Rock Docs – Details, episodes & analysis

Today's episode is about "Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple", a 2024 HBO/MAX doc about Little Steven aka Miami Steve aka Silvio Dante aka the Lillehammer guy, directed by Bill Teck.

This doc has almost everything you ever wanted to know about the legendary sideman, front man, and Renaissance man. The man who likes scarves, who loves rock & roll, and who ain't gonna play Sun City.

If you're a fan of almost any subgenre of rock music between approximately 1955-1990, or if you just thought he was fun in The Sopranos, you'll dig this one.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Check out Treble's piece on the Springsteen classic "Born to Run": https://www.treblezine.com/bruce-springsteen-born-to-run-treble-100-no-33/

Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Freakscene: The Story of Dinosaur Jr.", a 2020 doc about the legendary indie rock power trio, directed by Philipp Reichenheim.

Early in the movie, Dinosaur Jr.'s singer and guitarist says, “I don’t know where people got this idea that it’s supposed to be fun to play music.” Their music is fun to listen to and their shows are a blast, but for a long time these guys took the whole thing very very seriously, and the strain that attitude put on their relationships is a focus of the film.

There's a lot of lot of great music, excellent live footage, and some good talking heads (including a very weird and funny bit from the Pixies' Frank Black). What more do you want? To have fun??

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts
 
Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?", from 2010, directed by John Scheinfeld.

Our guest today is Galen Howard, star of stage and screen. Check out his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/galenhoward/?hl=en

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? takes us through the life of the unlikely, self-destructive pop genius. Harry rose from a troubled childhood to become the Beatles' favorite musician. Many of the famous talking heads in the film survived partying through the 70s. Harry's lifestyle eventually caught up with him. The film celebrates his legacy and is full of hair-raising stories and fantastic music.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "All I Can Say", from 2019, directed by Danny Clinch, Taryn Gould, Colleen Hennessy, and, posthumously, Shannon Hoon.

Our guest today is Ryan Bradford. Check out his Substack at https://awkwardsd.substack.com/ as well as our previous episode with Ryan about GWAR.

"All I Can Say" is compiled from VHS footage taken by Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon from his early days as an aspiring musician right up until a few hours before his death at 28 from an accidental drug overdose. Shannon compulsively filmed his life during his unlikely rise to fame, from intimate family moments to hanging out with Guns N' Roses. The "found footage" approach takes us into the recording studio, on the road with Blind Melon, and even into the delivery room when Shannon's daughter is being born. The movie is an unexpected and fitting tribute to Shannon's talents as a musician and visual artist.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "The Greatest Night in Pop", a 2024 Netflix doc about the making of "We Are the World", directed by Bao Nguyen.

The move has two acts - Act 1 is a heist film-style tick-tock about how the concept came together at the behest of Harry Belafonte, the song got written despite Stevie Wonder ghosting Lionel Richie, and the Avengers of 80s Pop was assembled just in time for the recording.

Act 2 has us in the room during one very long night as Quincy Jones triest to wrangle several dozen superstars and capture performances from everyone from an eager Huey Lewis to a truly miserable Bob Dylan.

Plus: how Sheila E was unsuccessfully used by the producers as a honeypot to get Prince to the recording, why Waylon Jennings muttered, "ain't no good old boy ever sung in Swahili", Diana Ross' unexpected moment of sweetness, and much much more.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts
 
Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Ain't in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm", from 2010, directed by Jacob Hatley.

Our guest today is a returning champion, Eamon O'Flynn, host of Record Roulette Podcast, which can be found on Twitter @rrmusicpod - check out our previous episode with Eamon about "Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band".

"Ain't in It for My Health" is very different from Robbie's movie - it offers an intimate and revealing picture of The Band's legendary singer and drummer, Levon Helm, as he struggles with cancer while recording what ended up being the final studio album he released during his life, the Grammy-winning "Electric Dirt". We see Levon crack wise and offer hard-earned wisdom surrounded by family and friends (famous and obscure), undertake a short tour under challenging conditions, and work closely with guitarist/producer Larry Campbell.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts
 
Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today on Rock Docs we discuss "The Song Remains the Same", a 1976 film about Led Zeppelin directed by Peter Clifton and Joe Massot.

For those who haven't seen the film, or whose memory of seeing it is lost in a drug-addled haze (as it was meant to be seen), the movie starts with LZ manager Peter Grant dressed as a 1930s gangster shooting a Nazi werewolf and it just gets weirder from there.

This is nominally a concert film (is it even a rock doc at all?) shot during the band's 1973 shows at Madison Square Garden, but it also includes footage shot on a soundstage in England made up to look like MSG, as well as fantasy sequences featuring each of the band's members.

Our guest, and the man who selected this cinematic masterpiece for us to review, is comedian and actor Cam Herdt. Check out Cam on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mistercam/?hl=en and on his own Best Show Ever on the Osiris Network: https://linktr.ee/bestshowever

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts
 
Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today on Rock Docs we discuss "Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone", a 2010 film about the alternative rock band Fishbone, co-produced and co-directed by Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler, and narrated by actor Laurence Fishburne.

Our guest for this episode is Dallas McLaughlin, Fishbone superfan and the world's foremost satirist. Check out his stuff at dallasmclaughlin.com

Everyday Sunshine goes into the backstory of Fishbone, how busing, desegregation, and the clash of various LA music scenes led to a band whose music is a unique blend of funk, rock, metal, pop, and genres yet to be defined. The movie gets pretty heavy as the band goes through a variety of struggles and lineup changes, personal troubles, and a toxic level of theremin abuse. This is not a clean, pretty story where everything wraps up in a neat bow. Recommended if you like your rock docs served raw.

As of this writing, you can watch the movie on 

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts
 
Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Welcome to Nick's Pick's Vol. 3, in which we invite our friend and returning champion Nick McCann on to discuss any documentary he chooses.

Today's episode is about "Sound City", a 2013 doc about the LA recording studio Sound City. The movie was directed by Dave Grohl.

The movie features a bunch of Dave Grohl's buds such as Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor, Stephen Pearcy from RATT (underrated!), Rick Rubin, and of course Rick Springfield.

Also: if you directed a music documentary, would it be good?

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts
 
Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt

Today's episode is about "Don't Look Back", a 1967 doc about Bob Dylan directed by D. A. Pennebaker.

Our guest for this episode is Ray Padgett, author of "Pledging My Time: Conversations With Bob Dylan Band Members", the Dylan Substack "Flagging Down the Double E's", and the "Every Tom Waits Song" Substack.

Don't Look Back is one of the most well-known and well-regarded music documentaries of all time. What is there to say? It's Don't Look Back for chrissakes. Enjoy our conversation about the movie with Ray, a true Dylan head and a lovely gent.

Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts

Twitter: @RockDocsPod
 
Instagram: @RockDocsPod
 
Cover Art by N.C. Winters - check him out on Instagram at @NCWintersArt