Culture Representation: Taking place at La Seine Musicale in Paris during the autumn of 2023,the concert documentary film “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” has a racially diverse group of people (black, white, Asian, and Latin) who are on stage and in the audience.
Culture Clash: American superstar Usher performs in Paris during Paris Fashion Week.
Culture Audience: “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Usher and people who like high-energy concert documentaries and don’t mind seeing dance moves and song performances that have adult sexual themes.
Usher in “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” (Photo courtesy of AMC Theatres Distribution and Trafalgar Releasing
“Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” delivers exactly what you think it should for a high-energy, sexually suggestive concert documentary of Usher performing in Paris. It’s a competently made film but iit has no surprises and isn’t extraordinary. This is a movie made for Usher’s fans who want familiarity, include the expected set list of his greatest hits.
Directed by Anthony Mandler, the documentary was filmed during Paris Fashion Week (September 25 to October 3) in 2023, when Usher (the Atlanta native whose full name is Usher Raymond) did a concert stint at La Seine Musicale. The concert, which is divided into six chapters, has filmed interludes of Usher walking around in a fedora on the streets of Paris (sometimes with smoke effects on the streets), with voiceover narration of Usher saying poetry-like ramblings about a mystery woman who’s on his mind.
These interludes come across as both a little bit pretentious and a little corny, but fortunately, these interludes are short and don’t take away from the main attraction: seeing Usher perform in concert. About 85% of the audience consists of women, most of whom seem to be in adoring awe.
Usher knows he’s a sex symbol and plays it up to the hilt, including simulating sexual foreplay and doing a lot of grinding with several of his female backup dancers. One dancer, clad in a G-string and dominatrix gear, outright simulates S&M sex with Usher. During “Bad Girl,” the female dancers perform on stripper poles and twerk. It would probably be more offensive to some if most of the audience consisted of children, but the concert audience in this movie are mostly women in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
Some viewers might notice that Usher’s female dancers, not his male dancers, are the once who have to prance and strut around on stage, often scantily clad. But it’s all very calculated: If Usher had his male dancers be too much eye candy the audience, that would take attention away from him, the star of the show. One of the concert highlights is when Usher and his backup dancers glide and twirl around on roller skates, which is a lot harder than it looks.
Usher’s vocals are in fine form, as he belts out his hits like a seasoned pro. He’s also not afraid to work up a sweat. The set list includes several hits spanning his entire career so far, including “Caught Up,” “My Boo,” You Remind Me,” “You Make Me Wanna…,” “You Got It Bad,” “Nice and Slow,” “Let It Burn,” “Confessions” and “OMG.” Predictably, Usher saves his biggest hit (“Yeah!”) for near the end of the set. Unpredictably, he ends the set by performing David Guetta’s “Without You.” Simply put: “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” is the concert equivalent of sexy comfort food for people who know exactly what they’re getting.
AMC Theatres Distribution and Trafalgar Releasing released “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” in U.S. cinemas for a limited engagement from September 12 to September 15, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in the late 2010s in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the comedy/drama “Kneecap” (a biopic of the rap group of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A schoolteacher and two hoodlums become unlikely musical partners in Kneecap, a rap trio that causes controversy for its pro-Irish, anti-British rhetoric.
Culture Audience: “Kneecap” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and biopics about rebellious underdogs.
Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh and JJ Ó Dochartaigh in “Kneecap” (Photo by Ryan Kernaghan/Sony Pictures Classics)
The comedy/drama “Kneecap” is partly a musical biopic, partly a call for Irish pride, and partly a celebration of rebellious hedonism. The members of Kneecap credibly portray versions of themselves. This isn’t the type of movie where it looks like the non-professional actors are struggling to keep up with the professional actors. This is a movie where everyone performs in a seamless and realistic way that might make some people squirm but it will be hard for viewers to look away.
Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, “Kneecap” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (where it won the NEXT Audience Award) and later premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film &TV Festival and the 2024 Tribeca Festival. The movie (which takes place in the late 2010s in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is an origin story of Kneecap but also a ragtag history lesson on the fight for the United Kingdom to make Irish an official language in Northern Ireland.
The voiceover narrator of “Kneecap” is Mo Chara (the stage name of Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, who plays a version of himself in the movie), who is heard telling a wild story something that happened in the youth of his best friend/musical partner Móglaí Bap (also known as Naoise Ó Cairealláin, who plays a version of himself in the movie). According to Mo Chara, the baptism of Móglaí Bap happened outdoors in a wooded area at night.
Móglaí Bap’s parents Arló Ó Cairealláin (played by Michael Fassbender) and Dolores Ó Cairealláin (played by Simone Kirby) are caught off guard when a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) helicopter suddenly appears in the air to take Arló into custody? Why? Because Arló is an outlaw Irish Republican Army (IRA) member, who is considered to be a terrorist.
It’s later explained that Arló abandoned the family and went into hiding. He didn’t contact Móglaí Bap/Naoise and Dolores for years. Eventually, Arló was presumed dead and a funeral service/memorial was held for him. There’s a running joke in the movie about Arló’s mysterious disappearance. Chara says of Móglaí Bap/Naoise’s chaotic childhood: “I mean, what fucking chance did the wee boy have?”
“Kneecap” has a lot of surrealistic imagery that’s meant to be a reflection of the drug-addled perspective of the Kneecap protagonists. The movie has a constant stream of scenes where drug abuse is either mentioned or shown. After a while, it gets a tad annoying because “Kneecap” over-relies on drug jokes and comes dangerously close to making it overtake the story when there are much more interesting aspects to these characters.
As kids at about 7 or 8 years old, Móglaí Bap/Naoise (played by Aidan McCaughey) and Mo Chara/Liam (played by Cillian Kernan) irst come into contact with drugs when they’re on a street and a drug dealer, who’s being chased by police on foot, throws a bag of marijuana at bystanders Naoise and Liam to get rid of this evidence.
The police run by without knowing that the two boys now have this drug dealer’s marijuana stash. As a prank, altar boys Liam and Naoise spiked the communion juice with this marijuana at their church. An adult Liam then smugly says in a voiceover: “Next Sunday, the congregation doubled.”
As young adults, Liam and Naoise are drug-abusing partiers and small-time drug dealers who spend a lot of time in nightclubs. Naoise and Liam are very proud of their Northern Irish heritage and prefer to speak Irish instead of English. The two pals are at a nightclub that gets raided. Naoise (who is high on ketamine) escapes. Liam (who’s high on Ecstasy) gets arrested.
Liam is brought in for interrogation at a police station, which has provided an Irish-language interpreter named JJ Ó Dochartaigh (playing a version of himself), who has a day job as music teacher at a local high school. During this interrogation, JJ notices that Liam has a notebook, which has handwritten lyrics as well as a sheet of psychedelic drugs. JJ takes the sheet of drugs home with him because he likes to get high too. JJ hides his drug use from his co-workers, his students and his loyal wife Caitlin (played by Fionnuala Flaherty), who still suspects that JJ has secrets.
Liam is eventually released from police custody. When he reunites with Naoise, these two troublemakers continue to raise some hell. While on a street one day, Liam sees some Royal Irish Rangers, a light infantry regiment of the British Army considered to be the enemy of the IRA. Liam insults these Rangers, who then chase him on foot on the street.
JJ happens to be on driving on the same street when he sees that Liam is in trouble. JJ comes to the rescue by giving Liam a car ride to escape from the Rangers. They soon meet up with Naoise. JJ tells Naoise and Liam that he saw the lyrics in Liam’s notebook and thinks that Liam has real talent. JJ suggests that they make rap music to the lyrics in the Irish language.
At first, Naoise and Liam are skeptical and laugh at the idea because they think the chances are slim to not that an Irish-language rap act can make it big. But when JJ mentions that he has a small recording studio that Naoise and Liam can use, Naoise and Liam take up JJ on his offer, and the three of them end up forming a musical group called Kneecap.
JJ becomes Kneecap’s DJ (with the stage name DJ Próvai) and wears a ski mask when performing with Kneecap in public, because he doesn’t want people who know he’s a schoolteacher to find out that he’s been moonlighting in this radical rap group. Kneecap’s recording sessions are drug-fueled binges where they write songs and make music in between using drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, Ecstasy and ketamine.
“Kneecap” has a subplot about Liam getting sexually involved with a domineering and sassy young woman named Georgia (played by Jessica Reynolds), who likes to act as if she doesn’t really like Liam. She uses light S&M techniques on him during their sexual encounters to show him that she’s the one who’s in charge in their relationship. Liam is relatively inexperienced and tolerates it all because he falls in love with Georgia.
And what a coincidence: Georgia’s mother is Detective Ellis (played by Josie Walker), the same officer who’s leading the investigation to find Arló and to bust the drug dealing of Naoise and Liam. Detective Ellis doesn’t believe that Arló is really dead. And neither should viewers of “Kneecap,” since there’s no way a movie like this would have a star like Fassbender and just have him do a few flashbacks scenes as a cameo. The truth of what happened to Arló is eventually revealed in “Kneecap.”
“Kneecap” is about as “in your face” as it gets when it comes to depicting the sex, drugs and hip-hop lifestyle if Kneecap. There’s also a subplot about Naoise and Liam clashing with members of an activist group called Radical Republicans Against Drugs. A lot of it is played for laughs and should not be take too seriously. However, some viewers might be offended if they think the movie makes this hedonism look glamorous. If anything, the movie probably tones down or leaves out a lot of naughty things that really go on behind the scenes with Kneecap.
As for the music, whether or not a viewer likes rap, the performances (especially on stage) are electrifying. (Kneecap songs on the “Kneecap” soundtrack are “Belfast,” “C.E.A.R.T.A.,” “H.O.O.D.,” “Amach Anocht,” “Sick in the Head,” “Better Way to Live (featuring Grian Chatten), “Guilty Conscience,” “Thart Agus Thart” and “Parful.”) Even the admitted hooligans of Kneecap have a purpose that’s bigger than just getting wasted on drugs. They see themselves as staunch warriors of Irish pride who advocate for adding the Irish language as an official language in Northern Ireland instead of having only English as Northern Ireland’s official language. The story of “Kneecap” takes place during the controversies of turning this initiative into the law.
The slapstick comedy and serious political commentary don’t always blend well together in “Kneecap.” However, the principal cast members’ performances work quite well with the movie’s often madcap tone. Fassbender, who doesn’t do a lot of comedies, looks like he’s having a lot of fun in this role as a deadbeat dad who think he’s made sacrifices for a noble cause. “Kneecap” is perhaps most relatable to a specific audience who is at least familiar with Northern Irish culture. However, the movie can also be recommended viewing for anyone who likes bawdy comedies about “underdogs” who find a way to triumph against an oppressive system.
Sony Pictures Classics released “Kneecap” in U.S. cinemas on August 2, 2024. The movie was released in Ireland on August 8, 2024.
Culture Representation: The documentary “Eno” features award-winning British music producer/artist Brian Eno talking about his career and outlook on life.
Culture Clash: After getting critical acclaim and big hits for his work with rock artists such as David Bowie and U2, Eno got a lot of criticism for his solo ambient music, which many critics described as self-indulgent and wimpy.
Culture Audience: Besides appealing to the obvious target audience of Eno fans, “Eno” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching documentaries about underrated musicians.
Brian Eno in “Eno” (Photo courtesy of Film First)
The highly unique documentary “Eno” is a fascinating look into the creative mind of music producer/artist Brian Eno. Showing different versions of the movie at various screenings doesn’t seem gimmicky and is actually as bold and visionary as Eno himself. This particular review of “Eno” is for the version of the documentary that was shown at Film Forum in New York City on July 26, 2024. The theatrical release of “Eno” in select cities around the world has a different version of the documentary for every day that the movie is shown at the screening venue. Each version of the documentary will never be shown again.
“Eno” is directed by Gary Hustwit, who is also one of the film’s producers. Releasing different and changing versions of “Eno” not only involves commendable imagination but also a deep commitment to long hours of altering the film editing, in order to keep the movie dynamic and fresh. Most filmmakers would not do this extensive work or take this risk for any of their movies.
