Songs for Cassavetes (2001)

Director
Justin Mitchell

Main cast
Unwound; Sleater-Kinney; Tullycraft; Some Velvet Sidewalk; Henry's Dress

Genres
Documentary, Music

Description
In this documentary from director Justin Mitchell, the world of the U.S. indie-music scene of the 1980s and '90s is explored, specifically with regard to how it transcended clichés about where music was heading in that era. Taking its title from renowned independent cinema pioneer John Cassavetes, the black-and-white film takes a peek at several fringe bands of the period, including Sleater-Kinney, the Make-up, and the Hi-Fives, and their various attitudes toward the ever-changing business.


Similar movies

A documentary about the band X. Includes live and studio performances and interviews with the band members.
A rockumentary profile of a true music original. Offstage he was withdrawn, almost shy. Onstage he strapped on his kiss-the-sky Stratocaster and shattered all notions of how a guitar could be played. In this thribute authorized by his estate, Jimi Hendrix comes to vivid life in funny and touching recollections by family, friends and other legends of rock like Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger ...
Award-winning director Fatih Akin takes us on a journey through Istanbul, the city that bridges Europe and Asia, and challenges familiar notions of east and west. He looks at the vibrant musical scene which includes traditional Turkish music plus rock and hip-hop.
Documentary chronicaling the rise and fall of the punk movement with rare interview footage of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. Also concert and news footage.
Lord Don't Slow Me Down is a rockumentary film, looking back on British rock band Oasis' Don't Believe the Truth world tour which took place from May 2005 to March 2006.
In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West's most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.
A rockumentary about four Hungarian musician: Mester Tamás, Papp Szabi, Ganxsta Zolee and Tóth Tibi. They moved in together for seven weeks to record an album, put together a concert while they were recorded by the crew who made a music documentary film of the whole work.
Hear My Train A Comin’ unveils previously unseen performance footage and home movies taken by Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell while sourcing an extensive archive of photographs, drawings, family letters and more to provide new insight into the musician’s personality and genius. The two-hour film uses Hendrix’s own words to tell his story, illustrated through archival interviews and illuminated with commentary from family, well-known friends and musicians including Paul McCartney, band members Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, long-time sound engineer Eddie Kramer; Steve Winwood, Vernon Reid, Billy Gibbons, Dweezil Zappa and Dave Mason.
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal, " influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax,. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams
FOO FIGHTERS BACK AND FORTH chronicles the 16 year history of the Foo Fighters: from the band's very first songs created as cassette demos Dave Grohl recorded during his tenure as Nirvana's drummer, through its ascent to their Grammy-winning, multi-platinum, arena and stadium headlining status as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.
The Banjo Project is a cross-media cultural odyssey: a major television documentary, a live stage/multi-media performance, and a website that chronicle the journey of America’s quintessential instrument—the banjo—from its African roots to the 21st century. It’s a collaboration between Emmy-winning writer-producer Marc Fields and banjo virtuoso Tony Trischka (the Project’s Music Director), one of the most acclaimed acoustic musicians of his generation.
Through concert performances and interviews, this film offers us an "inside look" at this famous rock group, "The Who". It captures their zany craziness and outrageous antics from the initial formation of the group to its major hit "Who Are You", and features the last performance of drummer Keith Moon just prior to his death.
Emerging from the Detroit music scene of the 1970s in a flurry of long hair and sequins, Alice Cooper restored hard rock with a sense of showmanship, while simultaneously striking fear into the hearts of Middle America with the chicken-slaughtering, dead-baby-eating theatrics that would cement his identity as a glam metal icon. Meticulously crafted from rare archival footage, Super Duper Alice Cooper tells the story of the man behind the makeup, Vincent Furnier, the son of a preacher, who got caught in the grip of his own monster.
Martin Scorsese's rockumentary intertwines footage from "The Band's" incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr and other rock legends.
Sonic Highways commemorates the Foo Fighters' 20th anniversary by documenting the eight-city recording odyssey that produced their eighth studio album. This film includes the 8 episode series, extended interviews and never before seen footage, inside the recording of Sonic Highways.
A concert movie on an unprecedented scale, Rattle And Hum captures U2 - on and off the stage - during their triumphant Joshua Tree tour. From the giant technicolour stadium celebrations to the black-and-white intensity of the indoor shows, this is U2 at their best. Follow the group across America, exploring new influences, playing with the legendary B.B. King from Dublin to Graceland.
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them.
The concert film celebrates the band’s legendary show in New York’s Madison Square Garden – Rammstein’s return to the US after a ten-year absence. In HD and 5.1 surround sound.
