There are worse vices: I dedicate part of my time to diving into television platforms in search of good biographical documentaries, concerts, programs or films about great rock figures. Especially from the golden years of the genre, the sixties and seventies, but not only; some are current productions, others were filmed at the time when that was happening; A good handful focus on parallel phenomena such as punk, soul, folk, reggae, ska or eighties new waves. These are the reviews that I have been publishing in the last year or so in columns in El País Televisión. The films are available on Movistar+, YouTube, RTVE Play, Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, Filmin or Apple TV+. This is the selection:
The best black music of the 20th century emerged from the legendary venue or passed through there. The documentary 'The Apollo Theater', on HBO Max, highlights what a shared space means for the identity of a community
The English festival, which reviews Movistar Plus+ in five chapters, boasts of being eclectic and intergenerational. On its poster, old glories like Elton John and new divas like Lizzo. Everything fits here… Anglo-Saxon. Only a young big star resists them
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The young guitarist was only with the band for five years, but they were the best. The film 'Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones' reveals, in two concerts in 1972, the prominence he achieved. But he didn't see himself as one of them.
The goddess of the 'hippies' had listened to the pioneers of blues, jazz and soul and claimed their songs. The documentary 'Janis' clarifies the cliché of the tormented girl who gave everything on stage
The documentary 'At the Matinée' remembers what happened during the day in and around the punk mecca of New York. The urban tribes made a lot of fuss in this room in the middle of a run-down neighborhood
The charity festival held 38 years ago was defined by Joan Baez as the Woodstock of another generation. Memorable for those who followed him, although something creaked
The documentary 'Syd Barrett and the origin of Pink Floyd' tries to explain the enigmas of a key figure of psychedelic rock. He founded one of the great bands of his time and vanished. The crazy diamond didn't want to shine
The documentary 'The Final Act' goes far beyond the career of the Queen leader and the tribute concert at Wembley: it delves into the double discrimination of homosexuals, due to their condition and AIDS, in very tragic years
The 1965 film, on Netflix, is a journey back in time with a generation of pop-rock bands that made history. Irresistible, if it weren't for what we know today about its presenter, Jimmy Savile.
Three documentaries by German Wolfgang Büld captured the social and countercultural upheaval of the late 1970s. And they address the debate on miscegenation and racism
The documentary 'Crock of Gold' portrays the leader of The Pogues without sparing anything of the crudest. From his broken voice and his toothless mouth flowed verses of intoxicating melancholy.
The mini-documentary on 'Now and Then' insists on the story of the demos that John left before he died thinking that McCartney would finish them. Harrison is no longer there either, but they imitate him
Brett Morgen's documentary omits key passages from his career, but it is an immersive and fascinating experience that delves into the creator's mind beyond his masks
The group enjoyed less fame than recognition, but they left timeless albums and had Scorsesse to be immortalized in 'The Last Waltz' and 'Once Were Brothers'
The documentary 'Kneeling at the Anthem DC' includes two performances by the musician in Washington in 2018. He is one of the few hopes left for guitar rock, but he is an elusive guy
The documentary 'Pink Floyd: Technicolor Dream' reconstructs the legendary 1967 festival, in which the band of lunatic genius Syd Barrett stood out
The documentary 'All My Loving', from 1968, brings together pop stars and their critics to debate whether the musical movement of that time was truly culture or just the leisure mode of a generation given to getting high.
The order up to this point has been capricious; Below I group six pieces about Spanish music of the last decades, with the focus on the Movida and one of its relatives: radical rock, but not only.
The documentary about the founder of Barricada refutes the clichés about a sober, homely and sensitive musician who has reconciled with his past
The Litus and Novoa group invites figures such as José Mercé, Josele Santiago or Luz Casal to their studio to share confidences and improvise songs, their own or those of others. The feeling of chaos works for them, that everything is spontaneous
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The documentary 'Tequila: sex, drugs and rock & roll' is honest in narrating how success overwhelms some young people in the years of the Transition. What came next was a different reality
The La 2 program brings together unpublished material and memories of the singer's surroundings. His death, 50 years ago, was a shock in a Spain that needed songs like 'Libre'
The leader of the punk band maintains his speech with few nuances, but in 'We are nothing' we glimpse an affable, humble guy who enjoys rural life. Especially if he is next to Pilar
In the series 'What a night that year!', on RTVE Play, the Granada singer brought colleagues of three decades to his set. He abused his prominence, but it is a valuable document from the time when live music was the protagonist on television
Are you left wanting more? A little over a year ago I did the same exercise of collecting columns about documentaries and musical films. I came up with 16 featured titles, but I also added an exhaustive review of everything else that is available on streaming. With stories about rock greats like Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix; the southern sounds of Johnny Cash or Lynyrd Skynyrd; blues and jazz stars such as Billie Hollday, Ma Rainey, Robert Johnson and Miles Davies; the rage of Rage Against the Machine… We will continue, as long as we can and they let us, exploring the most attractive jewels of television for music lovers. No matter how hidden they are in the menus.
I'm not sure music makes the world better, but at least it helps us cope. Let's enjoy it.
We choose films and concerts about rock and roll, blues and jazz stars, available just a few clicks away for mythomaniacs and music lovers. And some more classics
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