“Eno” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and screened at the 2024 editions of Sheffield DocFest and the Nantucket Film Festival. One of the ways that you know you’re watching a unique version of the documentary is that some of the transition editing between scenes shows flashes of captions with the name of the venue where you are seeing the film. The film editing throughout “Eno” is somewhat artsy but not pretentious.
Another unique aspect of “Eno” is that a different famous person does a few quick interludes (about 10 seconds each) in each version of the movie. For the version watched for this review, former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne is seen taking a small card (the size of a game card) out of a box and reading it to the viewing audience. In one of these interludes, which sounds like a call for intermission, Byrne says (as if talking to whoever’s watching the documentary) that it’s time to take a break. At the very end of the film, Byrne does this card demonstration agan and says, “Go outside. Close the door.” Avant-garde singer Laurie Anderson is another celebrity who does similar interludes in another version of this documentary.
Eno is the only person interviewed for this documentary, which consists of a wealth of archival footage, interspersed with the interviews that Eno did exclusively for this film at and near his home in England. In the documentary, he comes across as a somewhat introverted deep thinker, who is comfortable with technology and with nature. He freely admits that he has workaholic ways when it comes to being in the studio. And when it comes to creating or discussing music or other art, he thinks a lot of about philosophical and sociological issues.
Eno was born on May 15, 1948, in Melton, England. The documentary does not dwell too long on his childhood and teenage years or discuss what his life was like at home or at school. His parents and younger brother Roger Eno (who is also a musician) are not mentioned at all.
Instead, the version of the documentary that was seen for this review has Eno talking about the songs and artists who were his biggest musical influences as a child, starting with two hits from 1957: Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” and the Silhouettes’ “Get a Job.” Eno says in the documentary that he was immediately enraptured by the singers’ voices and melodies. Eno comments, “It took a long time to realize that this was American black music.”
Eno says his sexual awakening as a teenager could be traced back to hearing Ketty Lester’s 1961 hit single “Love Letters.” In the documentary, Eno says he became immediately fascinated by Lester’s sultry voice and had the type of instant crush where he felt like he wanted to get to know her and similar women. Eno doesn’t talk about his two marriages (to ex-wife Sarah Grenville and to his second and current wife Anthea Norman-Taylor, whom he married in 1988), but the documentary has an archival 1990s interview where Eno talks about how having children (he has three) made him change his work priorities to not take jobs that would keep him away for home for too long.
As for Eno’s impressive body of work, the version of the “Eno” documentary that was watched for this review focused mostly on his producing work for David Bowie and U2, as well as Eno’s solo projects. Eno’s work with Roxy Music and the Talking Heads are also featured, but don’t get as much screen time. There’s an archival clip from the late 1970s where Eno calls the Talking Heads “music of the future.” Eno produced three of the Talking Heads’ classic albums: 1978’s “More Songs About Buildings and Food,” 1979’s “Fear of Music” and 1980’s “Remain in Light.”
In the documentary, Eno discusses how starting his music career in the 1960s had a tremendous impact on him because it was during an era when many British rock artists were former art school students, which gelled with Eno’s idea that the best music and visual art are creatively intertwined. He mentions British bands such as the Beatles, the Who and Pink Floyd as among those whose art-school influences were manifested in the band’s visual presentations.
Eno and Tony Visconti produced Bowie’s 1977 albums “Low” and “Heroes” and 1979’s “Lodger”—all recorded in Berlin, during a transitional time in Bowie’s life when he was trying to clean up his drug-fueled lifestyle. In the documentary, Eno still sounds in awe of Bowie’s vocals for the song “Heroes” and how Bowie perfectly expressed the vulnerable yet strong tone that Eno wanted for the song. In an archival interview from the 1990s, Bowie says it’s hard to define Eno’s style as a producer, but that Eno is highly collaborative and open to musical experimenting.
Eno’s biggest album hits have been with rock band U2, the most commercially successful music artist from Ireland. Eno-produced U2 albums are arguably U2’s best albums: 1984’s “The Unforgettable Fire,” 1987’s “The Joshua Tree,” 1991’s “Achtung Baby,” 1993’s “Zooropa” and 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.” Daniel Lanois produced all of these albums with Eno, except for “Zooropa,” which was produced by Eno and Mark “Flood” Ellis.
The “Eno” documentary has rare footage of Eno in the studio with U2 for “The Unforgettable Fire” and “The Joshua Tree.” “The Unforgettable Fire” footage is more extensive, as it shows part of the recording of “Pride (In the Name of Love),” which would end up being the album’s first single. It’s a song about civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
In “The Unforgettable Fire” footage, Eno politely interrupts U2 lead singer Bono during the recording of the intense vocals because Eno thinks something seems off-kilter with the song. Eno suggests they slow down the song’s tempo. They try it again with a slower tempo, and it works to everyone’s liking. The footage shows Bono sitting on a couch and listening to the playback with an expression on his face indicating that he knows how special this song is, and he’s happy with this recorded version, which is what ended up on the album.
Eno also talks candidly about the mixed reactions that he’s gotten for his solo albums of ambient music. He says he was hurt by negative reviews from critics and how the term “Eno-esque” became a description for music that was considered to be “wimpy.” Eno confesses that he was so affected by this criticism, he wanted to distance himself from ambient music.
It led to what Eno calls “the biggest mistake of music career.” Eno doesn’t name the year that this happened, but he said that around the time that he grew sick of being seen as an ambient artist, Joni Mitchell called him and asked him to do an all-ambient album with her. He politely declined the offer, which is a rejection that he says he now regrets, and he would now love to do an ambient album with her. Eno says with a chuckle: “Joni, I’m still here. I’m ready.”
“Eno” has several scenes of Eno in his home recording studio, where he has several computer monitors hooked up to his keyboard. If the songs he talks about have music videos or live performances on YouTube, he’d rather play what’s on YouTube instead of audio versions of the songs. Eno comments on making music, which he compares to evolution in nature: “I always think about that happens in nature,” he says. He later comments, “I’ve always drawn on my experience of rural life and watching how nature works.”
When Eno isn’t making music in the studio (which he says he prefers infinitely more than doing live performances), he likes to read books or putter around in his garden. There’s a scene where Eno takes photos of insects on the leaves of one of his plants. At first, he thinks they’re tiny spiders, but on further examination, he sees that the insects are beetles. Eno makes an analogy of creating a song to being like planting a flower seed: “I created things that will carry on and have [their] own life.”
One of the best aspects of “Eno” is that it’s not a typical celebrity documentary that follows the usual formula of showing the celebrity’s rise to fame and any pitfalls the celebrity experienced along the way. Viewers of “Eno” are invited to look at the bigger picture of what music can mean to the artists who make this art form in ways that have more meaning beyond fame, fortune and awards. Eno has a lot to say about it.
Eno comments in the documentary: “Why do we like music? I never lost interest in answering that question.” He likens a music scene to being an ecosystem: “If you take one person out of it, it has far-reaching effects.” Eno also talks about the importance of live concert experiences being nourishing for human souls because humans have a natural instinct to want to be part of something social.
As for why he likes creating music, Eno comments: “It’s my way of creating a space for myself. It’s a way of entering another world.” Although Eno says that he often wakes up each day feeling pressure or worry about what he will be creating that day, those feelings are eclipsed by what he feels when he’s actually creating music and other art. “Eno” is not the type of documentary that is interested in tabloid gossip or scandalous stories, like many other celebrity documentaries. It’s a thoughtful and well-edited portrait that—just like music artists who never perform the same concert twice—is meant to be ephemeral and special to the people who experienced it.
Film First released “Eno” in New York City and in London on July 12, 2024. The movie’s theatrical release has limited engagements on varying dates in select cities around the world.
A 1970s archival photo of Cymande in “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande.” Pictured from left to right: Pablo Gonsales, Patrick Patterson, Mike “Bammi” Rose (half-kneeling, in front), Derrick Gibbs, Steve Scipio and Sam Kelly. (Photo courtesy of Abramorama)
Culture Representation: The documentary “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” features a predominantly black group of people (with a few white people) discussing the career of the British R&B/funk band Cymande, which is best known for the band’s music that was released from 1972 to 1974.
Culture Clash: Cymande received critical acclaim for their music in the 1970s but was prevented from achieving major star status because the band was mostly ignored by radio stations and other media.
Culture Audience: “Cymande” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching documentaries about underrated musicians.
A 1970s archival photo of Cymande in “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande.” Pictured from left to right: Patrick Patterson, Michael “Bammi” Rose, Steve Scipio, Sam Kelly, Derrick Gibbs and Pablo Gonsales. (Photo courtesy of Abramorama)
“Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” takes viewers on a ride of highs, lows and everything in between when telling the story of the R&B/funk band Cymande, which is pronounced “sih-mahn-day.” If you want to know why the 1970s British band Cymande didn’t become as well-known as American counterparts such as Parliament-Funkadelic, this illuminating documentary tells a fascinating, heart-wrenching and informative story. The movie gives viewers who are unfamiliar with Cymande an exploration of the band’s music from different perspectives, including how Cymande’s music influenced later generations. The documentary has previously unreleased archival material, exclusive interviews filmed for the movie, and performance footage of Cymande’s reunited lineup.
Directed by Tim MacKenzie-Smith, “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” had its world premiere at the 2022 SXSW Film & TV Festival, followed by a U.K. premiere at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival. One of the reasons why many music fans have never heard of Cymande is because the band’s first incarnation lasted for only three years—from 1971 to 1974—which was the period of time when the Cymande made its most influential music. The band’s name comes from a calypso word for “dove.”
Cymande received critical acclaim for the band’s music but struggled to have a major breakthrough. Cymande disbanded in 1974, because the band members were broke and needed to get day jobs to financially survive and support their families. The band briefly reunited in 2006, before calling it quits again. Cymande reunited again in 2012 and was still together when this documentary was released.
In the 1970s, Cymande had a changing lineup, but there were six core members who remained consistent to the group: lead singer/guitarist Patrick Patterson, saxophonist/flautist Michael “Bammi” Rose, bassist Steve Scipio, drummer Sam Kelly, saxophonist Derrick Gibbs and percussionist Pablo Gonsales. All six of these members are interviewed in the documentary, which began filming in 2017. Gonsales died in 2020, at the age of 77. An epilogue title card mentions his death and says the documentary is dedicated to him. In the documentary, Gonsales is the band’s extroverted jokester, who also talks a lot of being in tune with nature.
Told in mostly chronological order, “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” gives cultural context to the band’s origins in South London, by discussing how all of the band’s core members came from families who immigrated from the Caribbean. Patterson (the unofficial leader of Cymande) comments on why their parents immigrated to England: “England was not simply the mother country; it was the place to go to maximize our potential.”
But what happens when that potential is blocked by racism? Patterson describes how his father was a trained baker in Jamaica, but in England, he was rejected for bakery jobs by racist employers who didn’t want black employees in baker positions. Unfortunately for Cymande, racism and xenophobia played a damaging role in preventing the band from getting the same type of exposure on radio stations and television that other music artists selling out the same sizes of venues usually got.
According to several the members of Cymande, the British media’s prejudice against Cymande was based on the band’s race and (ironically) the band’s nationality. Cymande couldn’t get radio airplay or bookings on British TV shows that showed preferential treatment to white artists. The few R&B bands that played their own instruments that did get those slots were almost always American. To this day, it’s still very difficult for a British R&B/funk band to achieve worldwide success.
Cymande was discovered by British music producer John Schroeder, who died in 2017, at the age of 82. Cymande signed to Schroeder’s record company Alaska Records in the United Kingdom, and Janus Records in the United States. Cymande released three albums in the 1970s: 1972’s “Cymande,” 1973’s “Second Time Round” and 1974’s “Promised Heights,” all produced by Schroeder.
The song “The Message,” from the band’s first album, was a minor hit, but could not get further momentum because it wasn’t getting a lot of radio airplay. This was during an era when radio airplay was essential for artists to have mainstream hits, and the Internet did not exist for artists to market themselves. Years later, when Cymande’s music became popular for sampling on other artists’ music, “The Message” was rediscovered when it was featured in Masta Ace’s 1990 hit “Me and the Biz.”