Come Rain or Shine is an unusually frank and humorous music documentary about the band Genesis getting back together for their first tour in 15 years. Director Anthony Mathile followed the band for nearly a year to create this film which explores the relationship of three band members and the mechanics, decisions, and debacles that go into producing a stadium tour for a legendary band of this scale. This "rockumentary" was released as part of the "When in Rome" boxset, that was released in 2008 as a registration of the live show that Genesis performed in Rome, the last show in their European tour. The camera accompanies Genesis through all periods of tour preparation, from the first rehearsals in New York to the moment in autumn 2007 when the final bars of The Carpet Crawlers fade away.
Gatling Pictures' "Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story" examines the life and work of Mark Sandman, deceased frontman of Boston "low rock" band Morphine. From his Newton, Mass., roots to his travels across America and around the globe, Sandman left an indelible imprint as one of the most distinctive musicians of his generation. Along with revisiting the "unique and sultry sound" of his music, the film explores the meaning of family through this critically praised and personally conflicted singer, songwriter and innovative instrumentalist.
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
The story of Iraq's only heavy metal band and their fight to play music
'In ten years I'm gonna be cruising the coast. Drinking my pop. I'm gonna be kissing all the girls; I'm gonna be singing all the rock.' This swaggering prediction came from ten year old Travis Roberts, aka 'The Human Skab,' at the height of his early music career. Little could he know that in ten years he would actually be on the front lines of the War on Terror, and that it would be twenty-three years before he would be able to fulfill his dream. Part punk rockumentary, part band ethnography, part war veteran story, this film portrays the saga of Travis as he and several other characters embark on a reunion tour, reclaiming the musical phenomenon that was so popular in its original inception.
John Lennon, David Bowie, Julian Lennon, and Yoko Ono Lennon are featured in this portrait of the life of musician John Lennon. A documentary about former Beatle John Lennon, narrated by Lennon himself, with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection. This feature-film biography of the legendary rock musician includes previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, as well as interviews with his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean. Narrated in Lennon's own voice, IMAGINE was taken from the 240 hours of personal film and video from the star's private collection. Directed by Andrew Solt (who is also responsible for the rockumentary THIS IS ELVIS,) this unique film gives fan a look at the enigmatic, innovative, and often changing pop revolutionary that is unavailable anywhere else.
A film featuring performances of several stars of the Latin Jazz music scene.
Sleepwalking Through the Mekong follows Los Angeles based band Dengue Fever on their recent journey to Cambodia to perform 60s and 70s Cambodian rock n' roll in the country where it was created and very nearly destroyed. The odyssey is a homecoming for singer Chhom Nimol and a transformation for the rest of the band as they perform with master musicians and record new songs along the way. More than a rockumentary, the film serves up a portrait of modern Cambodia as the band tours through Phnom Penh and beyond, crossing a great cultural chasm with the same spirit of Cambodia's original rock pioneers.
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich and packed with rare concert footage and home movies, this documentary explores the history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, including Petty's famous collaborations and notorious clashes with the record industry. Interviews with musical luminaries including Jackson Browne, George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, Dave Stewart and Petty himself shed
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
Alison Ellwood’s intimate, meticulously crafted patchwork of rare archival material, concert footage, and unseen home movies explores the evolution and enduring popularity of one of America’s truly defining bands.
Indie director Jim Jarmusch lenses a low-tech tribute to protean rocker Neil Young and his long-standing band, Crazy Horse. Stitched together from archival material shot in 1976 and 1986 along with candid scenes of Young and the band kicking back between shows, this rockumentary is as ragged as it is direct. Concert performances include renditions of hits such as "Sedan Delivery" and "Like a Hurricane."
From radical turntablism (Otomo Yoshihide) to laptop music innovation (Numb), via classical instrument hijacking (Sakamoto Hiromichi), Tokyo's avant-garde music scene is internationally known for its boldness. While introducing some of the greatest musicians of this scene, "We Don't Care About Music Anyway..." offers a kaleidoscopic view of Tokyo, confronting music and noise, sound and image, reality and representation, documentary and fiction.
The story of how the classic album "Paranoid" was made, with stories from band members to those who were influenced by its content, form and vitality. Paranoid is the second studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath. Released in September 1970, it was the band's only LP to top the UK Albums Chart until the release of 13 in 2013. Paranoid contains several of the band's signature songs, including "Iron Man", "War Pigs" and the title track, which was the band's only Top 20 hit, reaching number 4 in the UK charts. It is often regarded as one of the most quintessential and influential albums in heavy metal history.
