Five Enthralling Music Documentaries To Check Out During Self-Isolation

It’s a safe bet to say that you will be spending some extra time indoors in the coming weeks. Indeed, we will all be looking for ways to keep sane in the short and medium-term. Naturally, we will be reaching for the remote, with the likes of Netflix and Disney+ seeing a boom in viewers like never before. 

However, it’s also the case that we shouldn’t watch too much television at this time. Choosing quality over quantity is crucial. In light of that, we have picked some of the best music documentaries for you to check out during this period of isolation. There are many cracking options out there, but these five are among the best: 

Searching for Sugar Man 

You probably heard about this one a few years ago when it won Best Documentary at the 2013 Oscars. However, it’s one of those films you promised yourself you would get round to watching and never got the chance to do so. You won’t regret it – it’s on Netflix at the moment – as it’s nothing short of a masterpiece. A strange unravelling narrative about two filmmakers who are trying to find out about the life and times of the enigmatic Rodriguez. We won’t give any spoilers, but it’s an incredible true story. 

The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years

Few showcased the excesses of the era quite like the wave of metal bands that appeared in LA in the late- 80s. This documentary sequel by the brilliant Penelope Spheeris is about the metal giants who stepped over their punk predecessors to take us to the dark side. While the music stands out, this is really about the lifestyle, and, boy, could those guys party. The likes of Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne and Motorhead have chilled out a bit now, more likely to appear in television adverts and casino games – most of them in the UK – than they are to be partying hard. Spheeris other two documentaries in the series – one exploring early punk rock and the other gutter punk of the late-90s – are also worth checking out. 

A Band Called Death 

Proof of how a great music documentary can tell us about the wider world – race, politics, community, family, economics – as well as being about great sounds. Three African-American brothers try to set up a punk band in 1970s Detroit. The challenges they face, and the disappointments and small triumphs, all combine to make this compelling viewing. Again, we will try not to spoil this for you, but there is a happy ending for the brothers of Death, albeit one tinged with some sadness. 

Madonna: Truth or Dare 

As Madonna has had so many reinventions down the years, it’s prudent to ask “which Madonna are we talking about here?”. Well, it’s the provocateur with no equal, with whom audiences were fascinated in the early 90s. At the height of her powers, Madonna tells all, giving up secrets about herself and the other stars in her orbit. However, the enthralling part of this is not the lewdness, the gossip or, indeed, the music; Instead, it is watching a master of brand and image curation in action. This looks like a haphazard documentary, but Madonna is in control of every fragment of what is on screen. 

DiG!

An incredible feat of documentary making.  Filmed over seven years and 1000s of hours of footage, DiG! follows the contrasting fortunes of two bands, the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The former has achieved success, but, as the documentary suggests, it might be at the cost of their integrity. The latter has its artistic dignity firmly intact, but the price might be even greater. DiG! won the Best Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and you can see why. However, it can be challenging to watch at times as the musicians struggle to come to terms with life, music and everything else in between.