Music
In this new series, Foo Fighters commemorate their 20th anniversary by documenting the eight-city recording odyssey that produced their latest, and eighth, studio album.
Foo Fighters founder Dave Grohl directs the series, which taps into the musical heritage and cultural fabric of eight cities: Chicago, Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, Washington D.C. and New York. The band based themselves at a legendary recording studio integral to the unique history and character of each location.
One song was recorded in each city, and every track features local legends. Even the lyrics were developed in an experimental, unprecedented way: Grohl held off on writing them until the last day of each session, letting himself be inspired by the experiences, interviews and personalities that became part of the process.
Foo Fighters Sonic Highways is, in Grohl’s words, “a love letter to the history of American music.” Each episode delves into the identity of each city — showing how each region shaped these musicians in their formative years and, in turn, how they impacted the cultural fabric of their hometowns. Every artist who appears in the show, regardless of genre or locale, started as an average kid with universal dreams of making music and making it big.
Grohl made his feature film directorial debut in 2013 with the universally acclaimed Grammy-winning Sound City, a celebration of the human element in the creation and recording of music. Foo Fighters have won 11 Grammy Awards, including four for Best Rock Album, more than any other band.
Premiering on the eve of Foo Fighters’ 20th anniversary, Foo Fighters Sonic Highways aims to “give back” to the next generation of young musicians. As guitarist and singer Buddy Guy, an interviewee from the Chicago blues scene, explains, “Everything comes from what’s come before.”
Set in 1970s New York, Vinyl is a ride through the sex- and drug-addled music business at the dawn of punk, disco, and hip-hop. The show is seen through the eyes of a record label president, Richie Finestra, who is trying to save his company and his soul without destroying everyone in his path.
In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye and BV, and music mogul Cook and the waitress whom he ensnares — chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.
A Jewish-American Princess is forced to take control of a hard-core hip-hop record label and tries to rein the one of the label’s most controversial rappers.
Determined to avoid another night of driving aimlessly around Torrance in the Blue Torpedo, Joe and Hubbs set out on a quest for fine chicks. Their paths soon cross with Tack, from whom they learn about a pair of foreign radical chicks hanging out near the Frankie Avalon place. Over Joe’s objections, Hubbs worms Tack out of the deal, and the pair take a slow ride toward their destiny.
Set against a backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestinian rapper Kareem and his singer girlfriend Manar struggle, love and make music in their crime-ridden ghetto and Tel Aviv’s hip-hop club scene.
The inspiring story of the Roland TR808, from the creation of Planet Rock which established it as a dynamic modern instrument, to how it defined hip hop and modern dance culture, through to its continued use today.
Rebecca Bunch is a successful, driven, and possibly crazy young woman who impulsively gives up everything – her partnership at a prestigious law firm and her upscale apartment in Manhattan – in a desperate attempt to find love and happiness in that exotic hotbed of romance and adventure: suburban West Covina, California.
After Santa tells Michael Bolton that he needs 75,000 new babies by Christmas to meet toy supply, Michael Bolton hosts a sexy telethon to get the world to star making love.
A talented, young getaway driver Baby relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. When he meets the girl of his dreams, Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss, he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.
From award-winning director Mat Whitecross and featuring extensive unseen archive footage, Supersonic charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just three short years. This palpable, raw and moving film shines a light on one of the most genre and generation-defining British bands that has ever existed, and features candid new interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher, their mother, and members of the band and road crew.
It’s a great pop music myth that in Liverpool everything began and ended with the Beatles. It didn’t. Get Back documents the real story of the city’s music outpourings, from post war years to present day. It’s a story of a city where literally thousands of bands and artists, hundreds of clubs, promoters and managers put on the biggest, loudest and longest party in history. The golden era of The Cavern and Merseybeat generated a massive tectonic shift in popular culture and in the 1970s it started again with a new scene and yet another cellar club at its heart – Eric’s. Bands such as Deaf School, Echo and the Bunnymen and OMD led the way. Then Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the Farm, the La’s, the Christians. And more recently it continued, the city’s bands always inventive and always re-inventing, with the Zutons, Coral, Wombats and more. The story is unending but Get Back offers music fans a chance to enjoy the narrative and the sounds created so far in the city that rocked the world…
The comic innovator delivers a surreal set blending experimental songs, jokes about grits, guns and drugs, and other improvised comedy adventures.
