Popular Music
see all genres ›There are few more fascinating demonstrations of human diversity than the vast range of popular musical styles not to mention the stellar performers and personalities each has fostered.
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Genres / Music / Rockumentary / Popular Music
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Heavy Metal Parking Lot
Hailed by Cameron Crowe as "one of the greatest rock movies ever made," HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT documents the parking lot tailgating at Capital Centre in Largo, Maryland, in the hours before (and the moments after) a Judas Priest concert in May 31, 1986 (the "JUN 23 1995"...Watch Movie
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Brian Eno: The Man Who Fell to Earth
Brian Eno: musician, composer, producer, music theorist, singer and visual artist. Probably best known for his early work with Roxy Music, his production duties for U2 and Coldplay and as one of the principal innovators of ambient music. This first-ever documentary film about...Watch Movie
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Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise
Years ahead of his time, composer, keyboard player, bandleader, poet and philosopher Sun Ra coupled images of outer space with those of ancient Egypt, acoustic instruments with electronic ones and modern American musical genres (jazz, soul, gospel, blues, swing) with the...Watch Movie
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Rebel Scum
The Bible Belt and Punk Rock collide in the most controversial documentary of the year, chronicling two years in the life of Knoxville white trash punk band the Dirty Works. Centered on self-destructive frontman Christopher Scum, take a peek inside a seedy underworld where mental illness,...Watch Movie
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My Career as a Jerk
From the beginning, Los Angeles punk band the Circle Jerks were rooted in controversy. Formed by ex members of Black Flag and Red Cross (now Redd Kross) in late 1979, the band came to encapsulate the image, sound and energy of California Hardcore Punk. Filmmaker David Markey...Watch Movie
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Jobriath A.D.
Seventies glam rock musician Jobriath was known as the "American Bowie," "True Fairy of Rock and Roll" and "Hype of the Year." The first openly gay rock star, Jobriath's reign was brief, lasting less than two years and two albums. Done in by a over‐hyped publicity machine, shunned by the gay...Watch Movie
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Salad Days
An examination of the early DIY punk scene in the Nation's Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi and others released their own records and booked their own shows-without major record...Watch Movie
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Bob and the Monster
This award winning documentary follows outspoken indie-rock hero Bob Forrest, through his life-threatening struggle with addiction, to his transformation into one of the most influential and controversial drug counselors in the US today, appearing alongside Dr. Drew Pinsky on...Watch Movie
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The Color of Noise
The story of Tom Hazelmyer (aka Haze XXL) and his notorious record label, Amphetamine Reptile. Throughout the '80s and '90s the label would achieve almost cult-like status for being adventurous and daring in the midst of a time where "safe" punk rock would rule the airwaves...Watch Movie
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From Straight to Bizarre
In 1968 Frank Zappa set up the Bizarre and Straight record labels. FROM STRAIGHT TO BIZARRE reviews the astonishing music that came out on Bizarre and Straight and reveals the background, operations and the lives of the musicians, performers and management who made these...Watch Movie
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Black Wax
BLACK WAX is a musical-political entertainment film produced and directed by Robert Mugge in 1982. It was the first American film to be fully funded by Britain's then-brand-new Channel 4 Television and also likely the first film to use Steadicam from first frame to last. BLACK WAX centers on the...Watch Movie
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This is Bossa Nova
Paulo Thiago's acclaimed documentary THIS IS BOSSA NOVA tells the story of Bossa Nova, the Brazilian music born in the early-1950s that would attain definite international recognition a decade later with a memorable concert at New York's Carnegie Hall. This film includes...Watch Movie
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You Weren't There
YOU WEREN'T THERE: A HISTORY OF CHICAGO PUNK 1977-1984 looks back on the impact that the Punk movement had on the Windy City. Though overlooked in the annals of Rock history when compared to media-centric Los Angeles, New York and London, Chicago served as an important early...Watch Movie
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I'm Now
This documentary tells the story of Mudhoney from their very beginnings, to following them on their recent world tour and everything in between. Complete with testimonials from friends, music industry veterans and musicians such as Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, Sonic Youth's Thurston...Watch Movie
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Sonic Outlaws
Within days after the release of Negativland's clever parody of U2 and Casey Kasem, recording industry giant Island Records descended upon the band with a battery of lawyers intent on erasing the piece from the history of rock music. Craig Baldwin follows this and other intellectual property...Watch Movie
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Everyday Sunshine
From the shifting faultlines of Hollywood fantasies and the economic and racial tensions of Ronald Reagan's America, Fishbone rose to become one of the most original bands of the last twenty-five years. With a blistering combination of punk and funk they demolished the walls...Watch Movie
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We Fun
The Black Lips, King Khan and the Shrines, Deerhunter and others perform tracks from their groundbreaking albums, documenting the independent rock scene that exploded out of Atlanta, Georgia. Featured on Pitchfork Media's One Week Only in 2009, WE FUN is an important piece of music history, both...Watch Movie
