Well after their deaths, the pop stars of an earlier era — the mid-20th century, to be precise — are receiving documentary treatment, such greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin and Louis Armstrong among them. Artists of the baby boom, on the other hand, a generation of unprecedented size and many other firsts, are participating in the process, as they have been for decades.
The earliest documentary portraits of boomer musicians set the bar high with a fresh, self-reflexive power. D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 Don’t Look Back traced Dylan’s ambivalent dance into and out of the spotlight, and in 1970 the Maysles brothers’ Gimme Shelter found the Rolling Stones facing darker complexities around the same push-pull. Today, films exploring pop artists’ life’s work, or at least certain aspects of it, are being made while they’re still engaged in it.
Two of the most captivating and poignant documentaries to hit...
The earliest documentary portraits of boomer musicians set the bar high with a fresh, self-reflexive power. D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 Don’t Look Back traced Dylan’s ambivalent dance into and out of the spotlight, and in 1970 the Maysles brothers’ Gimme Shelter found the Rolling Stones facing darker complexities around the same push-pull. Today, films exploring pop artists’ life’s work, or at least certain aspects of it, are being made while they’re still engaged in it.
Two of the most captivating and poignant documentaries to hit...
- 7/13/2023
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In the history of album cover art, only two parties have become arguably almost as famous as some of the bands they shot or designed for: Hipgnosis, in the 1970s, and Anton Corbijn, from the mid-‘80s forward. Those two forces come together with a new documentary, “Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis),” directed by Corbijn, about the era of artwork that entranced him, like most music fans, as a youth. Forty years after Hipgnosis ceased to be a going concern as we knew it, the company’s covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and countless others continue to be collected in coffee-table books. And when it comes to the stories behind the sleeves, rock fans still just can’t get enough… to quote a band that Corbijn came to be associated with a little bit later.
Before the film hits home video, it will have a one-night showing...
Before the film hits home video, it will have a one-night showing...
- 6/19/2023
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Album artwork flipped from being an afterthought to a feature when classic rock bands started selling millions of records during their heyday. The large surface area of vinyl LP sleeves gave artists a huge pop culture canvas to work with, and they took advantage. Pink Floyd took full advantage of the album cover-as-artwork movement, and their best sleeves remain some of the most iconic ever created. The Beatles and Rolling Stones saw some of their album artwork banned, but Pink Floyd never ran into that problem.
The album cover for Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon | Ryan McFadden/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images 1. ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’
Simple. Elegant. Eye-catching. Memorable. Enduring.
We’re starting our countdown of the best Pink Floyd album covers at No. 1 because there’s no reason to delay the inevitable. The Dark Side of the Moon leaves an...
The album cover for Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon | Ryan McFadden/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images 1. ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’
Simple. Elegant. Eye-catching. Memorable. Enduring.
We’re starting our countdown of the best Pink Floyd album covers at No. 1 because there’s no reason to delay the inevitable. The Dark Side of the Moon leaves an...
- 3/30/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Fifty years after Led Zeppelin released Houses of the Holy, we know its best songs rank among the band’s finest. After a two-month delay because of the album artwork, Zep released their fifth album to a ravenous fan base that helped it go gold in less than two weeks. Despite the delay, Jimmy Page still hated the Houses of the Holy cover, and 50 years later, we know just how wrong he was.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page | Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music/Getty Images Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin fired the original ‘Houses of the Holy’ album cover designer
Just say the words Houses of the Holy, and you can practically see the cover: The glowing orange sky, kaleidoscopic-colored rocks, and naked children climbing on them toward the summit. Page hated the final design, but it beats the alternative — an image of a tennis racket.
Storm Thorgerson, a founder of...
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page | Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music/Getty Images Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin fired the original ‘Houses of the Holy’ album cover designer
Just say the words Houses of the Holy, and you can practically see the cover: The glowing orange sky, kaleidoscopic-colored rocks, and naked children climbing on them toward the summit. Page hated the final design, but it beats the alternative — an image of a tennis racket.
Storm Thorgerson, a founder of...
