last sunday’s post regarding exploring music documentaries during ‘the great hunkering down’ was quite popular, and a number of commenters suggested some additions. i have since watched a few more and thought of some others i have seen in the past that still bear watching again.

i am also working on a post to suggest some new music that has been recently released that is worth considering. most from lesser known artists that could use some financial support right now.

until then, here are some things to watch this weekend:

‘amazing grace’ – aretha’s album of the same name was recorded live in a church. this contains much of the footage as it was recorded, and the process they went through. be prepared to be moved, whether you are religious or not.

‘ i’m trying to break your heart’ – documents the making of wilco’s ‘yankee hotel foxtrot’ album. a look into their creative process, but also the turmoil that was surrounding the band at the time.

‘the kids are alright’ – brad recommends this classic look at the who.

‘birth of the cool’ –   dave c. recommended this exploration of the life of miles davis.

ms. redeyegin and i watched it last night. a must see.

‘the quiet one’ – explores the career of bill wyman, bass player for the stones. bill documented the early years of the stones with film, and much of that is used here to great effect.

‘classic albums, aja’ – if you like steely dan, this is a great behind the scenes look at their musical genius. again, you could binge watch these all day, or at least i could. also check out ‘dark side of the moon’ and ‘who’s next’.

‘classic albums – rush’ – greg w. recommends this one, and i concur. i had seen it before, but watched it again on the day we learned of neil peart’s death.

‘long strange trip’ – the ultimate guide to the phenomenon that was the grateful dead. be prepared to settle in, as it is four hours long.

‘the grateful dead movie ‘ – an oldie but a goodie.

‘classic albums – from anthem to beauty’ – a look into the making of ‘anthem of the sun’ and ‘american beauty’.

that’s enough for now. be safe out there.

 

what a week this has been. while our nation and the world grapple with this novel coronavirus, it has become abundantly clear that our daily lives have been uprooted for the time being. to be sure, not all of the upheaval will be felt equally by everyone. the redeyegin household has so far been minimally affected by it (although my neighbor just got quarantined). but many individuals and businesses will be taking the full blunt of it. how does this relate to the usual topics of this blog? well, the live music industry is being decimated right now. major music festivals are being cancelled and/or rescheduled left and right. i myself have tickets for all four days of the new orleans jazz fest in early may, and by all accounts it will be cancelled some time this next week. touring musicians are suspending their events – either because the artists are looking out for the safety of their fans and themselves, or because the venues are shutting down for various reasons. here in ohio, the governor has put restrictions on public gatherings of over 100 people, which makes running a small music venue nearly impossible. i have tickets to two upcoming shows at my favorite local club. the first has already been rescheduled to the fall, but the other has not. unless things change for me this week (and lord knows they might), i intend to go and tip the bartenders well.

what to do in the meantime? get yourself outside and go for a long walk, and then when you come inside, go to your favorite music website and buy a new release from an up and coming artist. they need you now more than ever.

after that, consider expanding your musical horizons and knowledge base by hunkering down with a nice beverage and explore some of the great music documentaries out there. i have mentioned a few over the last couple of months (‘bluebird’ , ‘echo in the canyon’), but i will provide a few more below that i have been watching over the winter.

here they are, in no particular order:

‘twenty feet from stardom’ – a great view into the world of female background singers.

‘rolling thunder revue’ – explores the legendary tour promoting the ‘desire’ album.

‘classic albums- the band’ – one of the best of the old vh1 series. by the way, you can really go down a rabbit hole with these. i have watched at least a dozen of them. just a teaser here until robbie’s movie ‘once were brothers’ is available to stream.

david crosby ‘remember my name’ – a look at his turbulent life.

linda ronstandt ‘the sound of my voice’ – the life and times of her career.

drive by truckers ‘the secret to a happy ending’  – chronicles the genesis of the band, including the early career of jason isbell.

‘the wrecking crew’ – the story behind one of the great group of studio musicians from the sixties and seventies. see also ‘muscle shoals’ and ‘the funk brothers’.

‘gimme shelter’ – an accounting of the disastrous altamont concert.

‘fyre’ – how not to plan a music festival.

zz top ‘that little ol’ band from texas’ -the history of one of classic rock’s greatest bands.

 

that’s enough for now. if you have suggestions for others to watch, leave them in the comments section. take care out there.

as my friend dave c. once told me a couple of decades back when i was getting all uppity about not being a country music fan, his reply to me went something like ‘i get what you are saying, but the best songwriting comes from that genre’. i now understand there is a lot to that notion. ‘three chords and the truth’ is a phrase from the fifties that attempts to describe the simple nature of a country song. i am not sure why country has such an underpinning of great songwriting – we could argue that it usually comes from rural areas and hard scrabble life, the rough nature of the honky tonks, and so on. ken burns’ recent documentary ‘country music’ spent a lot of time on this and i think got to the core of it. but at the end of the day i am not sure we really need to analyze it. it has always been true, and i see no sign of it fading. you could argue that country has gotten too commercial and there are a lot of bad songs out there, but that has always been true about country over time, and has been true of many other genres. i am not denying that aspect of country, but i feel pretty confident in saying that we are currently living in an incredibly vibrant period of access to great songwriting, and most of it comes from the americana/country/ folk universe.

if you find this topic compelling, i urge you to check out a new documentary about the bluebird cafe. i was familiar with its existence, and i have some albums recorded there, and i generally knew about the status as a songwriters mecca. but this movie goes into great details about its history, and offers some very good live playing from tons of artists – some you will know, and many you will not. when mrs. redeyegin suggested to watch it last night, i was intrigued by the prospect of learning more about this club, but i told her i was turned off by some of the names in the marquee – namely taylor swift, garth brooks, and faith hill. don’t let that scare you off. all three were discovered there, but they all play small cameos, and it is clear that they are not the true story that is being told here. this is a story about a hole in the wall joint in a strip mall outside of nashville, that somehow became the place to go if you wanted to get your story out. it is also about how songs get written in nashville, and how it is rather unique in the fact that it is not unusual when more appreciation is given to the songwriter, rather than the singer. getting to the bluebird is now on my bucket list.

my only small beef is that it spent most of the time showcasing how just about anybody can audition to play there, and have a chance at being a taylor swift. it didn’t spend much time on people who came there just to get their song heard, and be appreciated for that. songwriters who needed to tell a tale, and didn’t want to get ground down by the nashville musical industry. can you just imagine being there to see these three playing together?: