The Martlet

I listen to a lot of music — really, it’s almost all I do. No matter what I’m doing, there’s always some aural pleasure accompanying me. This constant need to be basking in sonic sweetness extends to my viewing of movies: I have an unwavering love of band documentaries. I’m fascinated by the inner workings of the musical process, and even on-screen documentations of bands or artists that aren’t in my usual listening canon often keep me riveted. 2011 brought an incredible film on perhaps the most important band in my listening life, Pearl Jam (Twenty). In honour of this momentous movie, here I look at a few of my favourite in-depth artist portraits from the last few years.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Runnin’ Down A Dream (2007) Clocking in at a staggering four hours, Runnin’ Down A Dream is a jaw-droppingly intense look at the highs and mediums of a band that has been a staple on rock radio for more than 35 years. A lot of the drama one would expect from a band so large is absent as the film paints the portrait of a group of friends overcoming life’s common tragedies, with none of them ever playing the familiar part of the distant, inebriated rock star.

G. Love & Special Sauce – A Year and A Night (2007) Part documentary, part concert film, A Year And A Night follows G. Love and Special Sauce as they globe-trot and bring hip-hop blues to the masses. Throughout the film, G. Love is portrayed as a man with an unwavering vision and a band leader who works like a bit of tyrant. He controls his band mates with his huge personality and uncompromising opinions on how professional musicians should bring their art to audiences. There’s an incredible moment in the film when G. Love lays down the law with his drummer, The Houseman, and explains that the rules can change when the band is called “Houseman & Special Sauce.” It’s a final record of Jimi “Jazz” Prescott’s time with the band, as he left shortly after the release of this film and its accompanying live record. After watching the film, this outcome hardly comes as a surprise.

Metallica – Some Kind of Monster (2004) It takes an incredible effort to reveal the humanity inside of a werewolf, and that’s exactly what directors Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger do in their profile of heavy metal overlords Metallica. We see the all-too-human breakdown of singer James Hetfield amidst his constant power struggle with drummer Lars Ulrich. The affable guitarist, Kirk Hammett, gets caught in the crossfire. This film gives a much-needed human face to a band that not only outgrew themselves but also outgrew the genre they helped popularize. The scenes with Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine trembling in the shadow of the mighty band he was exiled from are an especially potent ingredient in this surprisingly in-depth and personal film.

Pearl Jam – Twenty (2011) Put together from over 1,200 hours of rare footage, Pearl Jam Twenty is a gift to fans from the ultimate fan and insider, filmmaker Cameron Crowe. Through awkwardly revealing interviews and breathtaking concert footage, Crowe goes inside not just the band, but the lifecycle of an entire musical scene, from its very inception to the loss of its wide-eyed innocence. With so many shots coming from so many places to create the film, Twenty has the feel of a scrapbook, each piece cut and pasted with the utmost care and attention. It’s a beautiful film that captures the essence of a band at the height of its power.