5 Great Rock-Docs (Documentary Films about Groups or Bands)

"Painfully Funny! It's like a spectacular roadside accident; You can't look away!" - Newsweek

This amazing film by Ondi Timoner is one that stays with you months after you see it. Seven years in the making and culled from over 2000 hours of footage, DIG! plunges into the underbelly of Rock-n-Roll, unearthing an incredible true story of success and self-destruction. Anton A. Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Courtney Taylor of the Dandy Warhols are star-crossed friends and bitter rivals - DIG! is the story of their loves and obsessions, gigs and recordings, arrests and death threats, uppers and downers, and the delicate balance between art and commerce. The film is even narrated by Courtney Taylor himself.

Two bands, two mindsets, two outcomes. Which one do you like better? Who made the right decisions and who made the wrong ones?

This film comes in a 2-Disc set which features..

1. 3 Dandy Warhols videos

2. 3 Brian Jonestown Massacre live performances

3. a rare Anton Newcombe & Courtney Taylor jam session

4. "Where are they now?" featurette.

It was written, produced, edited and directed by Ondi Timoner!

More praise for DIG!

"Trancends the Rock-Doc genre!" - Rolling Stone

"The Best Film about musicians and the music industry in years!" - The Guardian

Winner - SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2005 - American Documentary Directing Award

His drawings and sketches are exhibited and sold worldwide. Beck, Wilco, Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam have recorded his songs. But beneath Daniel Johnston's success as an artist and musician is an incredible story of genius touched by madness: diagnosed as manic-depressive, Johnston has spent the last three decades of his life in-and-out of mental institutions. It is told through a compelling combination of self-recorded interviews, home movies and performance footage. Kurt Cobain was a huge fan and supporter of Daniel's as well and is featured wearing his famous Daniel Johnston T-shirt.

"The Razor's Edge of Art and Madness" - John Anderson, NEWSDAY

"Two Thumbs Up" - Ebert & Roeper

In 1974 the New York City music scene was shocked into consciousness by a band of misfits from Queens called the Ramones. Playing in a seedy Bowery barto a small group of fellow struggling musicians, the band struck a dissonant chord that rocked the foundation of the 70s music scene. This quartet of unlikely rock stars connected with the disenfranchised everywhere, sparking a movement that would resonate with two generations of outcasts across the globe. Although the Ramones never reached the top of the charts, they endured in the face of fleeting success and crushing interpersonal conflicts by maintaining a rogorous touring schedule for more than 22 years. Tracing the history of the band, from its unlikely origins through its bitter demise, END OF THE CENTURY is a vibrant, candid document of one of the most influential groups in the History of Rock. These are the facts.

You will also learn the unbelievable story behind the song, "The KKK Took My Baby Away" written by Joey Ramone.

Joey had one girlfriend in his life.....and she married his racist and notoriously brutal bandmate Johnny Ramone. Johnny eventually married this woman but most people believe Joey never got over it. 'The KKK' is of course referring to Johnny who not only played the song live knowing this but he actually liked the song too. Wanna know how crazy Johnny Ramone is? When the band was inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, Johnny got on the mic in front of a room of punk contemporaries and said, "God bless President Bush!" Now that is about as PUNK as you'll ever see!

"Lennon's spirit, like his music, shines through this movie like a beacon. - Peter Travers (Rolling Stone)

THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON is the compelling and provocative story of John Lennon's evolution from beloved Beatle to outspoken artist and activist to iconic inspiration for peace, and how in the midst of one of the most tumultuous times in American History. Lennon stood his ground, refused to be silenced and courageously won his battle with the U.S. government. Featuring never before seen footage from the Bed-In in Canada and the December 1969 interview with Gloria Emerson. This infamously contentious interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono at the Apple Records headquarters in London, during which she tried repeatedly not just to dispute the effectiveness of Lennon and Ono's anti-war campaign -- but to belittle the effort and embarrass the couple personally. A great history lesson that we HOPEFULLY won't forget next time we are threatened by our government with such ignorance. Speaking of which....

The Biggest Selling Female Group of all-time is also the most important. Who knew?

SHUT UP & SING takes you backstage, into the Dixie Chicks' dressing rooms, homes, and recording studio, where they created the 5-time Grammy award winning album "Take the Long Way". Featuring the Song of the Year & Record of the Year 2007 "Not Ready to Make Nice", this album was the first following "The Incident".

In case you live under a rock, the Dixie Chicks political controversy swirled around the statement, "We are ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas." LOL! That's all they said. Having an opinion about the already realized 'worst president in US history' is a crime? Uh...isn't this the land of the free? Well...sometimes it is and sometimes it ain't.