Browse Movies : Music (Page #4)

Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death. Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death's music—and band name—too intimidating, and the group were never given a fair shot, disbanding before they even completed one album. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family love story, A Band Called Death chronicles the incredible fairy-tale journey of what happened almost three decades later, when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of the attic and found an audience several generations younger.

During a period when he is poised to become folk music's most seminal figure, young Bob Dylan embraces rock ‘n’ roll and trades his acoustic guitar for an amp and an electric guitar, and it creates a huge outcry. And it cements the status of rock music.

Dre and Sidney can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single childhood moment - the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic who leaves her L.A. Times music review gig to edit New York hip-hop magazine XXL, while he is a successful, though unfulfilled New York music executive. Dre and Sidney should be perfect for each other, except that Dre's about to get married and Sidney begins to be wooed by a handsome basketball player. Still, as they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn't the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment on the corner...

CBGB follows the story of Hilly Kristal's New York club from its origins as Country, Bluegrass and Blues (CBGB) to what it ultimately became: the birthplace of underground rock 'n roll and punk. Kristal, a fan of Country and Bluegrass dreamed of having a club in the lower Eastside that catered to that kind of music, when he had difficulty booking those bands he turned to other kinds of rock music. Hilly had one demand of the acts he booked, they could only play their own original music. No top 40's, no covers. It was the credo he lived by, support the artist at whatever the cost.

Dawn Raid is the story of two Manukau Polytechnic students, Andy Murnane and Tanielu Leaosavai'i (aka Brotha D) who turned a bootleg t-shirt business and Hip-Hop night at a local bar in Otara into the influential Dawn Raid Entertainment empire. From humble beginnings to fame and fortune, Andy, Brotha D and the Dawn Raid artists gave voice to a disenfranchised Pacific community, for which the violence of the dawn raids, twenty years previously, was still raw. But the bravado and contempt for the status quo that drove Andy and Brotha D to the top, was also the unravelling of their empire. Unpaid tax debts, rifts between artists, and a feeling of betrayal and failure underpinned the downfall of Dawn Raid Entertainment, though not before they had created an immeasurable musical legacy that would pave the way for future New Zealand artists to reach international audiences.

Dreamin’ Wild, the true story of love and redemption, is about what happened to singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson and his family when the album he and his brother recorded as teens was rediscovered after thirty years of obscurity and was suddenly hailed by music critics as a lost masterpiece. While the album’s rediscovery brings hopes of second chances, it also brings long-buried emotions as Donnie, his wife Nancy, brother Joe, and father Don Sr. come to terms with the past and their newly found fame.

Capturing the on-stage energy and off-stage hearts of the Australia-based band Hillsong UNITED, HILLSONG - LET HOPE RISE is a new motion-picture genre: the theatrical worship experience. The film explores Hillsong’s humble beginnings and astonishing rise to prominence as an international church whose songs are sung every Sunday by more than 50 million people worldwide.

Vince (Ed Skrein) used to be in the hottest boy band around. Now he’s alone and desperate. An impromptu jam with Stevie (Leo Long), an autistic drummer with an incredible gift for rhythm, sparks an unexpected friendship. Together they form a unique bond through the power of music.

The electric guitar has dominated popular music for the last half century. Anyone who has ever plugged into an amp understands its power. So does the average stadium crowd. But if you have too much exposure to amateurs, you might forget the incredible range of expression that the creation pioneered by Les Paul can achieve in the hands of masters.

Director Davis Guggenheim, well-known for his Academy Award-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", deepens our appreciation for going electric by bringing together three virtuosos from different generations: Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge of U2 and Jack White of The White Stripes. "It Might Get Loud" weaves together their stories to reveal how each of them developed a unique sound.

Unlike rock 'n' roll documentaries that focus on backstage drama, this one concentrates on the music, giving us intimate access to the creative process. Each guitarist describes his own musical rebellion: Page against the saccharine pop of the sixties; The Edge against the self-indulgent solos of the seventies; White against the soulless bass machines of the eighties. The film also travels to the locations that left a mark on each player. Page visits the stone halls of Headley Grange where "Stairway to Heaven" was composed. In Dublin, The Edge pulls out the original four-track rehearsals of "Where the Streets Have No Name." And in Tennessee, White describes being inspired by the raw style of bluesman Son House. What's more, we see each musician play new work that has yet to be released.

