Welcome to Nick's Pick's Vol. 5, in which we invite our friend and returning champion Nick McCann on to discuss any documentary he chooses. Today's episode is about "Miss Americana", a 2020 doc about Taylor Swift directed by Lana Wilson. TS works on her album "Lover" while dealing with personal and political issues. Plus: Is Dave Grohl a megalomaniac? Do we need a new genre called "Pop Docs"? Do you eat burritos? Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts C...
Jun 17, 2025•1 hr 21 min
Today's episode of Rock Docs is about "Shut Up and Play the Hits", a 2012 film about the final, uncontroversial, conclusive, never to be reversed ending of LCD Soundsystem directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace. Our guest today is self-professed LCD superfan and New York guy living in LA, film director Luca Morganti. Shut Up and Play the Hits, of course, is about LCD's 2011 retirement show at Madison Square Garden. The documentary features an interview with LCD mastermind James Murphy and ...
Jun 03, 2025•1 hr 12 min
Today's episode is on "Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)", a 2025 Questlove jawn about Sly Stone (and the Family Stone). The movie shows us how Sylvester Stewart evolved into Sly Stone, co-founded the Family Stone, and cranked out a pile of classic tunes over the course of a few years. And, of course, we learn about Sly's drug-fueled downfall and late in life redemption. This movie looks and sounds great, and Sly's story is endlessly interesting. But is this the best Questlove can do? ...
Mar 18, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Today's episode is on "George Harrison: Living in the Material World", a 2011 film about The Quiet One directed by Martin Scorsese. It's available on Max. Our guest today is George Harrison and Bob Dylan superfan Britt Eisnor. Check out her excellent Dylan content on Instagram . This movie is about George's mysticism, more or less, and weaves in and out of his very famous life story. There are some great talking heads, not all of whom are great people (I'm looking at you, Phil Spector) or come o...
Mar 04, 2025•1 hr 15 min
Today's episode is on "Searching for Sugar Man", a 2012 film about the long-forgotten Detroit balladeer Rodriguez, his mysterious fame in South Africa, and his rediscovery. This Academy Award-winning classic was directed by Malik Bendjelloul. Sixto Rodriguez, who recorded as Rodriguez, had a brief recording career from the late 60s and early 70s. He sold "about 6" records in the U.S., but, unbeknownst to him, his music became wildly popular in South Africa. Rumors abounded about his ultimate fat...
Feb 18, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Today's episode is on "Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell", a 2008 film about the singer, instrumentalist, composer, collaborator, and all-around musical pioneer whose work has become more widely recognized well after his untimely passing. The movie is directed by Matt Wolf. Our guest today is Matty Monroe, the person behind the Indieheads subreddit and general knower and lover of all things indie music. Wild Combination is a biography of a man who was hard to know. He didn't leave a...
Feb 04, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Today's episode is on "Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band", a 2024 film about Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2023-2024 tour. It's directed by frequent Springsteen collaborator (and a guy who shows up a lot on Rock Docs), Thom Zimny. The film can be found on Disney+, the official home of rock and roll. Our guest today is Caryn Rose, whose newsletter jukeboxgraduate is essential and whose essay " Why Bruce Springsteen's 'Road Diary' works so well " inspired this convers...
Jan 21, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Today's episode is on "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan", a 2005 film about Bob Dylan directed by our old pal Martin Scorsese. Our guest today is Erin Callahan, host of the "Infinity Goes Up on Trial" Bob Dylan podcast. Please also check out the Treble 100 essay on " Blonde on Blonde ". No Direction Home was originally broadcast as part of the American Masters series on PBS. It features lengthy interviews with Bob as well as many of the musicians and other folks he interacted with on his rise to sup...
Jan 07, 2025•1 hr 24 min
Today's episode is on "Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary", a 2024 MAX/Music Box documentary about the smooth sounds coming out of LA's finest music studios in the late 70s & early 80s. We're joined by the director of the film, Garret Price. Garret previously joined us to discuss his 2021 documentary "Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage". As you'll hear, this one is way mellower but no less compelling. The movie features luminaries from the era such as Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cro...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Welcome to Nick's Pick's Vol. 4, in which we invite our friend and returning champion Nick McCann on to discuss any documentary he chooses. Today's episode is about "Backstage", a 2000 doc about the 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour that featured several of hip-hop's top acts including Jay-Z, DMX, Method Man, and Redman. As well as, of course, Pain in da Ass. The movie was directed by Chris Fiore. If you like arguments about which hip-hop record label's brand should appear on the official tour jacket, t...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Welcome to the Very Special 100th Episode of Rock Docs! Today's episode is on "History of the Eagles", a 2013 film about the California rock band, directed by Alison Ellwood. Our guest today is our pal, American Painter Jake Longstreth, who's in the bands Mountain Brews and Richard Pictures as well as being a co-host of the Internet Radio Show Time Crisis. Our longtime listeners may recall Jake previously joined us to discuss "We Are Twisted Fucking Sister!" History of the Eagles is, of course, ...