An account of the final tour of the band Rush, including interviews with the band, crew, and fans.
Documents the writing, recording and performing of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ sixteenth studio album, Skeleton Tree.
Part-time pianist Monty Fagan begins a May-December romance that upends his home life.
No other band in rock roll history has rivaled The Stooges combination of heavy primal throb, spiked psychedelia, blues-a-billy grind, complete with succinct angst-ridden lyrics, and a snarling, preening leopard of a front man who somehow embodies Nijinsky, Bruce Lee, Harpo Marx, and Arthur Rimbaud all rolled into one. There is no precedent for The Stooges, while those inspired by them are now legion. The film will present the context of their emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relate their adventures and misadventures while charting their inspirations and the reasons behind their initial commercial challenges, as well as their long-lasting legacy.
A 3D hybrid merging the genres of film noir, dance, and mystery. A loner fresh out of rehab and hunted by both sides of the law returns home to solve the murder of his sister, and finds himself entangled in a game of revenge on the LA club circuit.
Chronicles the unlikely rise to prominence of the Australia-based Christian band, Hillsong United.
A bohemian Seattle DJ uses his on-air charisma to create a fictitious conservative radio personality, becoming an overnight sensation.
Perry is a happily married father of two living a comfortable but sedate life in the suburbs. On the occasion of his 40th birthday, he seeks to revisit his former life as the lead singer in a popular punk band though his middle-aged reality quickly (and hilariously) clashes with the indulgences of his youth.
Shot in Spanish and localized for markets around the world, “Tini – El Gran Cambio de Violetta” is set to thrill fans with everything they loved about the worldwide Violetta phenomenon including strong musical elements with new and original tracks, exciting choreography, compelling storylines, and intriguing characters. All made bigger and better for the big screen. The film shows how taking the role in the TV series was a pivotal moment for Tini leading to a personal ‘coming of age story’ about the young actress. In a story that reflects the teen star’s own real life, Tini will leave behind the world depicted in Violetta, striking out alone and embarking on a brand new adventure over one endless summer that will define her as a person and see her emerge as a new artist.
Director Ron Howard tracks the fan phenomena that was Beatlemania from its zenith – 1963 to 1966 – to its end when the Fab Four withdrew from live performance. Landmarks from their US breakthrough in 1964 with I Want to Hold Your Hand to the controversy prompted by John Lennon’s flippant “more popular than Jesus” remark are chronicled in a documentary that includes among its interviewees Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello and Eddie Izzard.
A camera crew catches up with David Brent, the former star of the fictional British series, “The Office” as he now fancies himself a rockstar on the road.
XOXO follows six strangers whose lives collide in one frenetic, dream-chasing, hopelessly romantic night.
While attending college in Cape Town, Melea Martin feels constrained by the school’s strict policies, and decides to set out on her own. Searching for a way to use her talents as a dancer and inspire the community around her, Melea rents a failing theater in order to put on a Hip-Hop Romeo and Juliet performance. But much like the Capulets and Montagues, conflicts between cast members threaten to bring the whole performance to a halt…
Ricky Rapper and Nighthawk Ricky find a buried treasure while digging for worms. Archaeological excavations begin at the site, and when a valuable iron-age ring vanishes, it becomes apparent that there’s a site-robbing “nighthawk” at work here.
The rise and fall of Love Records record label in 1960s and 1970s Finland.
When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.
When his new album fails to sell records, pop/rap superstar Conner4real goes into a major tailspin and watches his celebrity high life begin to collapse. He’ll try anything to bounce back, anything except reuniting with his old rap group The Style Boyz.
The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.
Director Spike Lee assembles a wealth of archival footage, interviews with contemporary talents and family members, and Michael’s own words and image to create this insightful chronicle of the star’s early rise to fame. An in-depth look at a chapter of his career that is rarely examined, Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall allows audiences to travel with Michael as he gets his start at Motown, strikes a new path with CBS records, and forges a relationship with legendary producer Quincy Jones. An illuminated portrait emerges of how an earnest, passionate, hard-working boy would become the “King of Pop.”
Combining his trademark wit and self-deprecating humor with original music, Bo Burnham offers up his unique twist on life in this stand-up special about life, death, sexuality, hypocrisy, mental illness and Pringles cans.