Even though the media in the United Kingdom mostly ignored Cymande, the band seemed to be on the verge of a major breakthrough in the United States when Cymande was selected to be the opening act for Al Green’s 1972 U.S. tour, which played at arenas. It was the first time that Cymande had ever toured in America. And performing in front of thousands of people a night was a heady experience.
In the documentary, several of the band members look back on this tour with great fondness and say they appreciate how fans in America were so welcoming to Cymande. But those are bittersweet memories, because after the tour with Green ended, Cymande went back to the United Kingdom, where they were still treated like “nobodies” by the media and the music industry.
After two more albums and still no breakthrough, Cymande called it quits in 1974. (Cymande’s 1981 studio album “Arrival” was a collection of throwaway tracks that were recorded in 1974.) By 1974, most of the band members had become husbands and fathers and needed more stable incomes than being musicians in debt.
Patterson, who became a lawyer, says that going from the cusp of music stardom to working in “normal” jobs was not necessarily an easy transition for the former Cymande members, but it had to be done. He explains, “We didn’t go off the road to go on the dole [British slang for government welfare]. We just found a different way of contributing to our community.”
Not all of the members of Cymande completely quit being professional musicians in the 1980s to 2000s. In the 1980s, saxophonist Rose was a backup musician for the reggae band Aswad and later for Paul Simon’s “Graceland” tour. He then formed a band called Jazz Warrior. And since 1999, Rose has been part of the studio band for the BBC music show “Later… with Jools Holland.”
The second half of the “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” focuses mostly on how Cymande music influenced various music artists who had their big breakthrough hits in the 1990s or 2000s. Cymande became one of those obscure bands that most people never heard of but was discovered and appreciated by true music aficionados. Those who are interviewed in the documentary include music producer Mark Ronson, Masta Ace, DJ/producer Louie Vega, Prince Paul, DJ/producer Cut Chemist, Ozomatli bassist Wil-Dog Abers; Jazzie B (of Soul II Soul fame) and former De La Soul member DJ Maseo.
Expect to hear a lot of gushing fan commentary from artists who admire Cymande’s music. Norman Jay, a nightclub/radio DJ, has this to say about Cymande: “They’re the first band that had come along that tapped all of my cultural buttons. Their music isn’t frivolous. It’s not throwaway. It’s thought-about, provokes reaction. It’s challenging. It confronts you and makes you dance.”
My Morning Jacket lead singer Jim James is seen in the beginning of the documentary giving his personal Cymande testimonial about how he discovered the band. James says that he loved the Fugees’ 1996 album “The Score,” especially the title track. Sometime in 2006, James says he found out that “The Score” song sampled Cymande’s song “Dove.”
After hearing “Dove,” James remembers: “I was forever changed. That song, to me, is so profoundly important, it almost eclipses everything. It’s like a magic spell.” Ronson adds his thoughts on “Dove” in a separate interview: “It really feels otherworldly, like it came down on a spaceship or something.”
In the documentary, Kool DJ Red Alert and DJ Hollywood say in separate interviews that the Cymande song “Bra” was very influential to them. Also giving Cymande praise in the documentary are DJ/club promoter Nicky Siano; skateboarder/musician Tommy Guerrero; DJ/producer Peanut Butter Wolf; radio DJ Deb Grant; Collen “Cosmo” Murphy, curator of Classic Album Sundays; rapper Loyle Carner; Khruangbin members Mark Speer, Laura Lee and Donald “DJ” Johnson Jr.; Ruthless Rap Assassins members Anderson Hinds, Carson Hinds and Kermit Leveridge; and Ruthless Rap Assassins producer Greg Wilson.
Perhaps the most inspirational part of the documentary is seeing that even though Cymande didn’t get the mainstream success that the band had hoped for in the 1970s, it didn’t kill the band members’ desire to still make and perform music at ages when most people have retired. Cymande released the reunion album “A Simple Act of Faith” in 2015, and has been performing concerts on a regular basis since the reunion. The documentary includes footage of Cymande performing at music festivals in 2019, including WOMAD.
“Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” is partly a tribute to the band and partly an interesting music history lesson, especially for people who have never heard of Cymande, a band that is underrated but not forgotten. It’s a story of a band that reunited after decades of the band members being apart—but this time around, the band doesn’t feel the pressure to have big hits on the charts and is playing music for the pure joy of it. And that might be the biggest lesson of all that this documentary has to offer: Music is an art form that doesn’t have to be segregated by age, race or nationality and can change people lives in impactful ways.
Abramorama released “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” in New York City on July 26, 2024, will release the movie in the Los Angeles area on August 7, 2024.
Culture Representation: The two-part documentary “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few black people and Asians) discussing the feud that erupted in 2019 between superstar Taylor Swift and entertainment mogul Scooter Braun, after Braun bought the master recordings for Swift’s albums that she originally recorded for Big Machine Records.
Culture Clash: Swift accused Braun of being a business bully, while Braun said the business deal was legal and accused Swift of ordering her fans to harass him and his loved ones.
Culture Audience: “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Swift or Braun and are interested in documentaries that give basic lessons on media manipulation and how the music industry works.
“Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” doesn’t have any new or bombshell information but it’s an adequate look back at one of the biggest battles in Taylor Swift’s long history of battles against real or perceived enemies. It’s a documentary that does exactly what is expected when looking at both sides of this feud, without interviewing the people at the center of the feud. There’s competent explanation of business deals, but better film editing was needed for some footage.
Directed by Kate Siney, “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” is divided into two episodes. The first episode is titled “Taylor’s Side.” The second episode is titled “Scooter’s Side.” There’s the usual mix of interviews done exclusively for the documentary and archival clips from other sources. The interviewees featured in “Taylor’s Side” are journalists, entertainment attorneys and Swift fans. The interviewees featured in “Taylor’s Side” are only journalists and entertainment attorneys. Apparently, the documentary’s filmmakers couldn’t get interviews with anyone claiming to be fans or colleagues of Braun.
The documentary reiterates basic facts of the feud: In 2019, Swift went public about a behind-the-scenes feud that she was having with Braun, who at the time was mostly known as a music manager whose clients included Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Kanye West. Scott Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Records, is credited with discovering Swift. In June 2019, Big Machine (which released Swift’s first six studio albums) sold the company to Braun for an estimated $300 million.
The sale of Big Machine to Braun meant that Braun owned the rights to the original master recordings of Swift’s first six albums that she recorded while she was signed to Big Machine. Swift still retained the song publishing rights (the copyrights to her music and lyrics) for songs that she had written while signed to Big Machine. As mentioned in the documentary, it’s standard for a record company to own the master recordings of an artist who was signed to the record company at the time the recordings were made. Very few artists signed to major labels ever get full ownership of their master recordings.
Braun owning Swift’s master recordings for her Big Machine albums was particularly hurtful to her because of Swift’s on-again/off-again feud with rapper West. The Swift/West feud began in 2009, when West notoriously interrupted her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, when Swift won in the category for Best Female Video for “You Belong With Me.” In his on-stage outburst, West said that Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” which lost in the category, was “one of the best videos of all time.” West later made several public apologies for being rude to Swift in this incident.
The Swift/West feud reignited in 2016, when West’s song “Famous” was released and had a lyrics about Swift that said: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous.” Swift publicly expressed outrage and disgust at these lyrics. But there was backlash against Swift after Kim Kardashian (West’s wife at the time) released a secretly recorded video showing West and Swift having a phone conversation where Swift approved of West’s intention to say in the song that he wanted to have sex with Swift. In the video, West never told Swift that he was going to use the words “I made that bitch famous.”
Still, the damage was done. As West’s manager at the time, Braun naturally sided with West, although Braun never specifically said derogatory things about Swift in public. All of this is necessary background information to explain why Swift found it especially painful that her master recordings were now being owned by the person she considered to be one of her biggest enemies.
In interviews and other public statements, Swift described being blindsided and not knowing about the sale of Big Machine until she saw a report online. As pointed out in the documentary, what Swift did not include in her public griping about the deal was that her father had a 3% stake in Big Machine and made about $9 million to $15 million from the sale. Under those circumstances, it’s hard to believe that she didn’t know in advance that Big Machine was going to be sold. Swift also claimed that she was never given a chance to buy her master recordings. She called Borchetta and Braun “bullies” and described her battle in feminist terms, as if she were a victim of toxic masculinity.
The documentary includes the rebuttals and denials from Borchetta and Braun, who publicly released documents that showed that not only did Swift and her attorneys get offered a chance to own her master recordings from Big Machine, but she also turned down the offer because Big Machine wanted her to re-sign with the company in order for Swift to get the master recordings. Instead, Swift walked away from the offer and signed with Republic Records. Big Machine board member Erik Logan also made a public statement saying that Swift was lying about the circumstances of the deal. Swift pivoted to announcing that she would re-record and re-release all of her albums that were originally released by Big Machine.
As part of Swift’s PR campaign to get people to side with her, in one of her social media statements, she told her army of fans to tell Borchetta and Braun what they think about this business deal. This ugly saga played out for more than a year, even after Braun sold Big Machine to Shamrock Capital (a private equity firm owned by Disney) in November 2020. Braun eventually went public about Braun and his family members getting death threats and asked Swift to stop using fans to weaponize this business dispute. Swift ignored this plea.
“Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” includes background biographical information about Swift and Braun. Raised in Pennsylvania, Swift came from an upper-middle-class family who fully supported her dream to become a famous singer. She is admired for standing up for herself and for being excellent at marketing herself. Raised in Connecticut, Braun came from a middle-class family where his grandparents were Holocaust survivors and he developed a strong sense of Jewish pride, family bonding and standing up for oppressed people. Braun started in the music business as a party promoter and was a marketing executive for So So Def Records before becoming a music manager, whose first major client was Bieber. Swift and Braun are described as very ambitious with intentions to be moguls.
The episode focusing on Swift includes gushing commentary from Swift superfans Alex Goldschmidt and Zack Hourihane. Also complimenting Swift is her former personal assistant Heather Wirth, who went on tour with Swift in 2015. The documentary paints a portrait of Swift being down-to-earth and kind to her fans and people she lets be close to her, but she also holds grudges, especially when it comes to people she sees as threats to her career. Braun is described as someone who wanted to be in the limelight as much as his artist clients. He has charitable side to him and a ruthless side to him, according to commentary in the documentary.
Journalists who weigh in with their thoughts and observations in both episodes are Mikael Wood of The Los Angeles Times, Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone, Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg, Anna Silman of Business Insider, Nola Ojomu of the Daily Mail, Zing Tsjeng of Vice.com and freelancers Alex Bhattacharji and Rachel Brodsky. Brian Mansfield, a Nashville journalist who is described as a “friend” of Swift’s, does nothing but praise her in the episode focusing on Swift. On the other end of the spectrum, Shaw is the most critical of Swift and comments: “I don’t think she’s been fully honest about why she feels so strongly about Scooter Braun.”
There is also commentary from a few academics: University of Exeter cultural theorist Amelia Morris is firmly on Swift’s side and is quick to label any criticism of Swift as misogynistic. Morris goes a little overboard in defending Swift because Morris acts as if Swift is the only major artist who lost the rights to their music in business deals they later regretted. There are numerous examples of other superstar artists who don’t own legal rights to their biggest hit recordings, but the documentary ignores these examples. The Beatles losing their song publishing rights is only mentioned briefly in an archival MSNBC interview of Braun defending himself against Swift’s accusations of unfair business practices.
Dr. Jennifer Otter Bickerdike—an academic and music historian who is in the episode focused on Braun—is critical of Swift and points out several seeming hypocrisies and misleading or dishonest statements from Swift—not just in the feud with Braun but in other instances in Swift’s career. Otter Bickerdike comments that Swift likes to project an image of being a feminist but often acts like a “mean girl” to other women who publicly disagree with her. Some of the interviewees also point out that Swift could be more responsible in telling her fans not to maliciously attack or threaten people online who might be in public spats with Swift.
The issue of Swift writing songs about things going on in her personal life gets both praise and criticism. Her dating history (and list of her famous ex-boyfriends) get the expected scrutiny in the documentary. Supporters of Swift say that she’s the victim of a double standard because male artists don’t get as much criticism for writing about their personal lives. Critics of Swift say that she profits from writing songs about her personal life and therefore she shouldn’t be surprised when this type of confessional songwriting invites more attention to her personal life.