- 3/28/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Led Zeppelin threw fans a curveball when they released their fifth album, Houses of the Holy, on March 28, 1973. Or did they? The band never remained in one stylistic place for very long, and they tackled several genres on the well-received Houses of Holy.
(l-r) Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and John Bonham | Laurance Ratner/WireImage Led Zeppelin fans got a sneak peek at ‘Houses of the Holy’ months in advance
Houses of the Holy might have been Led Zeppelin’s brightest album. The sharp production mirrored the positive vibes of many of the songs. Heavy electric blues, a staple of the first four albums, virtually disappeared on Hoh. If fans were surprised by the sonic shift, they shouldn’t have been.
“Although everyone was clamoring for another Led Zeppelin IV, it’s very dangerous to try and duplicate yourself. I won’t name any names,...
(l-r) Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and John Bonham | Laurance Ratner/WireImage Led Zeppelin fans got a sneak peek at ‘Houses of the Holy’ months in advance
Houses of the Holy might have been Led Zeppelin’s brightest album. The sharp production mirrored the positive vibes of many of the songs. Heavy electric blues, a staple of the first four albums, virtually disappeared on Hoh. If fans were surprised by the sonic shift, they shouldn’t have been.
“Although everyone was clamoring for another Led Zeppelin IV, it’s very dangerous to try and duplicate yourself. I won’t name any names,...
- 3/28/2023
- by Jason Rossi
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Pink Floyd will mark the 50th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon with a massive reissue that houses an unreleased 1974 full-album performance of the legendary LP.
The 2Cd/2Lp/2-Blu-ray The Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary deluxe box set — due out March 24, 2023, a half-century plus 23 days after the original album’s release date — pairs the remastered LP with the live album The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974, featuring an unreleased Nov. 1974 performance of the album.
The box set also Blu-rays...
The 2Cd/2Lp/2-Blu-ray The Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary deluxe box set — due out March 24, 2023, a half-century plus 23 days after the original album’s release date — pairs the remastered LP with the live album The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley Empire Pool, London, 1974, featuring an unreleased Nov. 1974 performance of the album.
The box set also Blu-rays...
- 1/19/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
It should hardly come as a surprise that Anton Corbijn would want to make a movie about iconic rock ‘n’ roll looks. Before he began directing feature films with 2007’s striking Joy Division drama “Control,” after all, Corbijn was responsible for quite a few notable rock looks of his own as a design director and rock photographer responsible for U2’s “The Joshua Tree” album cover, among many others.
So when the Dutch photographer-turned-director, whose other films include “The Americans” and “A Most Wanted Man,” turns to rock iconography for the documentary “Squaring the Circle (the story of hipgnosis),” it’s clear that the guy knows what he’s talking about — not that Corbijn himelf does the talking in the film, which had its world premiere on Friday at the Telluride Film Festival.
Instead, he leaves the storytelling to the illustrious likes of Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page,...
So when the Dutch photographer-turned-director, whose other films include “The Americans” and “A Most Wanted Man,” turns to rock iconography for the documentary “Squaring the Circle (the story of hipgnosis),” it’s clear that the guy knows what he’s talking about — not that Corbijn himelf does the talking in the film, which had its world premiere on Friday at the Telluride Film Festival.
Instead, he leaves the storytelling to the illustrious likes of Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Pink Floyd have finally announced the release date for the long-delayed reissue of their classic 1977 LP Animals.
Animals 2018 Remix will arrive starting Sept. 16, with the Orwellian concept album also receiving its first-ever 5.1 Stereo Sound release. While the reissue doesn’t feature any bonus tracks, it does include a polished-up mix overseen by engineer James Guthrie of the original five-song album on CD, vinyl, Blu-ray, and Sacd.
As the title suggests, the remix was completed in 2018 and originally intended for release around that time; however, the reissue was delayed as former...
Animals 2018 Remix will arrive starting Sept. 16, with the Orwellian concept album also receiving its first-ever 5.1 Stereo Sound release. While the reissue doesn’t feature any bonus tracks, it does include a polished-up mix overseen by engineer James Guthrie of the original five-song album on CD, vinyl, Blu-ray, and Sacd.
