Born in New York in 1949, Elliott Murphy becomes one of the new Dylans in the '70s; most critics from the era praise his albums; still, he makes a bigger connection with European audiences, becoming a worshipped artist in countries overseas.
Lo Sound Desert is a documentary about the Californian Desert music scene, which gave birth to bands like Kyuss and Queens Of The Stone Age. What basically started by revolving punk rock kids - hidden from narrow-minded authorities of suburban desert communities in the early 80s, became a vibe over the years. The film provides a unique insight into the history of the Coachella Valley music scene: From never-ending jams in the middle of the desert to headlining huge European stages - Desert Rock, often misinterpreted as musical genre continued its underground spread and became international treasure. Lo Sound Desert is narrated by Josh Homme, Brant Bjork, Mario Lalli and many others from bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss, Fatso Jetson, Dalis Llama, Hornss, Fu Manchu etc.
Martin Scorsese and the Rolling Stones unite in "Shine A Light," a look at The Rolling Stones." Scorsese filmed the Stones over a two-day period at the intimate Beacon Theater in New York City in fall 2006. Cinematographers capture the raw energy of the legendary band.
Created from backstage material filmed during Queen’s 1977 USA News of the World tour, this documentary was included in a special box set of Queen's landmark 1977 album News of the World, marking the 40th anniversary of the original release.
Currently all the rage with hipsters worldwide, Chicago Juke music has roots that run deep. The film chronicles the birth and evolution of a genre over 25 years. A fascinating watch!
Father John Misty performs a career spanning setlist at The Ryman in Nashville, TN, during the tour for his 5th studio LP, Chloë and the Next 20th Century
In "Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl," a platinum-selling pop dissident turns her back on the music business and learns how to survive as a punk renegade, TV wrestling queen, and DIY leader of an all-girl band. This high-energy, female-centered rock odyssey reveals the treacherous line that today's artists must walk to survive while making art on their own terms in the modern digital economy.
A portrait of the Chicago Near-North nightlife scene in the mid-1960s, centering around the struggles and romantic desires of an African American singer played by long-forgotten folk sensation Willie Wright. (Courtesy Chicago Film Archives)
Anton Spielmann (18) and his two younger friends Basti Muxfeldt and Jonas Hinnerkort are living in their family homes with their parents in an idyllic village close to Hamburg. The three of them founded the band 1000 Robota. The band has an ambitious aim: „We want to cause creation not to remind of it”, and they want to live up to their ideals. In a society affected by economic pressure 1000 Robota are questioning themselves and others and they don‘t want to meet other people‘s expectations. In a world of excessive supply they are looking for significance and want to unite with others to create a new way of youth culture. But soon they have to face some serious difficulties.
Elvis: The Definitive Collection
Can flipping through the channels change your life? For Karen, a former prosecutor living in Chicago, her world changed forever when she accidentally fell in love with telenovelas. Now she has quit her job, and she's moving to Mexico City to write the telenovela she's always wanted to watch.
Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.
January, 1947. The public receives the news of Al Capone's death with indifference, although twenty years earlier he had ruled Chicago's crime underworld with brute force and corrupting many touchable individuals. Until the day the head of the Untouchables Brigade, Eliot Ness, entered the scene. Since then, a cruel battle between the two of them began, a battle that ended in trial, conviction, disease, insanity and death.
Sunken Treasure follows Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy on his February 2006 solo acoustic tour. The footage was recorded over five nights and features songs from three of his current and former bands: Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, and Loose Fur, plus an unreleased track, "The Thanks I Get." The film is directed by documentarians Christoph Green and Brendan Canty, himself the former drummer of Fugazi.
Radiohead plays songs from their album In Rainbows for a webcast broadcast on New Years Eve. The film was made by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich, Adam Buxton, Garth Jennings, Stanley Donwood, Ric Jerrom, Hugo Nicolson and Dan Grech-Marguerat.
A surprisingly intimate portrait of how the dream of running one’s own business can take on monstrous contours. Managed by the father of one of the singers, over the course of five years the girl band 5Angels had reached the gates of pop fame. But it is a path paved not only with the songs of Michal David, but also with the dogged determination of a man who loses any notion of where his role as manager ends and his role as parent begins. An emotionally moved Karel Gott, five angelic girls, and one overly involved father, thanks to whom the behind-the-scenes pre-Christmas atmosphere melts away just as rapidly as the fat should disappear from the belly. “A singer can’t be a lard bucket!”
The Happy Child is a story of "New Wave" rock genre predominant in the ex-Yugoslavia during the socialist 70's and 80's.
Have you ever wondered who are the people who appear as characters in Azra's songs? This documentary provides the answer to at least some of the questions.
Short subject documentary by Julien Nitzberg about the legendary "psychobilly" musician and infamous wild man Hasil Adkins. Filming takes place in Adkins' own yard, his shack, and at various concerts. Adkins is notable for helping create an entirely new form of rock/rockabilly/country fusion, which he plays entirely by himself (with a guitar and drums simultaneously).
Talented teen musicians from around the USA spend a week working with Grammy nominated professionals