LibGuides: Popular Music: Pop Music: DVD, Web, etc.

DVD

Before the Music Dies by Joel Rasmussen Never has the grass-roots American music scene been more diverse, or the broadcast and sale of music controlled by so few corporations. Filmmakers Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen traveled the country to find out why, in the midst of so rich a tradition, mainstream music seems so packaged and repetitive, and what the future of American music may be.
Call Number: DVD ML3470.B44 2000
Publication Date: 2006
Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas, A New Day by Celine Dion Features Celine's concert filmed in the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace and three exclusive documentaries: Because You Loved Me, A Tribute to the Fans; A New Day: All Access; and A New Day: The Secrets.
Call Number: DVD M1630.18.D56 C45 2007
Publication Date: 2007
Norah Jones & the Handsome Band: Live in 2004 by Hamish Hamilton
Call Number: DVD M1630.18.J66 N67 2004
Publication Date: 2004

Websites

Musicmap Launched in 2016, Musicmap is a fascinating interactive visualization of music history that "attempts to provide the ultimate genealogy of popular music genres," including the relationships and influences between genres. Visitors to Musicmap will find a colorful infographic designed to resemble a city skyline, with each "building" color-coded and labeled as a different musical "super-genre." Clicking a building brings up a synopsis of its genre with a list of subgenres at the bottom; for example, the Country block leads to subgenres ranging from Classic Country/Hillbilly to Nashville/Countrypolitan to Americana/Alternative Country. Users can then click a subgenre to read a short description and find a playlist of examples linked to embedded YouTube videos. Returning to the main map, visitors can also zoom in (using the buttons in the lower right corner) to see an intricate genealogy of the connections between subgenres, denoted by solid and dotted white lines. In addition, Musicmap includes a helpful menu on the left side, containing detailed information about its background and intentions, explanatory guides, and a glossary of musical terms. Musicmap is the brainchild and passion project of music enthusiast Kwinten Crauwels, who by day is an architect in Belgium, with the assistance of his brother Dries Crauwels, a web developer.

Streaming Video

A Band Is Born How to create a new all-boy designer pop band, from the advertisement for auditions to the first stage show and hit single.
Is It Really So Strange? [Morrissey] As the foppish, sexually ambiguous, brilliant singer/songwriter of the 80s music legend The Smiths, Morrissey brought intelligence, wit and mystery to pop tunes still unmatched in their ability to make grown men cry. In this intimate documentary, filmmaker William E. Jones interviews a new, but equally fanatical, fan base of The Smiths and Morrissey: Latino youths in East Los Angeles. Making the connection between The Smiths' working-class, Manchester-raised, ethnic Irish experience and that of the sons and daughters of Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles, Is It Really So Strange? is the first documentary that allows the fans themselves to speak at length about their lives, their loves and their brief encounters with their idol. Interviews with members of tribute band The Sweet and Tender Hooligans reveal even more about Morrissey's enduring appeal among the pompadoured denizens of the Inland Empire who, as one fan puts it, relate to Morrissey because 'he always sounds sad and depressed and lonely - all the good stuff.'
Killing Me Softly: The Roberta Flack Story In the 1970's, Roberta Flack became a global sensation with hits such as The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Feel Like Making Love, and Killing Me Softly. Her style of soulful pop transcended the US East Coast jazz clubs to become the dinner party sound track for Middle America. But behind this seemingly effortless career rise lies a much deeper, more substantial journey. Born into humble circumstances in America's segregated South, Roberta was a self-created musical prodigy who was one of the first and most significant black artists to cross over into the mainstream. This film follows Roberta's journey from her childhood in Arlington, Virginia in the 1930's and 40's, to the jazz clubs of Washington, D.C., where Roberta honed her style, to the moment she signed up with Atlantic Records and became a multi-Grammy Award-winning star. It is a deeply personal story told alongside the wider context of America's civil rights movement, a struggle that was to strike a chord all over the world.