In the past couple of months we’ve put together two different collections of music docos that are available right now for your viewing pleasure. From features on Jeff Buckley to the first ATP Festival our selections have covered iconic artists and albums as well as groundbreaking record labels and events.
Not to be outdone though our current list of six amazing documentaries might just be our best yet. From the story of Kate Bush to Kraftwerk and Island Records there are hours of content below waiting to be devoured by music nerds.
So jump on in, we’ve got your couch viewing sorted for the evening.
The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill (2014)
At the end of August, the famously enigmatic Kate Bush announced she will be returning with her first live performances since 1979 in a 22-night concert series at London’s Eventim Apollo. The shows sold out 77,000 tickets in a matter of 15 minutes.
Coinciding with Bush’s momentous comeback to the present world – not that her influence has waned in those three decades of inaction – BBC have released an hour-long documentary on this truly once-in-a-life-time auteur.
The doco features talking head cameos from the likes of St. Vincent, Elton John, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Kahn, trip-hop legend Tricky, Big Boi, Stephen Fry, and many others, with their commentaries played between archival footage of Bush’s past interviews (including one with Australia’s very own Ray Martin), live performances, and iconic music videos.
“They’re not normal songs; none of her songs have been. She’s just who she is. She’s unique. She’s a mystery. She’s the most beautiful mystery,” Elton John says in one of his interviews.
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If you’ve forgotten the mystery of Kate Bush, let these captivating 60 minutes remind you exactly why this woman’s career is so legendary.
Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution (2008, Dir: Rob Johnstone)
Want to know where modern day electronica gets much of its inspiration, or simply just a Kraftwerk fan? You’ve just stumbled on three hours worth of quality watching.
2008 documentary Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution is the most in-depth look into a pioneering band that have left one of the longest lasting impressions on modern music. As The Observer notably once stated, “no other band since the Beatles has given so much to pop culture”, and it’s a bold statement that holds complete merit; with everyone from David Bowie and Radiohead to Kanye West and Lorde citing these robotic Krautrock gods as their prime influences.
Over 180 minutes this documentary travels through the band’s career from their inception in the late ’60s to their peak in the ’70s – a period that went on to almost single-handedly redefined pop music – whilst also hearing from some of Kraftwerk’s contemporaries and also tracing the technological developments that allowed for electronic music to evolve.
The brilliant soundtrack of course features much of Kraftwerk’s back catalogue as well as the works of Pierre Schaffer, Can, Kluster, Popul Vuh, Klaus Schulze, Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, Human League, Gary Numan, and more.
You can watch the full film on YouTube, albeit tediously split into 18 parts. You can start the ride right here.
Behind the Eaters: A Documentary on Superfans (2014, Dir: That Jam)
This one’s short and sweet.
As the story goes, Bristol DJ Eats Everything, aka Daniel Pierce, experienced a somewhat relatively normal rise to prominence in 2011, but for some reason boasts a somewhat disproportionate amount of “super fans”, or what he has affectionately dubbed, “Eaters”.
This year the producer and his swarming following of Eaters became subject of a short documentary filmed by director duo That Jam.
Behind the Eaters: A Documentary on Superfans provides an enthralling and candid look into the world of mega fans; and while it focusses specifically on this Bristol DJ’s fanatics, it’s applicable to the music world as a whole.
Only, the internet has pretty much confirmed the whole thing to just be a brilliant piece of satire. And it has to be, really, because it’s all too hilarious to be real.
From the dorky Eaters to the superb one-liners like, “They call it house music, right, but they make it in the shed!”, it’s the kind of awkward is-it-or-isn’t-it-real cringe that Ricky Gervais built his career on.
Merge Records: 25 Years in 24 Minutes (2014)
Who are Merge Records and why should you care?
You may not have heard of this label, but we’re betting you’ve heard a few of the records they’ve released over the years. This documentary features talking heads with various staff members who are all delightful and entertaining interview subjects – right from the first 20 seconds when co-founder Mac McCaughan self-deprecatingly responds to the question “Do you know how many records you’ve sold?” by quipping, “It’s probably less than like one Michael Jackson record”.
While that answer is correct, Merge Records have a long-list of highly acclaimed and influential indie releases to their name, and it’s why they’re one of the most respected labels in the industry. Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel and The Magnetic Fields are just some of the high calibre names on their roster.
Google recently hung out with Merge and made this short documentary celebrating the independent label’s quarter anniversary. The result is a 24-minute doco that provides an interesting perspective into how the founders got this respected company up-and-running, how they established themselves and stayed true to their guns, as well as how indie music labels function on the whole.
If you’re interested seeing how cogs turn behind the scenes, this one has your name on it.
Keep On Running: 50 Years Of Island Records (2009, Dir: Stuart Watts)
If looking at an indie label doesn’t quite grab your interest, then let’s raise the stakes a little bit: how about a documentary that gives you access into one of the biggest record labels in the world?
That’s right Island Records turned 50 years old in 2009 and to celebrate they put together this comprehensive insight into the workings of the Jamaican-founded label, which was built by Chris Blackwell. For the uninitiated Blackwell and Island Records is seen as the man responsible for exporting Reggae and Ska out of Jamaica and into the ears of listeners around the world.
Narrated by Damien Lewis (the guy from Showtime’s Homeland) Keep On Running takes you behind the ups, downs and roundabouts of the label’s rise to fame. With insights from former label acts such as Amy Winehouse, PJ Harvey, Brian Eno, Cat Stevens, Keane and Grace Jones amongst a host of others the documentary gives viewers a decent look at just how the label has transformed into what it is today.
Complemented by news archivers and rare performance footage Keep On Running is more than just the story of reggae music gone global, it’s an absorbing look into how record labels and the music industry has changed over the course of fifty years. (Corey Tonkin)
PressPausePlay (2011, Dir: David Dworsky, Victor Köhler)
Feeling overwhelmed about the ocean of music that’s available on the net today? It’s becoming increasingly harder to keep up with the amount of acts releasing new music and discerning what’s actually worth keeping track of. PressPausePlay takes a moment to step back and analyse how the information age has really affected the creative community.
Sure, there is a plethora of opportunities for artists to make it in today’s world that simply weren’t available in the last century, but this documentary seeks to ascertain whether the digital age has brought forward better art, film, music and literature or whether ‘true talent’ is being lost amongst mass mediocrity.
Featuring interviews with Hot Chip, Robyn and Lena Dunham PressPausePlay tackles an issue that isn’t widely talked about; does the rise of the internet provide too much of a good thing? (CT)
