave Clark fucking Five. It's well worth a watch.

I noticed that when I saw it, there appears to be a gradual realisation from him in each talking head piece on just how much of a narcissistic rigmarole this all is, and by the end he's actually starting to take the piss a bit. As if he's thinking "what you actually want me to say is that the Dave Clark Five were bigger than The Beatles, that's entirely what you've got me in here for isn't it? Look, alright then, I'll f***ing say it."

[SteveDave]

The new Zappa one is avaaaailable

Why.

[Custard]

Heh, I don't even like his music, apart from Jazz Fart, but I do find the man and his career fascinating

[Magnum Valentino]

A friend of a friend is the star of this documentary where he and his mum go on a tour with Cradle of Filth. His mum initially doesn't like them and thinks it's all devil music, and is somewhat underwhelmed by the reality of them sitting in greasy spoons drinking tea and being polite.

Ma boy Nicholas Barker there, the best 'fat guy drummer' of all time.

This also documents the last days of the mid 90s for Cradle of Filth. By the time the next album was released half of these guys were gone. At this stage (98, 99 or so), I'd argue they were the best metal band on the planet, and this is supported by the sort of momentum that led to the BBC following them around for a documentary.

[the science eel]

Why.

It's a good doc in the sense that it's comprehensive, lots of footage (especially from the early years) but yeah, it did nothing much for me 'cept reinforce my opinion that Zappa was a sneering arrogant wanker who wouldn't recognise a good tune if it popped up and bit him on the hooter.