Don McGlynn's uncompromising and soulful documentary look at the tumultuous life of musician and rebel Charles Mingus is fascinating stuff. Mingus said of himself "I am half black man, half yellow man, but I claim to be a Negro. I am Charles Mingus, the famed jazz musician--but not famed enough to make a living in America." His statement summed up the conflict that plagued this musical genius his entire life: volatility, pain, prescience, and raw rage roiled inside a complex man, composer, bass player, and trombonist who transcended labels and refused to be pigeonholed into a single musical style--and who did not achieve real fame until late in his career.
Cumbia of the world and for the whole world. From Buenos Aires as a starting point, the documentary Cumbia Around The World takes us on a tour through several countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia and Japan; to discover the origins, the present and the future of this rhythm that engages all social classes…
Chronicles the rise of four young musicians from their formative years to their transformation into a worldwide phenomenon. Witness the group's tale told by the people who were there when it began - the childhood friends, fellow musicians, roadies, bodyguards, producers, and the band themselves. Covers all the years with David Lee Roth, and concentrates mostly on the club days and the first world tour. Includes interviews with many people who were very close to the band.
First released in 1971, "Meddle" was Pink Floyd’s first great album in the post Syd Barrett era – a landmark album in the career of a remarkable band that set new standards in British Progressive rock. Featuring a superb line-up of leading rock journalists and music historians, this DVD is a fascinating review of one of the most powerful and enduring albums in the Pink Floyd canon. With highlights including standout live performances of "One Of These Days," "Echoes" and "Fearless" as its backdrop, the program delves into the story behind "Meddle."
Gaia is a young woman, a bass player. She receives harsh echoes from the masculine world surrounding her. Out of desperation, she runs away. The escape becomes a quest for her own echo to define her.
When her husband is killed in an auto accident, Alice Marsh moves far from home to start a new life. She falls in love with an old house in Massachusetts which she buys. Built in the 1700's and made of stone, it is known by the townspeople as the "Evan Straw" house. She tells her visiting aunt, Gert, of it's history and they both take it lightly. As time goes on, strange things start to happen to Alice while she's in the house. Finally, she calls in a psychic medium, Leocardia Tomas, to try to contact the spirit. As the spirit becomes more erratic and threatening, a ghost hunter named Peter Yakov is summoned to get to the bottom of why Evan Straw still haunts the house. The answer to the mystery is unexpected by everyone.
In the slums of Cairo, youth dancing to electro chaabi, new music that blends folk song, electro beats and freestyles chanted in the style of rap. The idea is to merge the sounds and styles so chaotic. One slogan mangling! Victim of corruption and social segregation, youth in neighborhoods exorcise partying. Release of body and a speech repressed transgression religious taboos: more than just a musical phenomenon, Electro Chaabi is a healthy outlet for youth oppressed by the prohibitions imposed.
X – Live in Los Angeles is a live album by X released as a Compact Disc and DVD on May 10, 2005. The concert was recorded on Thanksgiving 2004 as a tribute to the 25th anniversary of their debut album Los Angeles.
Orson Welles' heart has just stopped. We enter his mind in this moment, on the threshold between life and death. In the bardo Orson's thoughts unspool as a stream of consciousness that loops back on itself, like a mobius strip.
The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. has been presenting concerts alongside its paintings since 1941. Some of the world's leading pianists have played its Steinway Concert D 542016, but they started hearing something wrong with it: the soundboard. This half-hour documentary - named for the spruce wood that replaced it - tells the story of tearing the piano apart, and bringing it back to life. Along the way, we learn how a piano works, and witness the consummate art of restoration by PianoCraft. Rising international star Olivier Cavé puts it to the test, playing his specialty of Joseph Haydn, in this richly textured cinematic music documentary by independent filmmaker H. Paul Moon.
The digital age has given birth to a new reality: infinite screen time. Rather than experiencing the natural world around us, our intake of communication, ideas, visuals, and sounds is packaged via a series of zeros and ones, waiting neatly for us to consume. This screen-dependent existence is even more prevalent and maddening for the modern-day creative. Beyond entertainment, so many artists rely on screens for work — using digital tools to create more digital experiences that are designed to be digested through yet another screen. It creates a loop that at times feels paralyzing and inescapable.
One of the original members of the band Chicago, Terry Kath has been praised by icons like Jimi Hendrix and Joe Walsh for his voice and guitar playing. Michelle Sinclair, first-time filmmaker and Terry's daughter, searches for the truth surrounding the life and untimely death of her father, in this look at one of the most underrated guitarists in rock history.
But I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly, because you tread on my dreams... So begins Deborah Warner’s captivating 2008 production of Purcell’s timeless opera Dido and Æneas: a careful warning that suits the tragic story only too well. Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman as a disarming Dido is at the head of a stellar cast joined by Les Arts Florissants under William Christie’s direction.
A band of would-be terrorists threaten to blow up the Heartbreak Hotel, Providence's most notorious rock club. Featuring extended live performances by The Young Adults and Morris Brock.
A small-town California boy planned to be a minister like his father, but instead became the greatest conductor of choral music the world has ever known. With no formal musical training, he moved from stunning early success in popular music to legendary interpretations of classical music's great choral masterpieces.
Grant McPhee's sequel to Big Gold Dream picks up where the previous film left off, and continues its thrilling tour of the pre-Britpop, Scottish music scene. It features bands, such as The Bluebells, The Pastels, The Soup Dragons and an early incarnation of Teenage Fanclub; plenty of rich archive footage; and fascinating interviews with some of the key people of the time, including Edwyn Collins, Bobby Gillespie, Jim Reid, Sean Dickson, Eugene Kelly and Alan McGee.