Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, 2011

As the title might suggest, this documentary is about A Tribe Called Quest, often referred to as the most influential and groundbreaking musical groups in hip-hop history. The film is directed by Michael Rapaport who followed the band through their reunion tour in 2008, almost 10 years after the band’s sudden break up. Some of the participating interviewees are Common, Ludacris, Beastie Boys, and Pharrell.

Where to watch: YouTube rental, Google Play rental

FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, 2019

For anyone who has yet to see it, this is the story behind Fire festival, luxury music festival that turned into a national disaster. Over an hour-and-a-half the audience gets to see the inner workings of this festival trainwreck and it is entertaining and sad to watch all at the same time.

Where to watch: Netflix

Madonna and the Breakfast Club, 2019

The early story of Madonna, before the fame during her struggling year trying to make it in the big apple with her band the Breakfast Club. In many ways this film is a celebration of Madonna’s ambition but also a showcase of the people who had made an impact on her becoming a musician.

Where to watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube rental

New York 77 the Coolest Year in Hell, 2007

This was a big year for New York for a variety of reasons from an economic downturn, to a massive city blackout, and a series killer on the loose. It was also the year South Bronx embraced hip hop, Lower East side embraced thrashing guitar punk at CBGB, and disco was still in full swing. The film features interviews with music legends like Afrika Bambaataa, Chris Stein (Blondie), Grandmaster Caz, DJ Disco Wiz, and many more.

Where to watch: free on YouTube

ReMastered: Who Shot the Sheriff, A Bob Marley Story, 2018

The violent political suppression of the roots reggae movement in Jamaica told through an investigation into Jamaican politics and the CIA’s involvement in the mysterious shooting of Bob Marley.

Where to watch: Netflix

Searching for Sugar Man, 2012

An amazing story of an artist no one knew about called Rodriguez, who lived a humble, subtle life not knowing that he had a near cult following in South Africa. Rodriguez is eventually found well and alive by two fans who then proceed to untangle the story of his life and lack of attribution.

Where to watch: Netflix (US), YouTube rental, Google Play rental, Amazon rental

Scratch, 2001

This doc is all about turntablism, looking at the history from the South Bronx in the 1970 to San Francisco today (aka at the time filmed). A wealth of DJs and industry experts pitch into the story, reflecting on how they got into scratching and how it all begun. Among the many featured performers are Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, DJ Babu, Jazzy Jay, Grandmaster Flash, Madlib, and many, many more.

Where to watch: free on YouTube

Shut Up and Play the Hits, 2012

Documentary about the LCD Soundsystem’s last ever show at Madison Square Gardens. To quote IMDb, this film is “an intimate portrait of James Murphy as he navigates the lead-up to the show, the day after, and the personal and professional ramifications of his decision.”

Where to watch: Hulu, YouTube rental, Google Play rental

Rebel Music, MTV Series, 2013 –

A series of stories about Younge artists using music and art to ignite revolutionary actions around the world. Each episode focuses on an artists within a country, facing oppression, injustices, crime and other socio-political issues that fuel their creativity.  The stories featured are from indigenous people in Canada, Egypt, Mali, Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan, Mexico, and India.

Where to watch: Some full episodes are available free on YouTube

27 Gone Too Soon, 2017

Documentary that investigates the deaths of musical celebrities all of whom died at the age of 27. Throughout the film audiences get to see unseen footage and interviews with medical professionals, critics, and other insiders from the lives of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain.

Where to watch: Netflix

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Two of the heaviest hitters in the promotion game delivered a dynamic lineup of today’s most innovative producers and electronic artists, with performances by Proxy, the great Mr. James Murphy and Swedish House Mafia’s Sebastian Ingrosso.

If you did a double-take reading over that lineup, you aren’t alone. HARD x Mouth Taped Shut had their shit covered in terms of style and appeal, offering a little something for everyone’s taste in bass. From Proxy’s glitch beats that echo the bygone warehouses of USSR, to James Murphy’s mission of turning every venue he graces to an NYC disco hall, right on down to today’s heaviest Euro anthems from Sebastian Ingrosso, the night was a generous buffet of the who’s who in the modern dance scene. And the kicker? It was all free.

Yup. Not a dime to get inside. In a promotion technique that could only be pulled off in the age of social media, HARD x Mouth Taped Shut announced the lineup a mere 48 hours before showtime. Utilizing their Twitter and Facebook channels, the two promoters opened up their RSVP list on a first come, first served basis. Now I am not a gung- ho capitalist, but I couldn’t help but ask myself: “How the hell are they able to do this for free?” I never got an answer, but the moment Proxy took the stage to drop the velvet hammer of Mother Russia, I immediately stopped caring.

The first thing you’ll notice when Proxy takes the stage is that he looks exactly like your best friend’s little brother. It is remarkable to consider the scope of his career after seeing him in the flesh, looking like he may ask for help with some Algebra II before he takes the stage. Although he is a twenty-something with the face of a teenager, Proxy is as hardened a veteran of the electronic scene as any of his senior techno colleagues. He has crafted his own electro genius niche with Mako Records, and his track selection is an eclectic mix of almost dogmatic beats.

If Putin, Stalin and Gorbachev had started a Moog band in the basement of Kremlin, it would come out sounding exactly like Proxy. You can’t help but become enraptured with his craft, and his Russian upbringing plays an influential role in the aesthetic makeup of his music.

The show took a sharp left with James Murphy, the venerable frontman of one of the 2000s’ most influential bands, LCD Soundsystem. The band itself is no longer in performing, but James has moved on to the eighth incarnation of his unrivalled career. He is now concentrating on producing records, DJing shows, and is slated to work with the Arcade Fire on their next album.