There’s also mention of Swift’s 2014 “Bad Blood” music video (in which Swift has an all-female, gun-toting posse), which is widely believed to be about Swift’s then-feud with rival singer Katy Perry. Otter Bickerdike and a few others say the implied violence in the “Bad Blood” video is in poor taste and goes against Swift’s carefully curated image as a peace-loving person who doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Some people in the documentary also say that Swift often likes to play the victim in her narratives about her enemies without taking responsibility for how she attacks people too.
The legal experts interviewed in the documentary include entertainment attorneys Richard Busch, Marina Bogorad and Howard King and legal expert/attorney Neama Rahmani. Busch has the most factual information to share about how contracts typically work in the music industry. Bogorad, who says repeatedly that Braun’s Big Machine deal was completely legal, lowers her credibility when she keeps describing record companies as “studios.” Someone needs to tell Bogorad that she’s talking about the music industry, not the movie industry.
Some of the same archival footage is unneccessarily repeated in both episodes. It’s as if the documentary filmmakers don’t trust that viewers will remember what was already shown. Or it could just be lazy editing. The documentary also would have benefited from having at least one interview with someone who worked for Braun. The movie fails to mention that West and Braun parted ways in 2018, after two-and-a-half years of Braun being West’s manager.
Also omitted from the documentary is the fact Braun eventually lost most of his biggest clients as a manager. However, an epilogue mentions that in 2021, Braun sold his Ithaca Holdings company to the South Korean music company HYBE, which is best known for representing BTS, the biggest pop group from South Korea. Braun became CEO of HYBE and got a reported $1 billion in the sale of Ithaca. Just four days before “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” was released, Braun publicly announced that he was officially retiring as a music manager to focus on his work at HYBE and other ventures.
In response to this documentary, Swift released a statement saying that that she’s put her feud with Braun behind her. People might continue to debate over who was the real winner in the Swift/Braun feud. Considering that after the feud, Swift also became a billionaire, her re-recorded albums have been even bigger sellers than when they were originally released, and her 2023-2024 Eras tour is one of the highest-grossing tours of all time, it seems as if billionaires Swift and Braun have anyone to complain about now, it shouldn’t be each other.
Max premiered “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” on June 21, 2024. The documentary premiered on Discovery+ in the United Kingdom.
A 1964 photo of the Beach Boys in “The Beach Boys.” Pictured from left to right: Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson and Mike Love. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images/Disney+)
Culture Representation: The documentary film “The Beach Boys” features a predominantly white group of people (with two black people) from the music industry discussing the career and legacy of the Beach Boys, the California-based pop/rock band that rose to prominence in the 1960s.
Culture Clash: The Beach Boys had various conflicts inside and outside the band on the band’s musical direction, touring, business decisions, mental health, substance addiction and power struggles.
Culture Audience: Besides appealing to the obvious target audience of Beach Boys fans, “The Beach Boys” will appeal primarily to people who like watching celebrity biographies that have a lot of great archival footage but follow a familiar formula.
A 1966 photo from “The Beach Boys” of Beach Boys chief songwriter/producer Brian Wilson recording the album “Pet Sounds” in Los Angeles. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images/Disney+)
Ardent fans of the band will learn nothing new from “The Beach Boys” documentary, which plays it safe but is a very good introduction for viewers who don’t know much about the Beach Boys. The movie’s ending scene indicates a better story could’ve been told. That’s because at the end of the movie, there’s a very short scene of a band reunion with five surviving Beach Boys members (past and present) gathering to talk on the beach at Paradise Cove in Malibu, California, where the Beach Boys did the photo shoot for their 1962 debut album “Surfin’ Safari.”
“The Beach Boys” documentary purposely doesn’t show what was said during this reunion and only shows some of the men smiling and embracing each other before they sit down at a table on the beach. It’s an example of how the documentary is certainly competent when it comes to giving a history of the Beach Boys, but the documentary would have been more impactful if it had anything new that was truly exclusive and compelling. Showing this type of heavily edited reunion clip at the very end of the movie just seems like a tease that will give viewers the impression that the documentary left out some of the best parts of the Beach Boys’ story.
Directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny, “The Beach Boys” is one of several biographical movies or TV series about the Beach Boys. This documentary can be considered a quasi-update of director Alan Boyd’s 1998 documentary film “Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story,” which did not have the participation of the surviving band members. Some other Beach Boys on-screen biographies are the 1990 TV-movie drama “Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys” and the 2000 drama mini-series “The Beach Boys: An American Family.”
Curiously, “The Beach Boys” 2024 documentary has very little details about the band members’ lives after the early 1980s. For example, the band’s 1988 massive comeback hit “Kokomo” is not discussed and only played during the movie’s end credits. However, because “The Beach Boys” documentary has the benefit of the participation of the band members who were alive at the time this documentary was filmed, it makes this documentary slightly better than most movies about the Beach Boys.
“The Beach Boys” documentary dutifully covers the origins of the band, which was formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The original and best-known lineup of the band consisted of brothers Brian Wilson (the eldest brother), who was the band’s chief songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, playing bass guitar or keyboards on stage; Dennis Wilson (the middle brother), who was the band’s drummer; Carl Wilson (the youngest brother), who was the band’s lead guitarist; Mike Love, the Wilson brothers’ first cousin and lead singer of the band; and rhythm guitarist Al Jardine, a longtime family friend.
The Wilson brothers’ parents—Murry Wilson and Audree Wilson—encouraged and supported the band. Murry became the first manager of the Beach Boys. By all accounts, Murry was tough, bullying and abusive. (Murry’s physical and emotional abuse of his sons is briefly mentioned in archival interview footage with Carl and Dennis.) However, people who talk about Murry in the documentary also agree that the Beach Boys probably wouldn’t have achieved the level of success that they had if not for Murry. Eventually, a major problem for the band was Murry’s constant interference in how he wanted the band’s music to sound.
The Beach Boys had an image of being a carefree California pop/rock band with distinctive harmonies. The Beach Boys experienced almost immediate success with their first single “Surfin’,” which became a hit on a Los Angeles radio station, which led to bigger opportunities for the band. Many of the Beach Boys’ biggest hits were about surfing (“Surfin’,” “Surfer Girl,” “Surfin’ USA”) or about the California lifestyle. The band’s earliest musical influences included the Four Freshmen and surf music artists such as Dick Dale.
Even though the Beach Boys were initially rejected by every major record company, they eventually signed with Capitol Records, with Nick Venet as the band’s A&R (artists and repertoire) executive from Capitol. Venet started off producing the early Beach Boys records until Brian Wilson took over as the chief producer during the height of the group’s success. Murry acted like he wanted to be a producer for the band too, and that led to inevitable major conflicts.
Each member of the band had a certain role that was part of the Beach Boys image. Brian Wilson was the “musical genius” who didn’t like to tour. Love was the extroverted lead singer who was band’s jokester with a huge ego. Dennis Wilson (the only member of the Beach Boys who was an enthusiastic surfer) was the rebellious heartthrob. Carl Wilson was the “shy and quiet one.” Jardine was the “regular guy” who was often the peacemaker.
“The Beach Boys” documentary has the expected archival footage and use of the band’s original songs. Most of the band’s biggest hits from the 1960s are included, such as the aforementioned “Surf” songs, “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Good Vibrations,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “Sloop John B.” The documentary’s best archival footage (audio and video) is of the recording sessions, particularly when it shows how these recordings took shape.
During the heyday of the Beach Boys’ 1960s commercial success, they were heavily influenced by the music created by music producer Phil Spector (who was famous for his Wall of Sound) and the Beatles. The Beatles’ 1965 “Rubber Soul” album influenced the Beach Boys’ 1966 album “Pet Sounds,” which in turn influenced the Beatles’ 1967 album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The rivalries and the influences that the Beach Boys and the Beatles had on each other are detailed in the documentary, but there is no new information revealed.
The documentary and band members give a lot of credit to the Wrecking Crew, the influential group of studio musicians who played on a lot of iconic music of the 1960s and 1970s. Don Randi of the Wrecking Crew is interviewed for this documentary, which also has archival interview clips from Wrecking Crew members Carol Kaye and Glen Campbell, who was briefly a member of the Beach Boys. Other collaborators, such as lyricist Van Dyke Parks (who worked on the Beach Boys’ previously unreleased “Smile” album from the late 1960s), are seen in archival clips.
The Beach Boys had various lineup changes over the years. Brian Wilson and Jardine quit and rejoined the band multiple times for various reasons. One of the people who is interviewed in the documentary is David Marks, a neighbor friend of the Wilson brothers, who replaced Jardine in the band for a few years after Jardine quit the band for the first time in 1961.
There have been several reasons cited for why Jardine quit the Beach Boys for the first time, with the reasons ranging from creative differences to apathy to wanting to finish his college education. In the “Beach Boys” documentary Jardine says he quit the band in the early 1960s because he wanted to finish his college education. Jardine rejoined the band in 1963, replacing Marks, who quit after getting into a big dispute with Murry Wilson.
In 1965, guitarist Bruce Johnston joined the Beach Boys as a replacement for Campbell, who went on to have a successful career as a solo artist. Johnston takes some issue with the widespread public perception of Brian Wilson being the most important member of the Beach Boys. In the documentary, Johnston says, “Brian was lucky to have our voices to sing his dreams.” Out of all of the surviving Beach Boys members who participated in this documentary, Brian is the one who has the least to say in new interview footage. Most of the documentary’s comments from Brian are from archival interviews from other sources.
South African musicians Blondie Chaplin (who is interviewed in the documentary) and Ricky Fataar joined the Beach Boys in the band’s more experimental early 1970s era. Chaplin doesn’t say much in the documentary except that the Beach Boys’ music had a harder-edged sound when he was in the band, and the band situation “wasn’t that great” during this period of time. The documentary mentions the Beach Boys’ declining popularity in the first half of the 1970s got a significant boost with the release of the 1974 greatest hits compilation album “Endless Summer,” which was a big hit and made the Beach Boys a touring powerhouse that could sell out arenas again but also cemented their fate as a nostalgia act.
“The Beach Boys” is not a documentary where people should expect to hear much about the Beach Boys’ personal lives. The only current or former spouse of a Beach Boy who is interviewed in the documentary is Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford, who was Brian Wilson’s first wife and who was the president of Brother Records, the Beach Boys’ record label. The children of Beach Boys members are not interviewed.
Wilson-Rutherford tells the same stories she’s told in many interviews and books about the ups and downs that she witnessed or experienced as a member of the Beach Boys’ inner circle. Brian Wilson’s health problems (mental and physical), including substance addiction and depression, are also rehashed in the documentary, as they have been in many other biographies. This documentary provides no new insight on these issues. The only people who will be surprised by the information in this documentary are people who don’t know much about the Beach Boys.
One of the biggest flaws in the documentary is how it sidelines the deaths of Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson. In 1983, Dennis drowned while intoxicated in Marina del Rey, California, when he was 39. Carl died of lung cancer in 1998, when he was 51. The deaths of Dennis and Carl are not even mentioned in “The Beach Boys” documentary until the very end, when a caption is briefly flashed on screen with their names and the years of their births and deaths.
In other words, don’t expect anyone in this documentary to comment on how these deaths affected them. For a movie about a “family band” (a term Love uses more than once), it’s a glaring omission not to discuss the deaths of two of the family members in the band. The documentary also never mentions that at the time that Dennis died, he was homeless and had nearly been fired from the band because of his alcoholism. The other band members ordered Dennis to go to rehab, but he left rehab after a few days and then died. None of that information is in the documentary.
“The Beach Boys” documentary features interviews with some well-known music artists—Lindsey Buckingham, Janelle Monáe, Ryan Tedder and Don Was—but their comments really just amount to fan gushing and offer nothing new to say. Josh Kun, a former music critic and currently University of Southern California’s vice provost of the arts, gives the obligatory academic/historian perspective. One person who is noticeably absent from the documentary is actor John Stamos, who has been a close friend (and occasional touring musician) of the Beach Boys, beginning in the 1980s.