As the title suggests, the remix was completed in 2018 and originally intended for release around that time; however, the reissue was delayed as former...
- 6/30/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Earlier this month, Pink Floyd announced plans for a live album documenting their 1990 performance at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, England, on June 30th, 1990.
It was a part of an enormous all-star show that also featured Paul McCartney, Genesis, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Robert Plant with surprise guest Jimmy Page, Status Quo, and Tears for Fears.
“There is something special about Knebworth,” drummer Nick Mason said in a statement. “We all still have fond memories of playing there in the Seventies, and this show was no different. As a North London boy,...
It was a part of an enormous all-star show that also featured Paul McCartney, Genesis, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Robert Plant with surprise guest Jimmy Page, Status Quo, and Tears for Fears.
“There is something special about Knebworth,” drummer Nick Mason said in a statement. “We all still have fond memories of playing there in the Seventies, and this show was no different. As a North London boy,...
- 3/23/2021
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Pink Floyd will re-release Delicate Sound of Thunder — a document of their blockbuster tour supporting 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason — this fall in a variety of formats.
The concert film, which has been restored and re-edited from the original 35mm film and remixed into 5.1 surround sound, will be available on Blu-ray and DVD, while the live album, which was certified three times platinum in its original release, will be available in sets of two CDs, three LPs or a deluxe, four-disc set with bonus tracks. All of the versions...
The concert film, which has been restored and re-edited from the original 35mm film and remixed into 5.1 surround sound, will be available on Blu-ray and DVD, while the live album, which was certified three times platinum in its original release, will be available in sets of two CDs, three LPs or a deluxe, four-disc set with bonus tracks. All of the versions...
- 9/24/2020
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Pink Floyd’s entire output following the departure of Roger Waters will be the focus of the massive new box set The Later Years, a 16-disc collection that boasts the David Gilmour-led band’s studio LP and live albums, concert films, unreleased rarities, live performances and more.
The Later Years, out November 29th and available to pre-order now, features three studio albums – 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason (presented here “updated and remixed” by David Gilmour and Andy Jackson), 1994’s The Division Bell and 2014’s swan song The Endless...
The Later Years, out November 29th and available to pre-order now, features three studio albums – 1987’s A Momentary Lapse of Reason (presented here “updated and remixed” by David Gilmour and Andy Jackson), 1994’s The Division Bell and 2014’s swan song The Endless...
- 8/29/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Happy 40th anniversary to Led Zeppelin’s In Through the Out Door, the band’s stunning final statement that has only begun to be appreciated in recent years. Unsurprisingly, this magazine slammed it so hard its hinges almost flew off: “If perchance Robert Plant meets someone who doesn’t dump on him, he should avoid calling her ‘the apple of my eye’ or she will probably reject him,” Charles M. Young cracked in Rolling Stone. “Just as I am rejecting ‘I’m Gonna Crawl,’ in which he sings that cliché...
- 8/16/2019
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
Facebook has reversed its decision that saw Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy album cover temporarily banned from the social network.
The ban of the iconic and controversial artwork, conceived by Hipgnosis’ Aubrey Powell and featuring naked children scaling a mountain, began earlier this week when music website Ultimate Classic Rock posted the Houses of the Holy cover art in a Facebook post, the fifth time the site had posted that album cover. On this occasion, however, the site received a takedown notice from Facebook following user complaints.
“Since...
The ban of the iconic and controversial artwork, conceived by Hipgnosis’ Aubrey Powell and featuring naked children scaling a mountain, began earlier this week when music website Ultimate Classic Rock posted the Houses of the Holy cover art in a Facebook post, the fifth time the site had posted that album cover. On this occasion, however, the site received a takedown notice from Facebook following user complaints.
“Since...
- 6/21/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
“Piper at the Gates of Dawn” isn’t just the name of a Pink Floyd album that’s being reissued on vinyl. It’s a prescription for how early you may need to be in line at the gates of your local brick-and-mortar music shop on Saturday for Record Store Day, if you want to be sure to get hold of the most coveted limited editions going on sale exclusively among independent retailers.
