Five fabulous music docos available to stream for free on TVNZ+
Aplethora of great music documentaries is available on demand on the state broadcaster’s streaming service, focusing on everyone from Roxette to The Rolling Stones.
Here is a choice of five.
Janis: Little Girl Blue
Hellishly inspiring, but also tragic and sad, this PBS-produced Janis Joplin documentary is as comprehensive a portrait of an artist as anyone could ask for.
Bandmates, family members, lovers (quite a collection to be fair), friends and managers all paint the same portrait: a troubled soul, a brilliant singer, a sensitive human, someone desperate to be loved, who fought tooth and nail to be heard.
Even more revealing are letters to her parents that show a soulful, guilt-ridden people-pleaser with an insatiable appetite for excitement and life. Outspoken always, she was bullied in her youth and the feeling of being an outsider plagued her formative years.
Frat boys at university voted her the ‘‘ugliest man on campus’’.
Unaccepted by her conservative parents and uncomfortable in her hometown, she found solace in the San Franciscan counterculture.
The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 marked a turning point and landmark moment in her career. She claimed not to possess the vocal finesse of Billie Holiday or Nina Simone and felt that power was her greatest strength but who knows what she would have gone on to become?
She did find true, real love before she died, which is a lovely silver lining. Despite the tragedy of her early death, the film has a triumphant air, much like the one Joplin assumed in public – and leaves you wishing she had more time.
The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s spawned in sweaty Los Angeles punk clubs in the late 1970s, arrived as MTV killed the 1980s radio star and went on to become the most successful all-girl rock band America had seen.
They took off in England, before cracking their home territory after touring with The Specials and Madness. Local ska fans were not kind but, on their return to America, ‘‘everyone thought we were famous in Europe – and we
weren’t telling them any different’’.
Touring made the Go-Go’s really good, really fast.
Their debut record went to No 1 in the charts while they were on tour opening for The Police (Sting humbly delivered champagne to their dressing room).
More popularity meant more pop in the punk, which led to divisions, artistic differences and lineup changes. In the punk days, it was all about freedom, individuality and inclusivity but the business of show requires ruthless politics at times.
The Go-Go’s story has it all and nothing is held back. Everyone fronts up and speaks for themselves. There is no avoidance. Secrets, sex, drugs, disagreements about money – it’s all on the table.
A rollicking ride that whizzes by, this complete story culminates in a finale you realise you were secretly longing for the whole film – a reunion where they all play together again.
David Bowie: The Last Five Years
David Bowie knew he was going to die but that was not going to mess with his meticulous plans. Fifty years of performance art ended with a secret album (Blackstar) and tied a perfect bow around an unrivalled legacy. Bowie consciously uncoupled with life.
The Last Five Years studies his final phase in which he created two outstanding albums and manifested a long-held desire to stage a musical.
Although he joked he only wanted to be remembered for ‘‘great haircuts’’, he had an obvious ambition to leave the world on a creative high.
When he called his band in 2011, after years without contact, they were required to sign nondisclosure agreements to hide the fact he was making music and only a few of his closest collaborators knew he was sick.
According to producer and long-time creative partner Tony Visconti, that secrecy allowed him to refine Blackstar and The Next
Day until they were ‘‘perfect’’.
Bowie redefined what we consider a rock star to be and reimagined the relationship between audience and performer.
The film pays tribute to the characters that populated his career – from Major Tom to Ziggy and Lazarus – but his true self, which emerged clearly in later life, was as an artist.
Right up to his last gasp, he was every inch a showman.
Reclaiming Amy Made by her family last year, a decade after her death, this is very
much a retaliation to the 2015 film Amy. Amy Winehouse’s father, Mitch, felt much maligned by that documentary and was widely criticised for caring more about his own fame than his daughter’s wellbeing. It also implied an unhappy childhood, which her mother (who narrates this film) takes great exception to. The truth, of course, is likely a cocktail made by mixing both sides together.
This intimate film undisputedly presents a crystalclear image of a bold, untameable teenager who got in way over her head. While her father, who no doubt fell victim to the lure of the limelight, feels guilt surrounding her death, the argument he makes is that no-one controlled Amy except her addictions.
Anecdotes from childhood friends give insight into how she felt about and dealt with increasing fame. They share stories with her parents and speak of a culture that repressed discussions around mental health and wellbeing. This is packed with great performance footage – from her as a young Sandra Dee in a school production of Grease, to shaky cameras filming her thrilling debut at Glastonbury.
It is a sad story that is hard to go over multiple times but this reshaping of the narrative does not outstay its short duration and provides an opportunity for the family to share their side of events.
Spice Girls: How Girl Power Changed The World
R.U. 18-23 with the ability to sing/ dance? R.U. streetwise, outgoing, ambitious and dedicated?
So read the flier Chris Herbert sent out, seeking ‘‘an edgy, female version of Take That’’. It sort of worked – he found the Spice Girls.
The auditions are fascinating. Victoria, Mel B and Mel C are all impressive and Geri all the more so. Emma Bunton was headhunted after the fact, when poor Liana Morgan was fired for being too old (she was 23).
Manufactured bands are nothing new, and we have seen the process countless times on endless talent shows, but the Spices’ story is unique. They bumped Herbert shortly after he brought them together and hand-picked Simon Fuller to guide their career.
Lorraine Barry (Dave Dobbyn’s current manager) pops up at that point espousing their ‘‘electric’’ boardroom performances and the bidding war that followed. Barry was not sure if she loved or hated Wannabe but their debut song went to No 1 in 37 countries anyway. ‘‘It was wildfire. It was beyond our control,’’ she admits.
Told over three parts, How Girl Power Changed The World analyses the success of, and reaction to, Spicemania. The only interviews with the band are clipped from footage recorded at the time, which helps maintain a certain authenticity.
Recollections made now would be tainted by wisdom, where this footage is pure, unadulterated innocence.
Marketing became more important than the music, and struck incongruous notes with audiences and media alike. The falling apart is as fascinating as the rise to the top (and almost as quick). It is amazing how long ago the 1990s seem in retrospect and how far the culture has moved on.