Fan of a good documentary? If you’re a music buff as well, then read on. We’ve compiled a list of great music documentaries you could watch right now and one you can anticipate. Our list is eclectic and includes the old, the new, and more. Get inspired. Take a seat and relax.
Top Pick: Moonage Daydream
Release: April 29, 2023
Watch it on Apple TV, Amazon, and Youtube
Not your standard and basic music documentary, which we think is a good reflection of the star of the Show. If you know Bowie, you know he was out-of-this-world, literally. A completely creative and colorful iconoclast who defined a generation and became a timeless figure in music and culture.
Moonage Daydream won’t succeed at acquainting you with Bowie, but it will show you his colorful life. Clips from concerts, never before seen clips from his life reminiscent of a modern vlog, and clips from his music videos have all been mixed up to create a beautiful and trippy documentary.
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If you’re a movie buff, Morgen even uses scenes from movies like A Clockwork Orange and Space Odyssey, all to merge and sync with Bowie’s well-known alien-superstar vibe. Moonage Daydream is all about the feeling and the sensation and less about words.
Commentary is added in a very hip and unique way. We advise that you watch it on a huge screen with a fantastic sound system. If you want to watch a documentary that goes beyond and offers elements that are more ethereal and artistic to watch, then this should be on your list ASAP. It was made by Brett Morgen to be an immersive and psychedelic experience, so put your volume up and turn your lights off.
Gimme Shelter
Release: 1970
Watch it on Youtube
Let’s not glorify the glitz and glamor without acknowledging the underbelly of the beast in music. Gimme Shelter will wake you up. It’s the Maysles Brothers and Charlotte Zwerin’s accounts of the famous and iconic Rolling Stones Band and their US Tour of 1969.
The main subject of the documentary focuses on the Altamont Concert, a notorious event in the history of music due to violence and death. Directly in stark contrast to a sunny 60s ideal. Just a quick overview for those who are curious, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival was a
counterculture festival featuring numerous rock bands (California).
During The Rolling Stones’ performance times, the crowd was increasingly getting violent and getting into fights with Hell’s Angels members. The motorbike gang members were hired to act as bodyguards during the festival but proved to be quite the violent entourage. This didn’t clash well with the rowdy and fired-up audience members.
The festival ended in a death and stabbing, as well as an LSD-induced drowning and two car accidents. Gimme Shelter successfully portrays a more gruesome and ugly side to the rock and roll scene in the 60s, all of which naturally seems to follow the fast life — unfortunately.
Buena Vista Social Club
Release: 1999
Watch it on Amazon
The inspiring story of the Buena Vista Social Club would resonate with any fan of the underdog type. A story about the rise of stardom from less-expected roots. Multigenerational and talented Cuban artists took the world by storm after forming the Buena Vista Social Club in 1996.
This documentary accounts for their first hit album to their worldwide stage performances, with many lively shots of their concerts. If you want a trip down memory lane and adore the sounds of Cuban culture, you’ll want to watch this one.
J-Hope in the Box
Release: Feb 2023
Watch it on Disney+
While we love the classics and the old-time trendsetters, we don’t want to neglect what’s happening in the modern world. If you haven’t been living under a rock these past few years, you’ve probably heard of BTS, the superstars from South Korea that made KPOP a global phenomenon.
BTS’ fandom and popularity rose to such a wild level that they were the first South Korean artists who became TIME magazine’s Entertainer of the Year for 2020, spoke at the UN, and won plenty of Billboard music awards (and nominated for several Grammy awards). These were unprecedented achievements for KPOP.
So, if you’re a fan or are curious about the KPOP culture that South Korea brought to the world, then you might want to watch the personal story and struggles of one of BTS’ members: J-Hope. J-Hope’s documentary accounts for J-Hope headlining Lollapalooza and being the first South Korean artist to do so. And, of course, it gets more up close and personal.
Clusterf—: Woodstock ’99
Release: 2022
Watch it on Netflix
Another sobering documentary that goes beyond the collective consciousness bias on festivals like Woodstock, this documentary, directed by the talented Jamie Crawford, takes account of the collapse of the iconic phenomenon “The Woodstock” festival.
Woodstock ‘99 was made in the hopes of celebrating and paying tribute to Woodstock ‘69. But as you can already anticipate, it went wrong. As you’ve already noticed, the title says it all in this case, and yes, you could judge the book by its cover. This documentary shows the violent and ugly turns which happened in the now notorious festival.
Sexual assault, violence, and property damage took the front stage and, unfortunately, ruined a potentially great festival. The documentary reveals the organizers’ short-sightedness and failure, bad weather, overcrowding, and the whole lot, which spelled trouble for the uptake.
In this sobering piece, music festivals can be seen as a reflection of larger issues in society, including aggression, systemic inequality, misogyny, and the indifference of large corporations who only want to make a profit and perhaps will turn a blind eye to the safety of the masses.
Final Thoughts
We hope you’ll enjoy our recommendations. As we’ve said, the list is quite eclectic, so there should be one for different fans of different genres. Music and artistry are endlessly intriguing subjects. The lives of many musicians are typically filled with intrigue, and sitting down to immerse yourself in their stories can be quite an experience.
Editor-in-Chief | Seat42F, a leading source of entertainment news, information, television and movie resources.
