Rock n Roll Movies

General music discussion.
Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115774
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Dr. Medulla »

This can (and undoubtedly will) be a thread for talking about rock movies more generally, but I wanted to solicit some ideas. I'll be teaching my general rock music-as-history class again as a seminar this summer, and I plan on showing a movie. Keeping in mind that the theme is using rock music as a way of exploring broader historical themes, not the music itself per se, any suggestions for movies? Documentaries are more than fine, too, but I'm planning it for the last class, so I'd like it to be a bit of a breather/entertainment, too.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18694
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:22am
This can (and undoubtedly will) be a thread for talking about rock movies more generally, but I wanted to solicit some ideas. I'll be teaching my general rock music-as-history class again as a seminar this summer, and I plan on showing a movie. Keeping in mind that the theme is using rock music as a way of exploring broader historical themes, not the music itself per se, any suggestions for movies? Documentaries are more than fine, too, but I'm planning it for the last class, so I'd like it to be a bit of a breather/entertainment, too.
Certain you'll have already considered the below, but:

Jailhouse Rock
Gimme Danger (Jarmusch on the Stooges)
Blackboard Jungle
Filth, Fury
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115774
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:30am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:22am
This can (and undoubtedly will) be a thread for talking about rock movies more generally, but I wanted to solicit some ideas. I'll be teaching my general rock music-as-history class again as a seminar this summer, and I plan on showing a movie. Keeping in mind that the theme is using rock music as a way of exploring broader historical themes, not the music itself per se, any suggestions for movies? Documentaries are more than fine, too, but I'm planning it for the last class, so I'd like it to be a bit of a breather/entertainment, too.
Certain you'll have already considered the below, but:

Jailhouse Rock
Gimme Danger (Jarmusch on the Stooges)
Blackboard Jungle
Filth, Fury
Blackboard Jungle isn’t really a rock movie, apart from the opening and closing music. That’s where audiences made it a rock n roll movie. The closest thing you get to music is the j.d.’s smashing the teacher’s jazz records, tho it’s less because they hate jazz than they’re rebelling against his authority.

Jailhouse Rock is an interesting one, tho, that I hadn’t thought of.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

revbob
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 25235
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 12:31pm
Location: The Frozen Tundra

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by revbob »

Rock n Roll High School

Flex
User avatar
Mechano-Man of the Future
Posts: 35753
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:50pm
Location: The Information Superhighway!

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Flex »

This is Spinal Tap. Not sure you have any lessons about just how dumb rock and roll really is...
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115774
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Flex wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 9:34am
This is Spinal Tap. Not sure you have any lessons about just how dumb rock and roll really is...
Oh god, I’d love to show that, but not sure what kind of history themes I could meaningfully draw from it.

If it helps where I’m thinking, 8 Mile, Almost Famous, and That Thing You Do are on my consideration list right now. For documentaries, I’m thinking along the lines of Salad Days, tho I’m teaching Kevin Mattson’s book in that class, so that’s a bit of overlap that I’d like to avoid.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Flex
User avatar
Mechano-Man of the Future
Posts: 35753
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:50pm
Location: The Information Superhighway!

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Flex »

What would be badass is doing a rocky horror picture show/Hedwig and the angry inch double feature and having a class on gender conformity/non-conformity in rock.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

revbob
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 25235
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 12:31pm
Location: The Frozen Tundra

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by revbob »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 9:46am
Flex wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 9:34am
This is Spinal Tap. Not sure you have any lessons about just how dumb rock and roll really is...
Oh god, I’d love to show that, but not sure what kind of history themes I could meaningfully draw from it.

If it helps where I’m thinking, 8 Mile, Almost Famous, and That Thing You Do are on my consideration list right now. For documentaries, I’m thinking along the lines of Salad Days, tho I’m teaching Kevin Mattson’s book in that class, so that’s a bit of overlap that I’d like to avoid.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another ... ind_(film)


Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18694
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Silent Majority »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:37am
Silent Majority wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:30am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:22am
This can (and undoubtedly will) be a thread for talking about rock movies more generally, but I wanted to solicit some ideas. I'll be teaching my general rock music-as-history class again as a seminar this summer, and I plan on showing a movie. Keeping in mind that the theme is using rock music as a way of exploring broader historical themes, not the music itself per se, any suggestions for movies? Documentaries are more than fine, too, but I'm planning it for the last class, so I'd like it to be a bit of a breather/entertainment, too.
Certain you'll have already considered the below, but:

