Itās been a minute since my last post! Iāve been MIA because I recently started a full-time job and Iāve been too tired after work to write. Plus Iām still emotionally in 2020 and some part of me will always be stuck in that horrible, horrible year. I mean, thank god itās over, but Iām pretty sure 2021 trumped 2020 in the āhow quickly can I ruin a yearā contest with January 6th. But! Iām trying to be positive (very healthy of me) and find things to look forward to. Which is not an easy task when my options for entertainment are confined to my home.
Do you know how long the workday feels when you have no real āweekendā to look forward to? Sure there are days off, but thatās not the same as doing something truly cathartic or relaxing. No one ever tells you how exhausting routine can be. But! In an effort to make the days more exciting, Iāve decided to watch a new music documentary every weekāitās kind of my new yearās resolution, except Iām starting a little late. January kinda sucked so I donāt mind starting in February.
February is African-American History Month so Iāve chosen four movies around that theme; I decided to stick to 20th-century musicians, particularly from the civil rights era, because Iāll be covering other Black musicians in the coming months. Technically The United States vs. Billie Holiday is not a music documentary, but Iāll make the exception. Billie, an actual music doc, would be fun to watch as a double feature but isnāt available to stream yet (you can rent or buy it though).
Youāll notice that all of the films are on major streaming servicesāI wanted to make this list easy for everyone to watch along with me if they wanted to. If you do decide to follow along each month, Iād love to hear from you! Iāll be hosting a watch party for some select films each month and will email anyone whoās interested at least a week in advance about the time. Iāll also cross-post the Teleparty link on Twitter and Instagram.
Nothing can ever truly replace live music, that goes without saying, but there are still other ways to enjoy music outside of going to a show. My real new yearās resolution was to hone my craft, so Iām excited to learn more about musicāand hopefully, youāll tune in along with me!
Before I go, Iād like to shout out The Family Reviews for publishing my first article of 2021! I wrote about 2020isasong, a virtual sonic time capsule that offered an emotional alternative to the Spotify Wrapped year-end campaign. I also dug around their site and broke down how New Yorkers were feeling during 2020, what songs they loved, and who they were listening to. A companion piece, an interview with one of the creators, will go up sometime in the next week so stay tuned!
Got any music documentary recommendations you want to sling my way? Hit reply on this email or leave me a comment. Iāll see it and cherish it forever.
P.S. Thank you to Enne Goldstein for looking over this graphic! Enneās got a great eye for design and you should definitely hire them for everything immediately.
music docs to add:
amy
vinyl
searching for sugarman
some kind of monster
the black godfather
history of the eagles
long strange trip
quincy