As for Beach Boys scandals, there’s a brief mention of Dennis Wilson introducing an aspiring musician named Charles Manson to the Beach Boys’ inner circle in the late 1960s. (The documentary doesn’t mention that Dennis let Manson and some of Manson’s cult members live at a house rented by Dennis, who moved out and eventually got the Manson people evicted by no longer paying the rent.) Lead singer Love says in the documentary that he only met Manson once, and that was enough for him not to get further involved. Still, Manson wrote a Beach Boys song called “Never Learn Not to Love,” which was the B-side of the Beach Boys’ 1969 remake single of “Bluebirds Over the Mountain.”
Music producer Terry Melcher, whom Johnston describes as Johnston’s best friend at the time, declined to work with Manson, which led to a terrible aftermath that doesn’t need to be described in this review. The Beach Boys’ brief but notorious association with Manson is obviously described as a mistake in judgment, with the band members having no idea what Manson and his cult would end up doing. It’s quickly mentioned that Dennis Wilson felt tremendously guilty over introducing Manson into the Beach Boys’ world.
“The Beach Boys” documentary has an even shorter mention of all the lawsuits and legal disputes that Love has had with the Beach Boys in the 1980s and beyond. The documentary does not mention the controversy over Brian Wilson’s therapist Eugene Landy, who had an on-again/off-again, guru-like relationship with Brian from 1975 to the early 1990s, resulting in several lawsuits that involved the Beach Boys. (Landy died in 2006.) Beach Boys singer Love will only say in the documentary what is already public knowledge about his own Beach Boys legal conflicts: Love has been fighting for a share of royalties for Love’s uncredited songwriting of Beach Boys songs.
The Beach Boys lead singer bitterly comments in the documentary that Murry Wilson’s 1969 decision to sell the Beach Boys’ publishing (without consulting any of the band members first) has damaged the family’s legacy. Love, who says that he and Brian Wilson don’t talk very much these days, gets teary-eyed and chokes up when he remarks that if he would say something to Brian, it would be “I love you. And nothing anybody can do can change that.”
That’s why it’s incredibly frustrating that this documentary doesn’t show what was said in the reunion of Love, Brian Wilson, Jardine, Johnston and Marks seen at the end of the movie. There could almost be an entire documentary about that conversation. “The Beach Boys” gets the job done on an acceptable level when retelling well-known facts and putting them in a nostalgic package. Ultimately, it has the glossy sheen of a celebrity biography where all the key people participated but still didn’t tell the whole story.
Disney+ premiered “The Beach Boys” on May 24, 2024, with a sneak preview at select U.S. IMAX cinemas on May 21, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in the 2000s, mostly in England, the Amy Winehouse biopic drama “Back to Black” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: British singer Amy Winehouse becomes a Grammy-winning international superstar with her 2006 second album “Back to Black,” but her life is plagued by insecurities, drug addiction and a toxic relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, who would become her husband in a doomed marriage.
Culture Audience: “Back to Black” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Amy Winehouse, but the movie is mostly a superficial and glossed-over portrayal of her life.
Marisa Abela and Jack O’Connell in “Back to Black” (Photo by Dean Rogers/Focus Features)
The best things about the Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” are Winehouse’s original songs, and the cast members put in very good efforts in their performances. But this disappointing drama does almost everything else wrong. It’s a movie that is so intent on glossing over harsh realities of Winehouse’s life, the results are very phony-looking recreations where the overall narrative of the movie can’t be trusted.
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and written by Matt Greenhalgh, “Back to Black” takes place in the 2000s, the decade when London-based Winehouse rose to fame as a gritty and sassy singer heavily influenced by American R&B and 1960s pop music. She also wrote very confessional songs about her life. Winehouse, who struggled with various addictions, died of alcohol poisoning in 2011, after having a period of sobriety. She was 27.
Marisa Abela has the role of Winehouse in “Back to Black” and does her own singing in the movie. Winehouse had a unique contralto that would be difficult for anyone to duplicate. Abela’s Winehouse impersonation is passable, but Abela’s singing is noticeably inferior to Winehouse’s real voice talent. (For the purposes of this review, the real Amy Winehouse is referred to as Winehouse, while the character of Amy Winehouse in “Back to Black” is referred to as Amy.)
“Back to Black” is a “checklist” celebrity biopic (with a lot of corny dialogue) that follows the usual formula of a celebrity who rises to fame and fortune and then comes crashing down because of various issues, usually having to do with addiction, money, egos, love life problems, or a combination of all of them. Movies like this usually end with some type of “redemption” or “triumph” arc. And if the celebrity is dead, the death and aftermath of the death are usually tacked on as an epilogue.
The “Back to Black” movie follows Amy’s transformation from a guitar-playing pop singer (whose 2003 debut album “Frank” was a big hit in the United Kingdom, but flopped everywhere else except Europe, Australia and Brazil) to ditching her guitar as part of her stage act (at the urging of her management) to become a sultrier R&B-influenced singer known for her 1960s-styled beehive hairstyle. The movie makes it look like Amy’s beloved grandmother Cynthia (played by Lesley Manville), the mother of Amy’s father, was largely responsible for Amy’s image makeover into a 1960s-inspired “bad girl” diva after Amy showed an interest in 1960s music.
Amy is encouraged and enabled by her taxi driver father Mitch (played by Eddie Marsan), who plays an increasingly influential role in her career. Amy meets Blake Fielder-Civil (played by Jack O’Connell) at a pub, and they have a volatile on-again, off-again relationship that leads to them eloping in 2007. Blake doesn’t seem to have a steady job (he describes himself as a video assistant when he first meets Amy), but he is a full-time drug addict, with Amy also indulging in the same addictions, including alcohol, cocaine and heroin. The movie’s depictions of Amy’s self-admitted eating disorders, self-harm and rehab stints are mostly superficial and fleeting.
The well-documented physical abuse in Amy and Blake’s relationship is only hinted at in the “Back to Black” movie, in a scene where Amy is seen running away in the street with bruises and cuts on her face and body. Amy is shown with some friends in the beginning of her career, but those friends eventually fade away in the movie and are replaced by Blake and people who work for Amy. Mark Ronson—one of the main producers of her breakthrough 2006 second (and last) studio album “Back to Black”—is mentioned but never seen in the movie. The same goes for Simon Fuller, the owner of 19 Management, the company that is most famous for managing the Spice Girls and Amy Winehouse.
The “Back to Black” movie sidelines Amy’s songwriting talent, her work in recording studios and her concert tours, in order to make the majority of the story about the dysfunctional relationship between Amy and Blake. The movie makes it look like Amy was much more in love with Blake than he was with her. And that is probably true. In real life, “Back to Black” was written during a period of time when Winehouse and Fielder-Civil had broken up, before they got married. Their marriage lasted only two years.
The movie only shows the stories behind only a few of her songs. The inspiration for “Rehab,” her biggest hit, is in a scene where Amy’s manager Nick Shymansky (played by Sam Buchanan) and other people in her entourage have an intervention to urge her to go to rehab, but Amy says “no,” and Mitch backs her up and says she’s just fine. In real life, Shymansky has given interviews saying that Mitch originally agreed to convince Amy to go to rehab during this intervention, but Mitch went back on his word and ended up by siding with Amy. By all accounts, Amy Winehouse in real life was not “just fine” when she recorded the “Back to Black” album but she was actually deep in the throes of addiction, which the movie constantly glosses over by downplaying how serious her addictions were.
The “Back to Black” movie dishonestly makes it look like paparazzi had more to do with Amy’s downfall during the height of her fame, instead of all the enablers (including her father Mitch) who pushed her to go on tour when she didn’t want to tour and she should have been getting necessary and proper medical care for her health issues. Amy’s mother Janis (played by Juliet Cowan), who separated from Mitch when Amy was 9, is depicted in the movie as mostly a passive bystander. Amy’s older brother Alex (played by Izaak Cainer), who was four years older that she was, is barely in the movie.
The movie dutifully recreates one of the high points in Amy’s career: the 2008 Grammy Awards, when Amy performed “Rehab” from London and then won the Grammy for Record of the Year for “Rehab,” with her parents in the audience cheering her on. She won a total of five Grammys at the ceremony, including Song of the Year (also for “Rehab”); Best Pop Vocal Album (for “Back to Black”); Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for “Rehab”); and Best New Artist. She became the first British female artist to win all of these Grammy Awards in the same ceremony.
Taylor-Johnson and Greenhalgh previously worked together on the John Lennon biopic “Nowhere Boy” (about Lennon’s troubled teenage years), a drama released in 2009 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia, and in 2010 everywhere else. Greenhalgh also wrote the screenplay for the 2007 biopic “Control,” a drama about Ian Curtis, lead singer of the British rock band Joy Division. Just like the “Back to Black” movie, “Nowhere Boy” and “Control” also had good performances in a movie with a very flawed screenplay. Although “Back to Black” certainly does an admirable job with costume design, production design and hairstyling, viewers are better off watching the Oscar-winning 2015 documentary “Amy” for a more insightful and more accurate story of Winehouse’s life.
Focus Features will release “Back to Black” in U.S. cinemas on May 17, 2024, with a sneak preview in U.S. cinemas on May 15, 2024. The movie was released in the United Kingdom and other countries in April 2024. “Back to Black” will be released on digital and VOD on June 4, 2024.
A scene from “Unsung Hero.” Pictured in back row, from left to right: Paul Luke Bonenfant, Daisy Betts, Kirrilee Berger and Joel Smallbone. Pictured in front row, from left to right: Tenz McCall, JJ Pantano, Angus Caldwell and Diesel La Torraca. (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)
Culture Representation: Taking place from 1991 to 1993, in the United States and briefly in Australia, the dramatic film “Unsung Hero” (based on true events) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people and Asian people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Financially broke music promoter/manager David Smallbone, his pregnant wife Helen Smallbone, and their children relocate from Australia to the U.S. city of Nashville, and go through various hardships as they try to launch the music career of daughter Rebecca.
Culture Audience: “Unsung Hero” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Rebecca St. James, for KING & COUNTRY, and faith-based, family-oriented movies about persistence and hope during hard times.
Kirrilee Berger in “Unsung Hero” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)
“Unsung Hero” takes place in the early 1990s, but this reliably inspirational biopic about the Smallbone showbiz dynasty has timeless themes about the power of family love and loyalty. It’s a faith-based drama that isn’t preachy about religion. The movie’s competent filmmaking and credible performances make “Unsung Hero” appealing to viewers who are inclined to watch these types of movies. What makes “Unsung Hero” stand out from other similar biopics about male-dominated families is its clear focus on telling the story from the perspective of the family matriarch, who is the namesake of the movie.
Written and directed by Richard L. Ramsey and Joel Smallbone, “Unsung Hero” takes place in mostly chronological order, from 1991 to 1993. The Smallbone family is originally from Australia. Joel Smallbone and his younger brother Luke Smallbone are the members of for KING & COUNTRY, a Grammy-winning contemporary Christian duo. Their older sister is Grammy-winning contemporary Christian singer Rebecca St. James, also known as Rebecca Jean. Their siblings are also in the entertainment business. Their father David Smallbone was a concert promoter and is a longtime manager in the music business.
“Unsung Hero” begins in September 1991, with a scene of the Smallbone family being detained at a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol station at Los Angeles International Airport, where the family needs to get on flight from Los Angeles to Nashville. (St. James has a cameo as a flight attendant in “Unsung Hero.”) David Smallbone (played by Joel Smallbone) and his wife Helen Smallbone (played by Daisy Betts) have attracted a lot of attention from customs officials because the Smallbones are a large family. Also part of this travel entourage are the children of David and Helen: 14-year-old daughter Rebecca (played by Kirrilee Berger); 13-year-old son Daniel Smallbone (played by Paul Luke Bonenfant); son Ben (played by Tenz McCall), who’s about 10 or 11; 7-year-old son Joel (played by Diesel La Torraca); 5-year-old son Luke (played by JJ Pantano); and son Joshua, nicknamed Josh (played by Angus Caldwell), who’s about 3 or 4 years old.