Mr. Murphy has his hands in a little bit of everything, including an upcoming Sundance documentary chronicling LCD’s swan song at Madison Square that is aptly titled Shut Up and Play the Hits. But you won’t find any LCD songs in Murphy’s set, not even a little bit. It almost seems like James is trying to distance his persona from the styles of LCD Soundsystem. It was not a time to revel in his past success, it was time to disco.

Mr. Murphy and DFA label have always infused a disco structure into the backbones of their records, but now that he is free to roam as a DJ, James has gone full tilt. Rifling through a crate of vinyl (the only performer of the evening to do so), Murphy showed the growing crowd why disco is far from dead.

James’ song selection was a sharp contrast to his impossibly casual demeanor, and there was no better example than noticing that he performs in his socks. I mean, come on. How cool is that? It’s just a quirky scenario to picture in your head. One of the greatest musicians of the present day is about to whip a throng of kids into a disco frenzy, but before all this goes down, let him take a moment to remove his shoes and get comfortable.

The night concluded with a performance from Sebastian Ingrosso, one third of electro’s darling Swedish House Mafia. Like James Murphy, Sebastian has enjoyed major crossover success in the music world. Swedish House Mafia is one of the biggest acts happening right now, and their hundreds of millions of YouTube views will testify to their universal popularity. Though Sebastian Ingrosso’s tunes have been associated with the world of fist-pumping bottle-service bros, it is hard to deny how infectious and inviting his music truly is.

Ingrosso was able to inject the crowd with some serious rumpus, and the night achieved its most electric point about halfway through his set. The stage was rigged with CO2 canisters that shot columns of white in coordination with the music, effectively shrinking the feel of the rather large Congress Theater. People packed it in up to the very front, and looking out it was impossible not to smile at the collective joy radiating from the crowd.

HARD x Mouth Taped Shut delivered one sick night of beats and debauchery, and what could have easily developed into a shit show turned out to be one of the highlights of Chicago scene in 2011. I still don’t know how they did it, but now more than ever, I simply do not care.

If you were at the Congress Hall this night check out our Facebook album for crowd shots!

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And it is important to note, this is house music. This shit is everywhere. Throughout the entire festival, not an instrument could be found. Decks, MIDI controllers and mixers prevailed, reflecting EDM’s general takeover of the American music scene moving into the summer. The notion of another electro-only festival may have seemed foreign this time last year, but with the baffling rise of dance music, a change of events that has the style almost synonymous with pop, Wavefront was able to stand on its own two feet in a music market that is quickly becoming saturated.

Turnout over the weekend was decent considering this fledgling production shared weekends with Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan, an event that surely sucked thousands of Wavefront’s target audience. But, even running under capacity the festival experienced some growing pains throughout the weekend. A confusing beer purchasing process (buy tickets for beers at one place, stand in line again to redeem the tickets for beers) drew a lot of ire from the crowd.

Also, the stages were maybe a little too close, and at times the sound bleed was overbearing when walking the grounds. There is nothing quite as unsettling as two off-beat dance tracks awkwardly bouncing between stages, and the haphazardly placed local stages were often drown out of the mix entirely. But, that is expected with first-run productions, and when face up at your main stage of choice, the sound was crisp and booming. So in the end, it all worked out.

Saturday featured headlining performances from Toronto’s own MSTRKRFT, Boys Noize, the King of Acid himself, and international superstar Eric Morillo. Musically, these acts are relatively diverse, and it was a nice triangulation of EDM styles on showcase. MSTRKRFT’s main focus went towards thumping bangers and sampling their own remixes from their catalogue, while Boys Noize went strictly acid for his 90-minute set. Noize’s dedication to acid electro has been growing since 2010’s Power, and the man avoided playing past hits from the Oi, Oi, Oi days almost entirely. He has truly come into  his own as the genre’s poster child. Morillo whipped out a high-energy set of his own style of upbeat EDM. Whenever I think of traditional house, the brand established in Chicago’s underground over thirty years ago, Morillo is a top of mind performer.

There was a definitive shift in atmosphere once the beating sun took the rest of the day off, and the crowd’s energy elevated significantly for the day’s closing acts. However, the show ended at 10 p.m. due to a local noise ordinance, a depressingly early time for an EDM show. Oh well, life goes on.

Sunday promised to be a seasonal highlight of mine, with performances by DFA’s Mahoney, Shit Robot, and one of my favorite human beings on planet earth, Mr. James Murphy. But unfortunately a wind storm wrecked the vendor tents at about 12:30, and the grounds had to be evacuated for a safety concern. After over two hours of delay, the show resumed, but neither Shit Robot nor Mr. Murphy were slated to pickup any stage time. Total bummer, but it was just one of those things that happens. The festival recovered nicely from the little snafu, as nicely as possible, and by about 4 o’clock it was as if nothing happened.

The festival closed out with a rare performance from Duck Sauce, production and DJ superduo fronted by A-Trak and Arman van Helden. Holy shit, these guys know what they’re doing. Straying from the traditional house offerings from the rest of the festival, Duck Sauce went pop-disco on everyone’s ass for a rousing 90-minute set. It was a refreshing listen after almost 48-straight hours of four-on-the-floor beats, and even though it was a Sunday night, the crowd gave it their all. I can only imagine they weren’t the most productive employees come Monday, but when you get a chance to see Duck Sauce, on the beach, it is an easy decision: fuck work.

Looking forward to next year, and I think that this will become a mainstay in the Chicago summer scene.

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