Before the Music Dies (2006)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Andrew Shapter

Writers:

Joel Rasmussen (writer)
Andrew Shapter (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

With outstanding performances and revealing interviews Before the Music Dies takes a critical look at...

Cast

Doyle Bramhall II	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Erykah Badu	...	Herself
Eric Clapton	...	Himself
Elvis Costello	...	Himself
Taylor Hannah	...	Herself
Josh Jackson	...	Himself
Branford Marsalis	...	Himself
Dave Matthews	...	Himself
Billy Preston	...	Himself
Nick Purdy	...	Himself
Bonnie Raitt	...	Herself
Ahmir-Khalib Thompson	...	Himself

Also Known As:

B4md (Australia)

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

most inspiring movie I've seen in a while

for me, an avid music fan, this documentary hit home from the opening credits. as a child of the 90s, i can still remember when i could turn on the radio, flip through 7 stations, and hear about 7 completely different songs being played. it was not a process to try and search out "alternative" stations because as you moved from station to station you could find something that sounded completely different than what was playing on the station before it. this all stopped around 1997 when i found that as i moved from station to station i could be guaranteed to hear the same song in a short period of time. sadly, around 1997, i abandoned listening to the radio all together and haven't gone back since. the radio used to be a place to hear what was new and upcoming. bands had a chance to develop on the radio and gain an audience; record companies instilled faith in bands and nurtured them to develop. it is these concepts that the movie focuses on. pop radio hasn't always been something to hate if you're a music fan! artists like stevie wonder, ray charles, dmb, pearl jam, THE BEATLES, aretha franklin, elvis, gladys knight & the pips, eric Clapton, led zeppelin, and so on are all spawns of pop radio! in this movie branford marsalis has some of the best quotes I've ever heard regarding the music industry saying: "fans of popular music today aren't music fans...they're pop culture fans.", "stevie wonder and ray charles would not have had a shot today...they're blind!", and has one regarding dmb saying that they would not have made it either since they are different and have a violin & saxophone in the band! though this movie sounds like it would be quite depressing to the music fan viewing, it is actually quite uplifting because it shows that well respected people in the business are aware of the crap that is coming out. please check this out and spread the word.