The Smallbones have traveled from their former hometown of Sydney to start a new life in the United States. During this airport scene, the movie briefly flashes back to the less-than-ideal circumstances under which David and Helen decided to leave their family and friends behind in Australia for an uncertain future in America. For years, David was a successful Sydney-based concert promoter with a specialty in Christian music. A flashback scene shows David holding Joel on stage as David introduces a concert by the Christian heavy metal band Stryper.
However, in 1991, David’s fortunes took a steep downturn when Australia was hit with a recession. David promoted singer Amy Grant’s Australian tour that year and expected to make a lot of money from it. A scene in the movie shows Amy Grant (played by Rachel Hendrix) performing a concert on this Australian tour, and the auditorium is only about half full with audience members. David lost about $500,000 on the tour, which wiped out his family’s finances. In addition, the tour tarnished David’s reputation in the Australian music business, so he had trouble finding work in Australia.
David wants to continue to work in the music industry. And so, he decides the best thing to do is start over in the United States, specifically in Nashville, even though David and Helen don’t have any family or friends in Nashville. Helen, who is pregnant with their seventh child, reluctantly agrees and says they should give it a try for two years. And if things don’t work out after those two years, Helen thinks they should consider going back to Australia. David, Helen and their children just have a six-month visa at the beginning of their relocation to America.
The family members of David and Helen don’t want David, Helen and the kids to leave Australia. These relatives have varying degrees of acceptance about this relocation to America. David’s father James (played by Terry O’Quinn) is the most optimistic, while Helen’s mother Jean Francis (played by Roslyn Gentle) thinks this relocation is an unwise decision and keeps urging Helen and her Smallbone family to come back to Australia. “Unsung Hero” has a lot of the expected ups and downs of family struggles during this two-year period.
“Unsung Hero” also has an accurate depiction some of the crushing disappointments that can happen in an instant in the music business, even with a promising deal in place. David’s plan in Nashville was to start a record label with a well-known American artist, whose contract with another record company was ending. However, that plan falls through when the artist accepts the record company’s offer to renew the contract.
With no job prospects lined up, David struggles to find work. The Smallbone family members get some help from a friendly married couple they meet in church: compassionate Jed Albright (played by Lucas Black) and perky Kay Albright (played by Candace Cameron Bure), who generously give their van to the Smallbone family and offer to pay a few of the Smallbone family’s bills. Hillary Scott, the lead singer of Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum), has a small role in “Unsung Hero” as Luanne Meece, the song leader of the church.
David and the older kids earn money by going around the neighborhood and doing low-paying jobs, such as mowing lawns. Eventually, the Smallbones operate a small home-based business doing house care services for other people, including interior cleaning. However, it’s not enough to get the Smallbone out of their financial pit. Although they are never homeless, the Smallbones often go hungry because they don’t have enough money for proper meals. David and Helen also decide to homeschool their children.
David, Helen and some of the kids end up getting a house care job at the mansion of Christian rock star Eddie DeGarmo (played by Jonathan Jackson), an artist who was rejected by David for an Australian tour when Eddie was part of the duo DeGarmo & Key. At the time, David thought he was too successful of a concert promoter to do a DeGarmo & Key tour, and he set his sights on an Amy Grant tour, which turned out to be a disaster. David is somewhat humiliated (and humbled) when he finds himself cleaning Eddie’s toilets as part of David’s current job.
Rebecca shows she has above-average musical talent as a singer and songwriter, so there are attempts to get her a record deal, but those attempts come with their share of rejections. “Unsung Hero” has some very good performances, particularly from Joel Smallbone and Betts, who skillfully anchor the movie as parents David and Helen. The immigrant family members persist against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, even when they have moments of self-doubt and naysayers telling them to give up. The cast members do their own singing, including a cover version of Rebecca St. James’ “You Make Everything Beautiful.”
No one in the family is depicted as “perfect” or too good to be true. The movie realistically shows some of the family arguments that can happen during this tension-filled time. David’s pride also gets in the way of some of his decisions that cause some alienation. In addition, Helen (the more patient parent) has moments where she struggles to hold on to her dignity and her temper in situations where many people would lose both. The movie is a worthy depiction of how Helen was the family’s source of strength in many ways.
Some of the dialogue in “Unsung Hero” can get a bit corny, but they are delivered with a lot of sincerity. In an early scene in the movie, David says when he tells Helen why they should start over and Nashville so he can continue to work in the Christian music industry: “I can’t sing, and I can’t play, but I can connect people to something higher and greater from the here and now. This is it. This is my last chance.”
Viewers should also keep in mind that the end result of the two-year period depicted in “Unsung Hero” is not typical of what most people experience when they want to be successful in the music industry. For most people, it takes much longer than two years to achieve what the Smallbones achieved in the two-year period shown in the movie, with the Smallbones having the added challenge of being recent immigrants to the United States.
There are several scenes where Helen and the children talk about praying, but the movie can still be relatable to viewers who are not religious because the story has an overall message of hope. “Unsung Hero” pulls at heartstrings in all the right places but doesn’t feel manipulative. This real-life story is made all the more meaningful in its message that hard work, talent, luck and the right connections can lead to success, but that success is better with the support of a loving family.
Lionsgate will release “Unsung Hero” in U.S. cinemas on April 26, 2024. A sneak preview of the movie was shown in select U.S. cinemas on April 24, 2024.
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney in “This Is a Film About the Black Keys” (Photo by Jim Herrington)
“This Is a Film About the Black Keys”
Directed by Jeff Dupre
Culture Representation: The documentary film “This Is a Film About the Black Keys” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few African Americans) who are all connected in some way to the American rock duo the Black Keys and who discuss the band.
Culture Clash: Black Keys members Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, who have very different personalities from each other, go through their ups and downs in their careers and their personal lives.
Culture Audience: In addition to appealing to the obvious target audience of Black Keys fans “This Is a Film About the Black Keys” will appeal primarily to people who like watching documentaries that are similar to “Behind the Music.”
“This Is a Film About the Black Keys” is a competent but not outstanding documentary that comes across as a “Behind the Music” type of promotional showcase. It has candid interviews and great archival footage, but the film has some obvious omissions in the Black Keys’ story. The documentary raises some questions that never get answered. However, the behind-the-scenes footage makes the documentary worth watching, even if you know that the filmmakers could have made more courageous choices in how this story was told.
Directed by Jeff Dupre, “This Is a Film About the Black Keys” had its world premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film and TV Festival, about a month before the release of the Black Keys’ 12th studio album “Ohio Players.” The calculated timing of both the movie’s premiere and the album’s release has “Behind the Music” influences written all over it, since most artists who’ve agreed to do a “Behind the Music” episode do it to promote a new album. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it usually means that the artists won’t allow the most unflattering aspects of their lives to be explored in depth in whatever documentary they’re doing to coincide with the release of a new album.
“This is a Film About the Black Keys” follows the “Behind the Music” rock band biography narrative formula, almost beat by beat: A band comes from humble beginnings, slowly builds up a fan base from releasing albums and touring, has breakthrough mainstream success, and then gets caught up in the pitfalls of fame—usually having to do with huge egos, money and substance abuse. “This is a Film About the Black Keys” checks all of those boxes.
The Black Keys have a few characteristics that set them apart from most rock artists: They are a duo when most rock artists are either solo artists or are part of band with at least three members. The Black Keys members—lead singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Pat Carney—also don’t have a typical rock band origin story of a bunch of people forming a band because they were already friends or because they went through a lengthy search to find the right people to be in the band.
Instead, Auerbach (born in 1979) and Carney (born in 1980) say that they were more like friendly acquaintances than close friends when they started making music together. Carney and Auerbach both grew up on the same street and went to the same high school in their hometown of Akron, Ohio. The documentary dutifully covers biographical information that can be found on the Internet about the Black Keys. Carney and Auerbach are interviewed, as well as some of their family members, business associates and music industry fans.
When Auerbach and Carney were students at Firestone High School in Akron, Auerbach was a popular athlete but his real passion was music, having learned to play guitar from the age of 7. Carney says of his self-described nerdy teenage years: “I couldn’t get a girl to talk to me, so I got into rock and roll.” The “opposites attract” theme is repeated throughout the movie: Carney says he’s the extrovert who prefers to handle the duo’s business affairs and do interviews, while Auerbach is the introvert who prefers to do most of the duo’s songwriting and musical arranging.
Something that Auerbach and Carney have in common is that they both have several musicians in their families. Auerbach’s mother Mary Little says that most of her siblings are musicians. Auerbach’s cousin Robert Quine is a well-known avant-garde rock musician. Early on in their relationship, Auerbach and Carney also bonded over their admiration of musician R.L. Burnside.
As teenagers, Auerbach and Carney would occasionally play music together, but they were in different social circles in high school. Carney and Auerbach both attended the University of Akron but would eventually drop out to become full-time musicians. Auerbach says that he would skip classes in college so he could spend time in his room to play guitar. Carney describes his college years as still being at a freshman after three years of college.
Auerbach and Carney ended up forming a musical partnership in 2001. It happened after Carney had been hired to be a recording engineer for Auerbach’s band. The other musicians in the band didn’t show up, so Auerbach and Carney began jamming together and decided they could make music together as a duo. Auerbach says, “Right away, Pat and I bonded over our love of recording.” He says that they both still prefer recording over touring.
After some debate over what to call their musical act, they chose the Black Keys. The name was inspired by a friend named Alfred McMoore, who would sometimes call people the “black keys” of a piano if he was upset with them. Auerbach says in the documentary about the duo’s decision to become full-time musicians without having a record deal or a steady income: “There was no back-up plan. We had to make it work.”
By their own admission, the Black Keys have communication problems with each other. Auerbach and Carney say that they have always had difficulty talking about their problems. They say that they usually deal with their personal issues with each other by trying to ignore them. However, it causes resentment over time, which has led to periods of Auerbach and Carney being estranged from each other.
Nowhere is this communication problem more evident in the documentary than in a sequence showing Carney at a soundcheck for a Black Keys arena show while Auerbach is busy shopping for clothes. Carney is furious that his bandmate isn’t there for the soundcheck and rants about how unprofessional Auerbach is for not telling Carney and other people where Auerbach is during this soundcheck.
Meanwhile, Auerbach (accompanied by a few members of his entourage) is shown trying on high-priced clothing at a store and being treated like rock star. When the time comes for the Black Keys to do the concert, Auerbach and Carney are standing next to each backstage but don’t talk about Auerbach’s soundcheck absence that was upsetting to Carney. For this concert, Auerbach is wearing the jacket that he bought at the store.
The Black Keys’ slow and steady rise to Grammy-winning, arena-rock success is a familiar tale of “alternative rock” artists who want a lot of praise, recognition and money for what they do, but they don’t want to be perceived as “sell-outs” or fake. They also want to be able to experiment musically without alienating their core fan base. John Peets, a former manager of the Black Keys, says of the Black Keys’ musical outlook: “They are a fiercely independent band.”
The Black Keys were independent in the beginning of their career, having signed with a series of independent labels and producing their own albums. The band began getting positive reviews for their first album—2002’s “The Big Come Up”—and toured relentlessly for their albums. Carney did a lot of the duo’s bus driving and tour managing in the early days of the Black Keys. He’s the raconteur who is more likely than Auerbach to tell stories in the documentary about their experiences with dingy motels, low-paying gigs, and travel mishaps on the road.
In the early years of the Black Keys, their personal lives of the Black Keys also had parallels to their professional lives. Auerbach and Carney both got married to their first wives around the same time: Carney married his high-school sweetheart Denise Grollmus in 2007. Auerbach married Stephanie Gonis in 2008. Both marriages ended in very messy and public divorces—Carney and Grollmus split in 2009, while Auerbach and Gonis broke up in 2013, with their divorce becoming final in 2014. In the documentary, the divorces are described in vague terms that essentially amount to saying “irreconcilable differences” or “growing apart.”
The details of these divorces are left out of the documentary, but there is a little bit of acknowledgement in the movie about how these divorces affected the Black Keys’ work: By Carney’s own admission, he began drinking alcohol a lot more during his divorce from Grollmus, thereby making the recording of the Black Keys’ 2010 album “Brothers” much more difficult. It’s also mentioned that Auerbach’s divorce from Gonis had a big influence on the emotionally raw and wounded lyrics of the Black Keys’ 2014 album “Turn Blue,” the album that nearly broke up the Black Keys because it was made during a low point in the relationship between Carney and Auerbach. In retrospect, Carney says that during this tumultuous time, the Black Keys probably should have gone on vacation instead of doing an album and tour.