Nov 12, 2024•1 hr 52 min
Today's episode is on "Listening to Kenny G", a 2021 film about the saxophone colossus, directed by Penny Lane. Our guest today is Franz Nicolay, multi-instrumentalist and composer, who records his own music and also is known from bands such as The Hold Steady. Franz' fascinating new book, Band People , features interviews with musicians who have made a career in the music industry, often outside of the spotlight. Listening to Kenny G was released under HBO's "Music Box" series, which may no lon...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Today's episode is on "Supersonic", a 2016 film about the trio Oasis, directed by Mat Whitecross Our guest today is Brendan Dentino, an Oasis superfan who wrote the excellent article " The hope and selfishness of Oasis ". Please also check out " 1995: The year Oasis made us want to live forever " on Treble. Supersonic is a chronicle of the band's rise right up to their triumphant shows at Knebworth in 1996 - and it ends exactly there. Like Liam Gallagher, we are living in an eternal 1996. Along ...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Today's episode is about "Not Not Jazz", a 2024 film about the trio Medeski Martin & Wood, directed by Jason Miller. Our guest today is Josh Frisch of the Dad Rocks podcast, which we were on years ago, and now we get to return the favor. As you'll hear, there was a bit of confusion, as Andy ended up watching a different MMW documentary. But we made it work. "Not Not Jazz" asks as many questions as it answers - when was it filmed? What happened to the music that was being recorded during the ...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Today's episode is about "Instrument", a 1999 film about the D.C. post-hardcore legends Fugazi, directed by Jem Cohen in collaboration with the band. Check out " Celebrate the Catalog: Fugazi " on treblezine.com Our guest today is Vish Khanna, the host of the Kreative Kontrol podcast. This is a first for Rock Docs...in prep for this episode, and in recognition of the film's 25th anniversary, Vish got Jem Cohen and all four members of Fugazi together for a rare interview on his show. You can list...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 23 min
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 ...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 16 min
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 focu...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Today's episode is about "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man", from 2006, directed by Stephen Kijak. Our guest today is Zara Hedderman, who listens to albums & writes (mostly) & talks (sometimes) about them in The Quietus, Aquarium Drunkard, Northern Transmissions, RTÉ Arena, and The IMRO Podcast. The movie is about Scott Walker, who evolved from a 50s & 60s teen idol to an enigmatic avant-garde icon whose music pushed the boundaries of space, time, and sanity. For years, nobody knew much ...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 13 min
Today's episode is about "The Decline of Western Civilization", from 1981, directed by Penelope Spheeris. Our guest today is Ian Grant of the Jokermen podcast and media empire. This is Ian's second Rock Docs appearance, having previously joined us to discuss "Bob Dylan: 1978-1989 - Both Ends of the Rainbow" with his fellow Jokerman Evan Laffer. The Decline of Western Civilization is a snapshot of the early days of the LA punk scene featuring legends such as X, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Germs, an...
Jul 02, 2024•1 hr 25 min
Today's episode is a rare one where the subject is not a specific documentary (although there is some rock doc talk). We're joined by returning guest Steven Hyden to discuss his new book "There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen's “Born in the U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland" and all things Bruce. Steven previously joined us to review "Pearl Jam Twenty". Rock Docs is a Treble Media Podcast hosted by David Lizerbram & Andrew Keatts Twitter: @RockDocsPod Instagram: @RockDocsPod C...
Jun 18, 2024•56 min
Today's episode is about "Let It Be", from 1970 and 2024, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. Our guest today is Jeremy Kaplan of the band Dogs in a Pile. A restored version of the original Let It Be movie has shown up on Disney+. We talk about it. It's the Beatles, you know the story. How does this movie fit into the great context of the Get Back experience? Which version of the rooftop concert is better? And what's up with that very weird dialogue between Peter Jackson and Michael Lindsay-Hogg b...
Jun 04, 2024•57 min
Today's episode is about "Joan Baez I Am A Noise", from 2023, directed by Miri Navasky, Karen O'Connor, and Maeve O'Boyle. Our guest today is Allison Rapp, a music writer and the host of the brand-new podcast all about Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Podcast. Check it out! Joan Baez I Am A Noise covers the life of the folk music legend from her early days as the middle daughter of a globetrotting academic to her rocket to stardom as a late teenager, through her involvement with various activist moveme...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Today's episode is about "In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon", from 2024, directed by Alex Gibley. It's on MGM+, a streaming service the everybody definitely subscribes to. Our guest today is Dan Jasper, who previously joined us to discuss the Rolling Stones documentary "Crossfire Hurricane". In Restless Dreams is a two-part, three+ hour comprehensive look at the career of Paul Simon, if "comprehensive" means you go up to 1990 and then skip to about 2022. That's right, if you wanted to ...
May 07, 2024•1 hr 16 min
Today's episode is about "Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback", from 2006, directed by Dietmar Post and Lucia Palacios. Our guest today is Evan Laffer of the Jokermen podcast and media empire. This is Evan's second Rock Docs appearance, having previously joined us to discuss "Bob Dylan: 1978-1989 - Both Ends of the Rainbow" with his fellow Jokerman Ian Grant. The movie is about the pioneering art-rock band The Monks, who were comprised of five Americans who met while serving in the U.S. Army in Ge...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 22 min
Today's episode is about "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten", from 2007, directed by Julien Temple. Our guest today is Elizabeth Nelson of the band The Paranoid Style. Check out their outstanding new album The Interrogator: https://theparanoidstyle.bandcamp.com/album/the-interrogator Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten is more of a wake for the then-recently departed punk rock legend than a by-the-books rock doc. Many of Joe's family, friends, musical compatriots, actor and director pals, ...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 21 min
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...
Mar 26, 2024•1 hr 12 min
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 overdos...
Mar 12, 2024•1 hr 16 min
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 seve...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr 10 min
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 dru...
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 19 min
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 Madis...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 9 min