A documentary on the vaudevillian art-pop band.
A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: the Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.
A behind-the-scenes look at the rise of the American rock band, Kings of Leon.
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
Meeting People Is Easy takes place during the promotion of Radiohead's 1997 release OK Computer, containing a collage of video clips, sound bites, and dialogue going behind the scenes with the band on their world tour, showing the eventual burn-out of the group as the world tour progresses. The inaugural show of the OK Computer tour began on 22 May 1997 in Barcelona, Spain.
A semi-fictionalized documentary about a day in the life of Australian musician Nick Cave's persona.
This film is released as part of the ongoing 50th anniversary celebration of the Rolling Stones. It tells the story of the Stones' unparalleled journey from blues obsessed teens in the early 60s to their undisputed status as rock royalty. All of the Stones have been newly interviewed and their words form the narrative arc that links together archive footage of performances, news coverage, and interviews, much of it previously unseen. Taking its title from a lyric in "Jumpin' Jack Flash," this film gives the viewer an intimate insight into exactly what it's like to be part of the Rolling Stones as they overcome denunciation, drugs, dissensions, and death to become the definitive survivors. Over a year in the making and produced with the full cooperation and involvement of the Stones, this film is and will remain the definitive story of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band
A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.
In this wildly entertaining vision of one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, Bob Dylan is surrounded by teen fans, gets into heated philosophical jousts with journalists, and kicks back with fellow musicians Joan Baez, Donovan, and Alan Price.
.From the shifting faultlines of Hollywood fantasies and the economic and racial tensions of Reagan's America, Fishbone rose and became one of the most original bands of the last 25 years. With a blistering combination of punk and funk they demolished the walls of genre and challenged the racial stereotypes and the political order of the music industry and of the nation. EVERYDAY SUNSHINE is about music, history, fear, courage and funking on the one.
Inspired by films including "Rattle and Hum" and "Endless Summer," Fading West follows Grammy-winning alternative-rock band Switchfoot as they travel the globe in search of new musical inspiration and perfect waves. Filmed during Switchfoot's 2012 World Tour, Fading West charts the creation of the fivesome's upcoming album in its earliest and most unpredictable stages. As the band visits legendary surf breaks in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and Bali, brothers Jon and Tim Foreman breathe fresh life into their songs by harnessing the spirit of their surroundings and mining new emotional depths. Part rock documentary, surf film, and travelogue, Fading West offers rare glimpses of the longtime surfers on their boards, captures the frenetic energy of their live shows, and portrays a journey both epic and intimate.
The filmed account of a large Canadian rock festival train tour.
This documentary of the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour has become a legendary, harrowing symbol of the tragic demise of the "Peace and Love" era. After a successful tour across the US, the Rolling Stones gave a free December concert at Altamont Speedway in California with the Grateful Dead, Ike and Tina Turner, Jefferson Airplane, and the Flying Burrito Brothers. The band unwisely selected the Hells Angels to provide security, and the bikers resorted to violence to keep the stoned, restless, and often naked crowd in line. The result: dozens of injuries and the on-screen stabbing of a young black man (during "Sympathy for the Devil") by one of the concert's staff security. In a manipulative but effective move, the Maysles brothers filmed Mick Jagger in the editing room witnessing the on-camera murder for the first time. The film also works as a rock-and-roll document, capturing the band at their most relaxed, intoxicating, and electrifying.
A documentary by photographer Sam Jones documenting American rock band Wilco recording their fourth album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Originally intended as a showcase of the band's creative process, the film crew catches unexpected complications between the band and its record label and problems among the band members themselves.
Shot from 1987 through 1998 on super 8, 16mm and video, Instrument is composed mainly of footage of concerts, interviews with the band members, practices, tours and time spent in the studio recording their 1995 album, Red Medicine. The film also includes portraits of fans as well as interviews with them at various Fugazi shows around the United States throughout the years.
As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Four years after his death, his influence reaches out around the world, more strongly now than ever before. In "The Future Is Unwritten", from British film director Julien Temple, Joe Strummer is revealed not just as a legend or musician, but as a true communicator of our times. Drawing on both a shared punk history and the close personal friendship which developed over the last years of Joe's life, Julien Temple's film is a celebration of Joe Strummer - before, during and after the Clash.