The trio comes together for a jam session, during which they demonstrate their varying tastes in gear, from Page's double-neck guitar to The Edge's array of accessory pedals to White's cheap plastic instrument. Contrary to the stereotype that rock 'n' rollers are sullen and guarded, these three display an infectious joy when discussing their craft. Anyone who has ever played air guitar along with a Zeppelin song will be thrilled watching Page mimic the licks of one of his own favourites, Link Wray's "Rumble."

You don't need to be an aficionado to enjoy the pleasure of this company. This film might not affect how you play, but it will change how you listen.

Little Richard: I Am Everything tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions. In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself. Throughout his life, Richard careened like a shiny cracked pinball between God, sex and rock n’ roll. The world tried to put him in a box, but Richard was an omni being who contained multitudes – he was unabashedly everything.

Mogul Mowgli is the debut narrative feature from award-winning documentary filmmaker Bassam Tariq. It follows the story of a rapper (Academy Award-Nominee Riz Ahmed, The Sound of Metal) who, on the cusp of his first world tour, is struck down by an illness that forces him to face his past, his famiy, and the uncertainty of his legacy.

‘The Wall Live’ - the biggest worldwide tour by any solo artist in history - now comes to select movie theatres as a groundbreaking concert film, written and directed by Roger Waters and Sean Evans. “Roger Waters The Wall” is a film that unfolds on many levels: an immersive concert experience of the seminal 1979 Pink Floyd album, road movie of Waters’ reckoning with the death of his father in World War II, and a stirring film that highlights the human cost of armed conflict. Additionally, this event will feature an exclusive “in conversation” with Roger Waters and Nick Mason, where the Pink Floyd rhythm section will reunite over the breaking of bread and the answering of questions sent in by fans.

When the Maryland School of the Arts (MSA) goes to Paris for an international dance competition, one of the dancers - Moose (Adam G. Sevani) - misses his flight back to Baltimore. He soon makes friends with an American away from home and a beautiful French sophisticate. They introduce Moose to the red-hot Parisian underground dance scene, and before long he is wowing the local dancers with his unique moves as they prepare for an underground dance competition. With time running out before the big event and their routine stolen by a rival crew, Moose turns to his loyal MSA crew in Baltimore for help. Can Moose, the MSA crew and the French crew pull together a new dance number at the last minute? And will it be good enough to beat the world’s best street dancers?

Focused on Billy Joel's final concert at Shea Stadium before it was demolished, with the ballpark and the New York Mets' history intertwined into the storyline.

Tells the extraordinary story of an international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The film follows this group of diverse instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope.

Fresh out of prison, Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) precariously juggles her menial job, two children, and committed mother (Julie Walters) as she pursues her bold ambition of a one-way ticket to musical stardom. With the support of her boss (Sophie Okonedo), Rose-Lynn embarks on a life-changing journey that challenges her sense of self and helps her discover her true voice.

A 12-year-old mathematics genius Prem Patel (Magnus), in the midst of navigating the tumultuous hardships of adolescence, discovers his recently deceased father was a famous rapper and immediately sets out to pursue a career for himself as a rap superstar.

Two teen sisters, Hailey and Brooke, go to live with their grandmother when their father is arrested for a crime he didn't commit. Their grandma used to be a country music star but she retired after the death of their grandfather in a car accident. Hailey wants to be a country singer like her grandma but she suffers from bad stage fright. Brooke used to be a barrel racer but she was injured in the accident. The girls convince their grandmother to come out of retirement to raise money for their dad's defense. The concert is a success and helps Hailey get over her stage fright. However, when they go to withdraw the money they find that it is gone. The girls and their grandma find a way to recover the money and they ultimately use it to free their father. And with their grandma's help both girls go on to chase their dreams of being a singer and a barrel racer.