My husband and I are watching "Get Back" and have just been blown away by it. I was a huge Beatles fan in high school (early '80s), though it's been a long time since I've revisited their music. My husband never got into the Beatles, so all of this is new to him and absolutely enthralling. A lot of it is new to me, too. For instance, I always understood Lennon to be the genius of the band, but watching Paul McCartney create has made me re-evaluate. (What I didn't know about Lennon is what a great guitar player he was.)
But the best part of watching this documentary is getting to sit in the room and watch the creative process in action. There's a great article in The Washington Post today (behind a paywall unfortunately) with commentary about "Get Back" from various musicians, including Jeff Tweedy, who's the perfect person to talk about this stuff. One of my favorite quotes, though, is from Brian Fallon, who says about the songwriting process, "The truth is you’re literally making something out of nothing," which is true of any creative endeavor. You see this as Paul's messing around on the guitar (or maybe the bass? I've never seen anyone use the bass like a guitar like he does) and out of this incoherence of chords and a kind of loud humming comes a song. I'll watch that clip over and over. It's one of the most exciting things I've ever seen.
Yes, same here: Lennon was always my hero, but, for better or worse here, Paul is trying to take the lead. (Lennon wrote A LOT more in the early days.) And I assumed George played the guitar solo on Get Back. And Paul's strumming that bass like a guitar while he invents "Get Back" is unreal. it's truly great.
I caught Strad Style (2017). A novice violin maker with a very limited income, commits to build a Stradivarius copy for a world class musician he met on YouTube. He combines centuries old techniques and modern DIY. It’s quirky and odd star loves lowriders and classical music. A story of a person with a passion.
Appreciate the list. Sound of Metal was a find and well-casted.
Oh, another documentary I missed was MR. SOUL! https://www.mrsoulmovie.com
There are a bunch of old episodes of SOUL! streaming for free on shout factory: https://www.shoutfactorytv.com/series/soul
My husband and I are watching "Get Back" and have just been blown away by it. I was a huge Beatles fan in high school (early '80s), though it's been a long time since I've revisited their music. My husband never got into the Beatles, so all of this is new to him and absolutely enthralling. A lot of it is new to me, too. For instance, I always understood Lennon to be the genius of the band, but watching Paul McCartney create has made me re-evaluate. (What I didn't know about Lennon is what a great guitar player he was.)
But the best part of watching this documentary is getting to sit in the room and watch the creative process in action. There's a great article in The Washington Post today (behind a paywall unfortunately) with commentary about "Get Back" from various musicians, including Jeff Tweedy, who's the perfect person to talk about this stuff. One of my favorite quotes, though, is from Brian Fallon, who says about the songwriting process, "The truth is you’re literally making something out of nothing," which is true of any creative endeavor. You see this as Paul's messing around on the guitar (or maybe the bass? I've never seen anyone use the bass like a guitar like he does) and out of this incoherence of chords and a kind of loud humming comes a song. I'll watch that clip over and over. It's one of the most exciting things I've ever seen.
Yes, same here: Lennon was always my hero, but, for better or worse here, Paul is trying to take the lead. (Lennon wrote A LOT more in the early days.) And I assumed George played the guitar solo on Get Back. And Paul's strumming that bass like a guitar while he invents "Get Back" is unreal. it's truly great.
Happy to see you included Sx by Sondheim. He was simply, the best, and an important part of my career.
This talk from '71 is incredible: https://soundcloud.com/92y/lyrics-lyricists-stephen-sondheim
One I really liked from last year: The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5tncybE7Wg
I caught Strad Style (2017). A novice violin maker with a very limited income, commits to build a Stradivarius copy for a world class musician he met on YouTube. He combines centuries old techniques and modern DIY. It’s quirky and odd star loves lowriders and classical music. A story of a person with a passion.
I really liked the Aretha Franklin series on National Geographic Channel.