I’ll watch a rock doc on almost any artist, whether I’m a fan or not. Case in point: Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon, which is one of the worst docs I’ve ever wasted my time on. But I watched it from beginning to end. The following three, however, are incredible, well-crafted films with fascinating subject matter.
The Defiant Ones (HBO)
Following the careers of producers Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, this four-part doc intertwines the incredible stories of these two seemingly disparate artists and in doing so tells the story of pop music of the last several decades. From Springsteen’s Born to Run to Death Row Records and the murder of 2Pac to Napster’s destruction of the industry to their big payoff with Apple and Beats by Dre, it’s all told here with finesse and verve.Long Strange Trip (Amazon)
The Grateful Dead doc is indeed a long (239 minutes) and strange (dosing the coffee at a performance on Playboy After Dark) trip. At almost four hours, I could’ve gone a couple more. And that’s coming from an, at best, casual Dead fan. Through the fog, I came to appreciate their musicianship and stubborn approach to the music industry as well as their fellowship with one another and their fans.Presenting Princess Shaw (Netflix)
Unknown singer Samantha Montgomery (aka Princess Shaw) had been posting original, a cappella songs to YouTube to little response. But they caught the attention of Israeli musician/producer Kutiman who, unbeknownst to her, used one of her tracks as the basis of his music video project Thru You, which incorporates found YouTube clips into an astonishing final product. Montgomery’s extremely hard-luck story turns feel-good after the clip goes viral and she becomes a YouTube sensation. I cried from beginning to end.– Listings Editor Mark Fagan
This article appears in August 11 • 2017.