Gonis is the only wife or ex-wife interviewed in the documentary. Her comments that are in the movie mostly describe when her relationship with Auerbach was going well. However, she says their divorce happened because she and Auerbach drifted apart because of all the time he spent away from home. Gonis jokes about their “shotgun wedding” and says that although Auerbach is a loving father, she felt like a single mother raising their daughter Sadie Little Auerbach, who was born in 2008 and is seen briefly in archival footage.
The documentary does not mention any of the sordid information that was widely reported about the divorce filings, such as Gonis’ allegations that Auerbach abused her, or Auerbach’s allegations that Gonis attempted suicide twice in one day. Auerbach was married to Jen Goodall from 2015 to 2019. He is not forthcoming about what really happened in the failures of his two marriages. It isn’t too surprising that Auerbach is unwilling to talk about his personal problems in a biographical documentary that is largely about his life, since he is frequently described in the documentary as being secretive and mysterious, even by people who’ve known him for a very long time.
A turning point for the Black Keys came in 2007, when they collaborated with a pop music producer for the first time: Danger Mouse, whose real name is Brian Joseph Burton. At the time, it seemed to be an unlikely collaboration: Danger Mouse was a Grammy-winning hitmaker best known for Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 R&B/pop smash “Crazy.” However, Carney says he fell in love with the song, which he describes as “cinematic.” The result of the first collaboration between the Black Keys and Danger Mouse was the Black Keys’ 2008 album “Attack & Release.”
The Black Keys went on to get an even larger audience with their 2010 mainstream breakthrough album “Brothers,” which featured the hit “Tighten Up.” It was the first album the Black Keys released after the duo relocated to Nashville and after collaborating again with Danger Mouse. The Black Keys won three Grammys because of “Brothers” and won another three Grammys for their 2011 album “El Camino,” which featured the hit “Lonely Boy.”
Although Carney comes across as more socially confident than Auerbach, Carney admits that behind the scenes, he’s had longtime insecurities about his place in the Black Keys, because Auerbach has often treated him as a backup musician instead of as an equal. One of the biggest rifts that they had was in the mid-2010s, when Auerbach recorded his first solo album without telling Carney, who thinks that this secrecy was a betrayal to Carney. Auerbach says in the documentary that the reason for the secrecy was that Carney was “impossible to be around” at that time. Perhaps one of the more honest moments in the documentary is Carney expressing his fear that he is replaceable in the Black Keys.
The Black Keys’ personal problems within themselves, with each other and in their marriages get uneven exploration in the documentary. Carney’s drinking problem that severely affected the recording of “Brothers” is mentioned but somewhat glossed over. No one comes right out and says that Carney is an alcoholic, but that’s something the documentary filmmakers should have asked Carney. The documentary also doesn’t mention if Carney every got professional help for his drinking problem.
Carney’s marital problems are also described in generic terms or not mentioned at all. He admits that his divorce from first ex-wife Grollmus was bitter, but he barely mentions his second ex-wife Emily Ward, whom he was married to from 2012 to 2016. Carney’s third wife is Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Michelle Branch, whom he married in 2019. Their scandalous separation in 2022 and subsequent reunion—Branch publicly accused him of infidelity, filed for divorce, and then decided to call off the divorce—are not mentioned at all. In the documentary, Carney is briefly shown spending time with his and Branch’s son Rhys James (born in 2018), who appears in some Black Keys rehearsal footage.
A documentary does not need to go the tabloid route and air a lot of dirty laundry. But when a celebrity documentary is made about a celebrity’s life, and several people in the documentary say the celebrity’s personal problems directly affected the celebrity’s work, it behooves the documentary filmmakers to get more details and introspection from the people who caused the problems or were directly affected by the problems. It’s especially noticeable that the documentary doesn’t seem to care to mention if Carney got professional help for what many people describe in the documentary as his alcohol addiction.
In a director’s statement in the movie’s production note, Dupre says about the making of this documentary: “I was going to need Pat and Dan to tell me everything. What they told me first was that they weren’t always very good at communicating with each other. Would they open up to me? I soon realized I wouldn’t need to lean on them quite as much as I thought I would because their music would speak volumes if we let it.”
Dupre further commented in the statement: “Want to know who they were and what they were feeling at every step of the way? Listen to their songs. That became the operating principle in the editing room: as much as possible, let their music tell the story and drive the narrative. … Pat and Dan did open up and come through in their interviews … in spades. But their incredible music expresses who they are and what they’ve been through beyond talk and beyond words.”
That’s all well and good, but “This Is a Film About the Black Keys” is not a concert documentary or a documentary about the making of an album. It’s supposed to be a biographical documentary that looks at all aspects of their lives, but the movie comes across as playing it a little too safe, as if the filmmakers wanted the approval of the Black Keys’ publicity team too. The documentary has very good concert scenes, but gives very little insight into the inspirations or recordings of specific Black Keys songs.
The people interviewed in the documentary do not include any critics of the Black Keys. Other interviewees include Dan Auerbach’s father Chuck Auerbach; Patrick Carney’s brother Michael Carney; Fat Possum Records executives Matthew Johnson and Bruce Watson; Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Beck; and journalist Peter Relic, who gave the Black Keys’ their first review in Rolling Stone magazine.
The Black Keys’ notorious feud (which has since been settled) with Jack White (formerly of the rock duo the White Stripes) is not mentioned at all in the documentary. The closest thing that the documentary will mention to any music feuds that the Black Keys had was when Carney got some social media hate from Justin Bieber fans in 2013, when a reporter asked Carney to comment on Bieber not getting any Grammy nominations that year, and Carney made a flippant comment that Bieber should be happy with being rich. This short-lived and petty trolling from angry Bieber fans is quickly laughed off in the documentary for what is. But if you believe everything in this documentary, the Black Keys never had any uncomfortable rivalries with other musicians, when the reality is that they did.
People can enjoy the Black Keys’ music in any number of ways, including this documentary. As entertaining it might be to look at the impressive array of archival Black Keys footage that the documentary has compiled, the movie’s overall story of the Black Keys looks very much like a sympathetically slanted portrait of how the Black Keys want to see themselves and not a complete story of who they really are. Based on the final results, the documentary filmmakers seemed all too willing to go along and leave perhaps the hardest parts of the Black Keys’ story left untold.
Taylor Swift at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on February 4, 2024 (Photo by Sonja Flemming/CBS)
Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, SZA were among the big winners at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, which were presented at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 4, 2024. Trevor Noah hosted the Grammy Awards for the fourth consecutive year. CBS had the live U.S. telecast of the ceremony, which was livestreamed on Paramount+ With Showtime. Several of the Grammy categories were presented in a pre-telecast ceremony that was livestreamed on Grammy.com.
Swift’s “Midnights” won Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album. She now holds the records as the person who has won Album of the Year the most times (four.) at the Grammy Awards. There was no artist at the show who dominated by winning more than three awards. Miley Cyrus won Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Flowers.” Billie Eilish and her brother/songwriting partner Finneas O’Connell won Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media for “What Was I Made For?” from the “Barbie” soundtrack.
SZA (whose real name is Solána Rowe) had the most nominations (nine) going into the ceremony. She won three Grammys at the show: Best Progressive R&B Album, for “SOS”; Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, for her “Ghost in the Machine” collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers; and Best R&B Song, for “Snooze.” SZA performed “Snooze” and “Kill Bill” at the show. Victoria Monét, who had seven nominations going into the ceremony, also won three Grammys: Best R&B Album (for “Jaguar II”), Best New Artist, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (for “Jaguar II”).
Jay-Z received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, which was first given in 2023 to Dr. Dre. The Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective gives this noncompetitive prize to influential people in black music. During his acceptance speech, Jay-Z (whose real name is Shawn Carter) was joined on stage by his and wife Beyoncé’s eldest child, 12-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter, while Beyoncé watched at their table.
In his memorable speech, Jay-Z talked about being one of the hip-hop artists who boycotted the Grammys for overlooking hip-hop, such as the Grammys not putting the rap categories on television (which happened again this year) or not nominating certain rap artists in the years that they had successful albums. Jay-Z also gave some criticism for Beyoncé not winning a Grammy for Album of the Year, even though she holds the record for being the person who’s won the most Grammys (32), which was a record that she attained in 2023.
Jay-Z added when commenting about who gets awarded (or not) at the Grammys: “ “I’m saying, we want you to get it right. At least close to getting it right. Obviously, it’s subjective. It’s music, and it’s opinion-based … Some of you will go home tonight and will feel like you’ve been robbed. Some of you may get robbed. Some of you don’t belong in the category.” After hearing a mixture of booing and laughter at that last remark, he said, “When I get nervous, I tell the truth.”
He concluded his speech by saying, “Outside of that, we’ve got to keep showing up. Forget the Grammys for a second—just in life … you’ve got to keep showing up … until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve, until they call you chairman, until they call you genius, until they call you the greatest of all time.”
Artists who performed at the show included Dua Lipa, Cyrus and Olivia Rodrigo. U2 performed remotely from the Sphere in Paradise, Nevada. On-stage collaborations included Luke Combs with Tracy Chapman; Travis Scott with Playboi Carti; and Burna Boy with 21 Savage and Brandy.
Joni Mitchell performed at the Grammys for the first time. She sang “Both Sides Now” and was joined on stage for the performance by Brandi Carlile, SistaStrings, Blake Mills, Lucius, Allison Russell and Jacob Collier.
Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox, Jon Batiste and Fantasia Barrino did separate performances for the “In Memoriam” segment that paid tribute to notable people in the music industry who died since the previous Grammy ceremony. Billy Joel performed “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first new song in 30 years, and closed out the show with his 1980 hit “You May Be Right.”
Celine Dion made a surprise appearance to present the award for Album of the Year. Other presenters at the show were Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, Mark Ronson, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Lionel Richie, U2, Lizzo, Christina Aguilera, Maluma, Samara Joy, Brandi Carlile and Kacey Musgraves.
Here is the complete list of nominees and winners for the 2024 Grammy Awards:
*=winner
General Field
1. Record Of The Year
Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.
Worship Jon Batiste Jon Batiste, Jon Bellion, Pete Nappi & Tenroc, producers; Serban Ghenea & Pete Nappi, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
Not Strong Enough boygenius boygenius & Catherine Marks, producers; Owen Lantz, Catherine Marks, Mike Mogis, Bobby Mota, Kaushlesh “Garry” Purohit & Sarah Tudzin, engineers/mixers; Pat Sullivan, mastering engineer
Flowers* Miley Cyrus Kid Harpoon & Tyler Johnson, producers; Michael Pollack, Brian Rajaratnam & Mark “Spike” Stent, engineers/mixers; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer
What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture “Barbie”] Billie Eilish Billie Eilish & FINNEAS, producers; Billie Eilish, Rob Kinelski & FINNEAS, engineers/mixers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
On My Mama Victoria Monét Deputy, Dernst Emile II & Jeff Gitelman, producers; Patrizio Pigliapoco & Todd Robinson, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
Vampire Olivia Rodrigo Dan Nigro, producer; Serban Ghenea, Michael Harris, Chris Kasych, Daniel Nigro & Dan Viafore, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Anti-Hero Taylor Swift Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Serban Ghenea, Laura Sisk & Lorenzo Wolff, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Kill Bill SZA Rob Bisel & Carter Lang, producers; Rob Bisel, engineer/mixer; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
2. Album Of The Year
Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with 20% or more playing time of the album.