That Floyd LP, a mono mix being reissued on vinyl for the first time in a half-century, could be this year’s most widely coveted piece. But there are 421 other titles also going on sale Saturday, as listed here. If lining up isn’t your thing, don’t despair; some of these will still be available in the days or even weeks to follow… or forever, on Discogs and eBay. But honestly, doesn’t all music sound...
That Floyd LP, a mono mix being reissued on vinyl for the first time in a half-century, could be this year’s most widely coveted piece. But there are 421 other titles also going on sale Saturday, as listed here. If lining up isn’t your thing, don’t despair; some of these will still be available in the days or even weeks to follow… or forever, on Discogs and eBay. But honestly, doesn’t all music sound...
- 4/20/2018
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Picturehouse Entertainment has secured international rights to broadcast the upcoming Monty Python Live (Mostly) show on July 20.
The event marks the celebrated Last Night Of The Pythons Live series of shows from London’s O2.
Aubrey Powell will direct the live show and Fiz Oliver produces.
It is anticipated that more than 450 cinemas across the UK will take the live broadcast.
“Thanks to the wonderful invention of moving pictures, The Last Night Of Monty Python is coming to a cinema near you,” said the Pythons.
“Get your knotted handkerchiefs out and warm your brains one last time at any one of 450 cinemas across the UK, and 1,500 across the world. Join the crowd live from London’s O2 in a final weepy, hilarious, uproarious, outrageous, farewell to the five remaining Pythons as they head for The Old Jokes Home ….on the big screen, in HD.”...
The event marks the celebrated Last Night Of The Pythons Live series of shows from London’s O2.
Aubrey Powell will direct the live show and Fiz Oliver produces.
It is anticipated that more than 450 cinemas across the UK will take the live broadcast.
“Thanks to the wonderful invention of moving pictures, The Last Night Of Monty Python is coming to a cinema near you,” said the Pythons.
“Get your knotted handkerchiefs out and warm your brains one last time at any one of 450 cinemas across the UK, and 1,500 across the world. Join the crowd live from London’s O2 in a final weepy, hilarious, uproarious, outrageous, farewell to the five remaining Pythons as they head for The Old Jokes Home ….on the big screen, in HD.”...
- 4/24/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Picturehouse Entertainment has secured international rights to broadcast the upcoming Monty Python Live (Mostly) show on July 20.
The event marks the celebrated Last Night Of The Pythons Live series of shows from London’s O2.
Aubrey Powell will direct the live show and Fiz Oliver produces.
It is anticipated that more than 450 cinemas across the UK will take the live broadcast.
“Thanks to the wonderful invention of moving pictures, The Last Night Of Monty Python is coming to a cinema near you,” said the Pythons.
“Get your knotted handkerchiefs out and warm your brains one last time at any one of 450 cinemas across the UK, and 1500 across the world. Join the crowd live from London’s O2 in a final weepy, hilarious, uproarious, outrageous, farewell to the five remaining Pythons as they head for The Old Jokes Home ….on the big screen, in HD.”...
The event marks the celebrated Last Night Of The Pythons Live series of shows from London’s O2.
Aubrey Powell will direct the live show and Fiz Oliver produces.
It is anticipated that more than 450 cinemas across the UK will take the live broadcast.
“Thanks to the wonderful invention of moving pictures, The Last Night Of Monty Python is coming to a cinema near you,” said the Pythons.
“Get your knotted handkerchiefs out and warm your brains one last time at any one of 450 cinemas across the UK, and 1500 across the world. Join the crowd live from London’s O2 in a final weepy, hilarious, uproarious, outrageous, farewell to the five remaining Pythons as they head for The Old Jokes Home ….on the big screen, in HD.”...
- 4/24/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Monty Python's farewell stage show at London's O2 Arena on July 20th will be broadcast to movie theaters around the world via Picturehouse Entertainment, Variety reports.
Dubbed "The Last Night of Monty Python," the show will be the last of the legendary comedy troupe's 10-night reunion run, "Monty Python Live (Mostly)." In a statement, the Pythons wrote, "Join the crowd live from London’s O2 in a final weepy, hilarious, uproarious, outrageous, farewell to the five remaining Pythons as they head for The Old Jokes Home." The broadcast will be...