Jailhouse Rock
Gimme Danger (Jarmusch on the Stooges)
Blackboard Jungle
Filth, Fury
Blackboard Jungle isn’t really a rock movie, apart from the opening and closing music. That’s where audiences made it a rock n roll movie. The closest thing you get to music is the j.d.’s smashing the teacher’s jazz records, tho it’s less because they hate jazz than they’re rebelling against his authority.
You don't think the j.d.'s are an apt way to spur a discussion on about the moral panic that came up in early rock's wake?
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115774
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Dr. Medulla »

revbob wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 9:55am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 9:46am
Flex wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 9:34am
This is Spinal Tap. Not sure you have any lessons about just how dumb rock and roll really is...
Oh god, I’d love to show that, but not sure what kind of history themes I could meaningfully draw from it.

If it helps where I’m thinking, 8 Mile, Almost Famous, and That Thing You Do are on my consideration list right now. For documentaries, I’m thinking along the lines of Salad Days, tho I’m teaching Kevin Mattson’s book in that class, so that’s a bit of overlap that I’d like to avoid.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another ... ind_(film)

I’ve thought about showing that in my punk seminar (again, that or Salad Days), but I lean to fiction as a bit of a reward after three months of lotsa reading. Damn, you’re making me question showing The Fabulous Stains this week.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115774
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Silent Majority wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 9:58am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:37am
Silent Majority wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:30am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 8:22am
This can (and undoubtedly will) be a thread for talking about rock movies more generally, but I wanted to solicit some ideas. I'll be teaching my general rock music-as-history class again as a seminar this summer, and I plan on showing a movie. Keeping in mind that the theme is using rock music as a way of exploring broader historical themes, not the music itself per se, any suggestions for movies? Documentaries are more than fine, too, but I'm planning it for the last class, so I'd like it to be a bit of a breather/entertainment, too.
Certain you'll have already considered the below, but:

Jailhouse Rock
Gimme Danger (Jarmusch on the Stooges)
Blackboard Jungle
Filth, Fury
Blackboard Jungle isn’t really a rock movie, apart from the opening and closing music. That’s where audiences made it a rock n roll movie. The closest thing you get to music is the j.d.’s smashing the teacher’s jazz records, tho it’s less because they hate jazz than they’re rebelling against his authority.
You don't think the j.d.'s are an apt way to spur a discussion on about the moral panic that came up in early rock's wake?
Oh no, not at all, only that unless the students have done outside reading about delinquency in the 50s, the connection between that movie and delinquency is pretty much impossible. The connection is there, but you can’t see rock n roll in the movie itself. If you hit mute for the first minute, there’s no hint of it.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

matedog
User avatar
Purveyor of Hoyistic Thought
Posts: 25775
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
Location: 1995

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by matedog »

revbob wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 9:09am
Rock n Roll High School
That's what immediately came to mind for me.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115774
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Heh, I jinxed things by starting this thread. The department chair emailed to say he read the course codes wrong and the summer session seminar is for regular faculty, not hobo pretenders. Ah well. Let this officially signal the shift to rock movies more generally.

Also, I'm gonna rewatch Another State of Mind today to see if I should make a last-minute change.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Flex
User avatar
Mechano-Man of the Future
Posts: 35753
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:50pm
Location: The Information Superhighway!

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Flex »

I didn't think it'd work with your prompt, but surely Don't Look Back stands up as a major rock and roll documentary from a historical perspective. The tour where Dylan goes electric and faces hostile crowds, etc.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115774
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Rock n Roll Movies

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Flex wrote:
27 Mar 2023, 10:55am
I didn't think it'd work with your prompt, but surely Don't Look Back stands up as a major rock and roll documentary from a historical perspective. The tour where Dylan goes electric and faces hostile crowds, etc.
I could actually use that to talk about the relationship between artist and fans (it's a big theme of mine; one of my exam questions is always to ask whether the history of rock music is about artists making music or fans consuming music). My main lecture on the topic is the Beatles and fans, but when I originally conceived it I was going to do it using Dylan. But I decided I preferred talking about the Beatles.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Post Reply