The Best Music Documentaries Streaming Now
Plus: what's new to streaming in July on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and HBO!
We hope you’re enjoying your summer so far! (How is it July already??) This weekend sees the release of the Sundance award-winning documentary Summer of Soul, which examines the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Directed by Questlove (from the Roots), Summer of Soul takes a look at why a music festival that featured famous acts like Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Sly and the Family Stone doesn’t have near the cultural footprint of Woodstock. You can find it in theaters and on Hulu right now.
Since we’re in the mood for a great new music documentary, let’s recommend a few of our favorite ones streaming now. We wrote about three different concert docs from David Byrne and the Talking Heads, as well as Aretha Franklin. Enjoy these picks, and check out what’s new to streaming in July as well!
Billy recommends…
American Utopia (streaming on HBO Max)
We have a David Byrne-centric episode this week. American Utopia and Stop Making Sense are live concerts led by the incomparable David Byrne. The latter being a Talking Headslive concert showcasing the unique charm that sets Byrne apart from other leading men. The former is a further confusion into why I love this man so much. He has no discernible feature that I can describe, but once you watch American Utopia you will appreciate his talent while falling in love with the thoughtfulness that is highlighted in his performance.
Spike Lee directs this live concert and it shows. The camera highlights the art installation aspect of this show while enhancing the concert atmosphere. Hamilton got all the deserved fame of a Broadway show being shot for the silver screen, but American Utopia started off on Broadway just like Hamilton. There is no storyline in this “Broadway play” unlike Hamilton. What is similar is the extra layer of a message that is infused into the performance.
Byrne uses this opportunity to talk about the things he seems to care about. Human consciousness, voting, and police brutality, all culminating in a wonderful tribute to the victims of that violence. What he does better than anyone else is getting you to dance before he brings in those heavy topics. One moment you’re dancing/celebrating and in the next you’re exhausted on the couch taking in his chanting. This is why I feel comfortable recommending this as a “music documentary.” He captures the moment of unrest in concert form and uses that fun to invade your soul with something meaningful.
Stop Making Sense (streaming on Amazon Prime)
*This is a re-post from a January 2020 newsletter
As a disclaimer this is a live concert, but it absolutely needs mentioning. My roommate walked in on me watching John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch. An underwhelming part for me was the exciting part of the program for him. He screamed, “Oh shit! That’s David Byrne!” He had to bring up The Talking Heads before I remembered the name and after a few exchanges about this legendary man he told me about Stop Making Sense.
My eyes rolled and my expression surely said, “Can we watch something else?” Normally what he suggests is interesting at least, so I buckled up. This turned into one of the more irresistible things I have ever watched. Everything David Byrne did was so fun, eccentric, and frankly moving. Not moving in the emotional sense, but the literal. The guy never stopped moving, but in a way that I could relate to. All of it was so awkward, but not cringe-inducing, which is exactly my lane.
I brought up this experience to my dad and two uncles via text and they both immediately responded with admiration for the seemingly man-child that is David Byrne. Not many things can be so fun and infectious at the same time. Turn it on with friends around and all of you will be dancing by running in place, which is Mr. Byrne’s most popular move.
Drew recommends…
Amazing Grace (streaming on Hulu)
The best concert documentaries don’t just give us musicians performing songs, they also make us feel like we are really present in that moment. Amazing Grace, the long-delayed Aretha Franklin concert film, has so much immediacy and authenticity that it transports you, sitting on your couch at home, to the audience of New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, California that day in 1972, witnessing Aretha’s greatness as she records one of the best selling gospel records of all time.
The journey that Amazing Grace traveled before it was released to viewers makes this doc even more special. Back in 1972, Aretha was already known as the Queen of Soul at age 30 after hits like “Respect,” “Think,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” She decided to go back to her gospel roots and record her next album in a Watts, California church over two nights in June. The director Sydney Pollack (Three Days of the Condor, Tootsie, The Firm) came along with a documentary crew to record the performance. Unfortunately, 20 hours of raw footage he shot became useless when the audio and video failed to sync up due to missing technical equipment. The film didn’t see the light of day until over 40 years later when it was restored and released in 2018.
Amazing Grace is a riveting document of a legendary singer and performer at her peak. Aretha’s ferocious, golden voice levels the room at many different points. In fact, as incredible as it is to see Aretha sing, it’s just as cool to see the impact her voice and presence has on the people in that room. Members of the audience, as well as the choir, can be seen hollering, swaying, and weeping throughout. It’s so clearly a transcendent spiritual experience for just about everyone present.
And it may be for you as well. As you witness Aretha Franklin’s astounding God-given talent, as you watch choir members break down in tears, as you hear the life-changing lyrics of “Amazing Grace” or “How I Got Over,” this film becomes something greater than just a run-of-the-mill concert documentary. It has that special capacity to transport, mesmerize, and uplift, all at once.
What’s New To Streaming In July 2021
Netflix
Air Force One
Austin Powers movies
Boogie Nights
Charlie’s Angels
The Karate Kid
Star Trek
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Snowpiercer
The Beguiled (July 16)
Twilight (July 16)
Django Unchained (July 24)
Amazon Prime
Alien
An Education
Crimson Tide
Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner
I, Robot
Marie Antoinette
Philadelphia
Rear Window
Vertigo
Hulu
127 Hours
28 Days Later
Beetlejuice
Bohemian Rhapsody
Caddyshack
Dumb & Dumber
Fargo
Galaxy Quest
The Mask
The Natural
Something’s Gotta Give
Space Jam
Stand By Me
Taken
The Terminator
Leave No Trace (July 4)
HBO and HBO Max
8 Mile
Maid in Manhattan
Planet of the Apes
Rambo
Reservoir Dogs
Rounders
Scream
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Links
Sopranos fans, rejoice. The prequel film The Many Saints of Newark got a full trailer this week, showing off its terrific cast (including James Gandolfini’s son as young Tony Soprano!). Catch it in theaters and on HBO Max October 1st.
Quentin Tarantino has turned his 2019 hit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood into a novel. He went on The Big Picture podcast to discuss the new book.