Dubbed "The Last Night of Monty Python," the show will be the last of the legendary comedy troupe's 10-night reunion run, "Monty Python Live (Mostly)." In a statement, the Pythons wrote, "Join the crowd live from London’s O2 in a final weepy, hilarious, uproarious, outrageous, farewell to the five remaining Pythons as they head for The Old Jokes Home." The broadcast will be...
- 4/24/2014
- Rollingstone.com
Storm Thorgerson, a graphic designer responsible for the artwork on many vinyl record albums in your parents’ collections whose jackets still smell faintly of marijuana smoke, has died at 69. He had been suffering from cancer for several years. Thorgerson got his first gig through connections: As a teenager, he had been schoolmates with founding Pink Floyd members Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. In 1968, at a time when the band was suffering from internal strife and Barrett was on the verge of being nudged out, Thorgerson and his flatmate Aubrey Powell were, he later wrote, “trying in some measure ...
- 4/19/2013
- avclub.com
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin's pivotal album, "Houses of the Holy." Led Heads, this is your permission to crank it up to 11 today.
The eight-song LP was released in 1973 and was the legendary rock band's fifth studio project, but it represented the first compilation of entirely original Zeppelin music. Including tunes like "The Song Remains the Same" and "Dancing Days," the album was recorded at the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio on Mick Jagger's country estate, featuring more complicated guitar contributions from Page and less of the blues twang heard on other tunes. The result was released to mixed reviews; since then, however, the record has gone down in history as one of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time (along with "Led Zeppelin," "Led Zeppelin II," "Led Zeppelin IV," and "Physical Graffiti").
The cover art of "Houses of the Holy" (featured below) was inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's novel,...
The eight-song LP was released in 1973 and was the legendary rock band's fifth studio project, but it represented the first compilation of entirely original Zeppelin music. Including tunes like "The Song Remains the Same" and "Dancing Days," the album was recorded at the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio on Mick Jagger's country estate, featuring more complicated guitar contributions from Page and less of the blues twang heard on other tunes. The result was released to mixed reviews; since then, however, the record has gone down in history as one of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time (along with "Led Zeppelin," "Led Zeppelin II," "Led Zeppelin IV," and "Physical Graffiti").
The cover art of "Houses of the Holy" (featured below) was inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's novel,...
- 3/28/2013
- by Katherine Brooks
- Huffington Post
I can't remember a time I went to the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) press launch and looked over the list of films and saw so many I was interested in seeing. The claim to fame for over the years is to call it the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States. This is a fact I've often taken issue with as I don't equate quantity with quality. Granted, there has been a large number of quality features to play the fest over the years, including Golden Space Needle (Best Film) winners such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), My Life as a Dog (1987), Trainspotting (1996), Run Lola Run (1999), Whale Rider (2003) and even recent Best Director winner, Michel Hazanavicius's Oss 117: Nest of Spies in 2006. That said, looking over this year's crop of films I see a lot of films I will be doing my absolute best to see.
- 4/27/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
An inflatable pig was used to create a real-life replica of the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals yesterday. To mark the re-issue of the band's 14 studio albums, the pig was flown over Battersea Power Station in a recreation of the iconic sleeve designed by songwriter Roger Waters with Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell. Earlier this year, the cover of the band's (more)...
- 9/27/2011
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
If you're going to tailor-make yourself a job, you could do far worse than ask yourself, what are the two things you really like and how can you make a living out of it? In my case it was a love of rock'n'roll and a passion for art. Doing my sums, I figured that pop plus art equals Pop artist; but rock'n'roll plus art? Ah, yes, album cover designer. I'd previously been a shoe designer, producing stack-heeled platform boots in the early Seventies, selling my wares to Elton John, Roxy Music, and er, the Osmonds. When that all folded, my friends Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson asked me to come and work for them at Hipgnosis, the seminal design studio famed for its work with Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.
- 11/26/2010
- The Independent - Film
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