Rokk í Reykjavík (Rock in Reykjavik) gives a thorough overview of the powerful and expanding rock scene in Iceland. Most of the film consists of performances by a wide variety of rock-groups in various clubs in Reykjavik in 1981-82. There are also interviews with members of the groups representing different views on such features of the rock scene as sex, drugs and politics. 19 groups appear in the film.
Ten years in the making, KISS Loves You is a film that began back in 1994 when the band KISS was at a career low and KISS fans around the world were starting tribute bands, uniting at unofficial KISS Conventions and growing increasingly more nostalgic for the 70's era classic KISS line-up. The zeitgeist exhibited at these conventions was not lost on the band and in 1996 they responded, rising up like a grease painted phoenix into a new era of success. On the surface, KISS fans got exactly what they longed for, but for some the return of their idols brought unexpected consequences. KISS Loves You follows a few KISS fans along the way.
Undeniably one of the most important and influential gay music acts in the last twenty years, Pansy Division pioneered the "queercore" genre long before other gay musicians had the confidence to come out of the closet, and without major record label support or mainstream radio airplay. Using original and archive footage and covering over fifteen years as a group, Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band is a fast-paced, intimate and humorous account of one of rock's most fearless acts. From their first days in San Francisco's underground music scene to a full-fledged stadium tour with Green Day and beyond, founding members Jon Ginoli and Chris Freeman overcome increasingly difficult line-up changes, prejudice and near-poverty to keep the band together and create music that has truly made a difference.
After rocker Kurt Cobain's death, ruled a suicide, a film crew arrives in Seattle to make a documentary. Director Nick Broomfield talks to lots of people. Portraits emerge: a shy, slight Kurt, weary of touring, embarrassed by fame, hooked on heroin; an out-going Courtney, dramatic, controlling, moving from groupie to star.
A concert film taken from two Rolling Stones concerts during their 1972 North American tour. In 1972, the Stones bring their Exile on Main Street tour to Texas: 15 songs, with five from the "Exile" album. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman on a small stage with three other musicians. Until the lights come up near the end, we see the Stones against a black background. The camera stays mostly on Jagger, with a few shots of Taylor. Richards is on screen for his duets and for some guitar work on the final two songs. It's music from start to finish: hard rock ("All Down the Line"), the blues ("Love in Vain" and "Midnight Rambler"), a tribute to Chuck Berry ("Bye Bye Johnny"), and no "Satisfaction."
Documentary about rock pioneer Roky Erickson, detailing his rise as a psychedelic hero, his lengthy institutionalization, his descent into poverty and filth, and his brother's struggle with their religious mother to improve Roky's care.
In August 1970, 600,000 fans flocked to the Isle of Wight to witness the third and final festival to be held on the island. Besides the music, they also got a look at the greed, cynicism and corruption that would plague the music industry for years to come. They also witnessed the final, drugged out performance of Jimi Hendrix in England just two weeks before he would meet a tragic death. When it all was over, the fans view of rock and roll was never the same.
On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the height of the Summer of Love, the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward, capturing a decade’s spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey would launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, but they were just a few among a wildly diverse cast that included Simon and Garfunkel, the Mamas and the Papas, the Who, the Byrds, Hugh Masekela, and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar. With his characteristic vérité style, D. A. Pennebaker captured it all, immortalizing moments that have become legend: Pete Townshend destroying his guitar; Hendrix burning his.
Martin Scorsese and the Rolling Stones unite in "Shine A Light," a look at The Rolling Stones." Scorsese filmed the Stones over a two-day period at the intimate Beacon Theater in New York City in fall 2006. Cinematographers capture the raw energy of the legendary band.
The history of Sound City and their huge recording device; exploring how digital change has allowed 'people that have no place' in music to become stars. It follows former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighter David Grohl as he attempts to resurrect the studio back to former glories.
In 1971, to get breathing room from tax and management problems, the Stones go to France. Jimmy Miller parks a recording truck next to Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg's Blue Coast villa, and by June the band is in the basement a few days at a time. Upstairs, heroin, bourbon, and visitors are everywhere. The Stones, other musicians and crew, Pallenberg, and photographer Dominique Tarle, plus old clips and photos and contemporary footage, provide commentary on the album's haphazard construction. By September, the villa is empty; Richards and Jagger complete production in LA. "Exile on Main Street" is released to mediocre reviews that soon give way to lionization.
A documentary about the life of California rock band The Doors, written and directed by Tom DiCillo and narrated by Johnny Depp. Makes public for the first time material from Jim Morrison's 1969 film fragment ‘HWY: An American Pastoral’, and spans the period from the band’s formation through to Morrison’s death in 1973, aged just 27.

© Valossa 2015–2024