World Music Radio Jon Batiste Jon Batiste, Jon Bellion, Nick Cooper, Pete Nappi & Tenroc, producers; Jon Batiste, Pete Nappi, Kaleb Rollins, Laura Sisk & Marc Whitmore, engineers/mixers; Jon Batiste, Jon Bellion, Jason Cornet & Pete Nappi, songwriters; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer
the record boygenius boygenius & Catherine Marks, producers; Owen Lantz, Will Maclellan, Catherine Marks, Mike Mogis, Bobby Mota, Kaushlesh “Garry” Purohit & Sarah Tudzin, engineers/mixers; Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers & Lucy Dacus, songwriters; Pat Sullivan, mastering engineer
Endless Summer Vacation Miley Cyrus Kid Harpoon, Tyler Johnson & Mike Will Made-It, producers; Pièce Eatah, Craig Frank, Paul David Hager, Stacy Jones, Brian Rajaratnam & Mark “Spike” Stent, engineers/mixers; Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein, Thomas Hull, Tyler Johnson, Michael Len Williams II & Michael Pollack, songwriters; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer
Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Lana Del Rey Jack Antonoff, Zach Dawes, Lana Del Rey & Drew Erickson, producers; Jack Antonoff, Michael Harris, Dean Reid & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Mike Hermosa, songwriters; Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineer
The Age Of Pleasure Janelle Monáe Sensei Bueno, Nate “Rocket” Wonder & Nana Kwabena, producers; Mick Guzauski, Nate “Rocket” Wonder, Jayda Love, Janelle Monáe & Yáng Tan, engineers/mixers; Jarrett Goodly, Nathaniel Irvin III, Janelle Monáe Robinson & Nana Kwabena Tuffuor, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
GUTS Olivia Rodrigo Daniel Nigro, producer; Serban Ghenea, Sterling Laws, Mitch McCarthy, Daniel Nigro, Dave Schiffman, Mark “Spike” Stent, Sam Stewart & Dan Viafore, engineers/mixers; Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
Midnights* Taylor Swift Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, producers; Jack Antonoff, Zem Audu, Serban Ghenea, David Hart, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Ken Lewis, Michael Riddleberger, Laura Sisk & Evan Smith, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
SOS SZA Rob Bisel, ThankGod4Cody & Carter Lang, producers; Rob Bisel, engineer/mixer; Rob Bisel, Cody Fayne, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters; Dale Becker, mastering engineer
3. Song Of The Year
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
A&W Jack Antonoff, Lana Del Rey & Sam Dew, songwriters (Lana Del Rey)
Anti-Hero Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift)
Butterfly Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
Dance The Night (From Barbie The Album) Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
Flowers Miley Cyrus, Gregory Aldae Hein & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Miley Cyrus)
Kill Bill Rob Bisel, Carter Lang & Solána Rowe, songwriters (SZA)
Vampire Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
What Was I Made For? [From The Motion Picture “Barbie”]* Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
4. Best New Artist
This category recognizes an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.
Gracie Abrams Fred again.. Ice Spice Jelly Roll Coco Jones Noah Kahan Victoria Monét* The War And Treaty
5. Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)
Jack Antonoff*
• Being Funny In A Foreign Language (The 1975) (A)
• Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Lana Del Rey) (A)
• Midnights (Taylor Swift) (A)
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
• JAGUAR II (Victoria Monét) (A)
Hit-Boy
• Bus Stop (Don Toliver Featuring Brent Faiyaz) (T)
• Just Face It (Dreamville With Blxst) (T)
• Kings Disease III (Nas) (A)
• Magic 3 (Nas) (A)
• Magic 2 (Nas) (A)
• Slipping Into Darkness (Hit-Boy & The Alchemist) (S)
Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)* Fred again..
Kx5 Kx5
Quest For Fire Skrillex
Field 2: Rock, Metal & Alternative Music
13. Best Rock Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.
Sculptures Of Anything Goes Arctic Monkeys
More Than A Love Song Black Pumas
Not Strong Enough* Boygenius
Rescued Foo Fighters
Lux Æterna Metallica
14. Best Metal Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative metal recordings.
Bad Man Disturbed
Phantom Of The Opera Ghost
72 Seasons* Metallica
Hive Mind Slipknot
Jaded Spiritbox
15. Best Rock Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Angry Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Andrew Watt, songwriters (The Rolling Stones)
Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
Emotion Sickness Dean Fertita, Joshua Homme, Michael Shuman, Jon Theodore & Troy Van Leeuwen, songwriters (Queens Of The Stone Age)
Rescued Dave Grohl, Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett & Pat Smear, songwriters (Foo Fighters)
16. Best Rock Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new rock, hard rock or metal recordings.
But Here We Are Foo Fighters
Starcatcher Greta Van Fleet
72 Seasons Metallica
This Is Why* Paramore
In Times New Roman… Queens Of The Stone Age
17. Best Alternative Music Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative Alternative music recordings.
Belinda Says Alvvays
Body Paint Arctic Monkeys
Cool About It boygenius
A&W Lana Del Rey
This Is Why* Paramore
18. Best Alternative Music Album
Vocal or Instrumental.
The Car Arctic Monkeys
The Record* boygenius
Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Lana Del Rey
Cracker Island Gorillaz
I Inside The Old Year Dying PJ Harvey
Field 3: R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry
19. Best R&B Performance
For new vocal or instrumental R&B recordings.
Summer Too Hot Chris Brown
Back To Love Robert Glasper Featuring SiR & Alex Isley
ICU* Coco Jones
How Does It Make You Feel Victoria Monét
Kill Bill SZA
20. Best Traditional R&B Performance
For new vocal or instrumental traditional R&B recordings.
Simple Babyface Featuring Coco Jones
Lucky Kenyon Dixon
Hollywood Victoria Monét Featuring Earth, Wind & Fire & Hazel Monét
Good Morning* PJ Morton Featuring Susan Carol
Love Language SZA
21. Best R&B Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Back To Love Darryl Andrew Farris, Robert Glasper & Alexandra Isley, songwriters (Robert Glasper Featuring SiR & Alex Isley)
ICU Darhyl Camper Jr., Courtney Jones, Raymond Komba & Roy Keisha Rockette, songwriters (Coco Jones)
On My Mama Dernst Emile II, Jeff Gitelman, Victoria Monét, Kyla Moscovich, Jamil Pierre & Charles Williams, songwriters (Victoria Monét)
Snooze* Kenny B. Edmonds, Blair Ferguson, Khris Riddick-Tynes, Solána Rowe & Leon Thomas, songwriters (SZA)
22. Best Progressive R&B Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded progressive vocal tracks derivative of R&B.
Since I Have A Lover 6LACK
The Love Album: Off The Grid Diddy
Nova Terrace Martin And James Fauntleroy
The Age Of Pleasure Janelle Monáe
SOS* SZA
23. Best R&B Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new R&B recordings.
Girls Night Out Babyface
What I Didn’t Tell You (Deluxe) Coco Jones
Special Occasion Emily King
JAGUAR II* Victoria Monét
CLEAR 2: SOFT LIFE EP Summer Walker
24. Best Rap Performance
For a Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.
The Hillbillies Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar
Love Letter Black Thought
Rich Flex Drake & 21 Savage
SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS* Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane
Players Coi Leray
25. Best Melodic Rap Performance
For a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and Rap.
Sittin’ On Top Of The World Burna Boy Featuring 21 Savage
Attention Doja Cat
Spin Bout U Drake & 21 Savage
All My Life* Lil Durk Featuring J. Cole
Low SZA
26. Best Rap Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Attention Rogét Chahayed, Amala Zandile Dlamini & Ari Starace, songwriters (Doja Cat)
Barbie World [From Barbie The Album] Isis Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua)
Just Wanna Rock Mohamad Camara, Symere Woods & Javier Mercado, songwriters (Lil Uzi Vert)
Rich Flex Brytavious Chambers, Isaac “Zac” De Boni, Aubrey Graham, J. Gwin, Anderson Hernandez, Michael “Finatik” Mule & Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, songwriters (Drake & 21 Savage)
SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS* Andre Benjamin, Paul Beauregard, James Blake, Michael Render, Tim Moore & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Killer Mike Featuring André 3000, Future And Eryn Allen Kane)
27. Best Rap Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new rap recordings.
Her Loss Drake & 21 Savage
MICHAEL* Killer Mike
HEROES & VILLIANS Metro Boomin
King’s Disease III Nas
UTOPIA Travis Scott
28. Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new spoken word poetry recordings.
A-You’re Not Wrong B-They’re Not Either: The Fukc-It Pill Revisited Queen Sheba
For Your Consideration’24 -The Album Prentice Powell and Shawn William
Grocery Shopping With My Mother Kevin Powell
The Light Inside* J. Ivy
When The Poems Do What They Do Aja Monet
Field 4: Jazz, Traditional Pop, Contemporary Instrumental & Musical Theater
29. Best Jazz Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative jazz recordings.
Movement 18′ (Heroes) Jon Batiste
Basquiat Lakecia Benjamin
Vulnerable (Live) Adam Blackstone Featuring The Baylor Project & Russell Ferranté
But Not For Me Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding
Tight* Samara Joy
30. Best Jazz Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal jazz recordings.
For Ella 2 Patti Austin Featuring Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band
Alive At The Village Vanguard Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding
Lean In Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke
Mélusine Cécile McLorin Salvant
How Love Begins* Nicole Zuraitis
31. Best Jazz Instrumental Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new instrumental jazz recordings.
The Source Kenny Barron
Phoenix Lakecia Benjamin
Legacy: The Instrumental Jawn* Adam Blackstone
The Winds Of Change* Billy Childs
Dream Box Pat Metheny
32. Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new ensemble jazz recordings.
Dynamic Maximum Tension Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
Basie Swings The Blues* The Count Basie Orchestra Directed By Scotty Barnhart
Olympians Vince Mendoza & Metropole Orkest
The Charles Mingus Centennial Sessions Mingus Big Band
33. Best Latin Jazz Album
For vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded material. The intent of this category is to recognize recordings that represent the blending of jazz with Latin, Iberian-American, Brazilian, and Argentinian tango music.
Quietude Eliane Elias
My Heart Speaks Ivan Lins With The Tblisi Symphony Orchestra
Vox Humana Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band
Cometa Luciana Souza & Trio Corrente
El Arte Del Bolero Vol. 2* Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo
34. Best Alternative Jazz Album
For vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Alternative jazz recordings.
Love In Exile Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily
Quality Over Opinion Louis Cole
SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree Kurt Elling, Charlie Hunter, SuperBlue
Live At The Piano Cory Henry
The Omnichord Real Book* Meshell Ndegeocello
35. Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.
To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim Liz Callaway
Pieces Of Treasure Rickie Lee Jones
Bewitched* Laufey
Holidays Around The World Pentatonix
Only The Strong Survive Bruce Springsteen
Sondheim Unplugged (The NYC Sessions), Vol. 3 (Various Artists)
36. Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new contemporary instrumental recordings.
As We Speak* Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia
On Becoming House Of Waters
Jazz Hands Bob James
The Layers Julian Lage
All One Ben Wendel
37. Best Musical Theater Album
For albums containing greater than 51% playing time of new recordings. Award to the principal vocalist(s), and the album producer(s) of 50% or more playing time of the album. The lyricist(s) and composer(s) of 50 % or more of a score of a new recording are eligible for an Award if any previous recording of said score has not been nominated in this category.
Kimberly Akimbo John Clancy, David Stone & Jeanine Tesori, producers; Jeanine Tesori, composer; David Lindsay-Abaire, lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
Parade Micaela Diamond, Alex Joseph Grayson, Jake Pedersen & Ben Platt, principal vocalists; Jason Robert Brown & Jeffrey Lesser, producers; Jason Robert Brown, composer & lyricist (2023 Broadway Cast)
Shucked Brandy Clark, Jason Howland, Shane McAnally & Billy Jay Stein, producers; Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)
Some Like It Hot* Christian Borle, J. Harrison Ghee, Adrianna Hicks & NaTasha Yvette Williams, principal vocalists; Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Bryan Carter, Scott M. Riesett, Charlie Rosen & Marc Shaiman, producers; Scott Wittman, lyricist; Marc Shaiman, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street Annaleigh Ashford & Josh Groban, principal vocalists; Thomas Kail & Alex Lacamoire, producers (Stephen Sondheim, composer & lyricist) (2023 Broadway Cast)
Field 5: Country & American Roots Music
38. Best Country Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.
In Your Love Tyler Childers
Buried Brandy Clark
Fast Car Luke Combs
The Last Thing On My Mind Dolly Parton
White Horse* Chris Stapleton
39. Best Country Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings.
High Note Dierks Bentley Featuring Billy Strings
Nobody’s Nobody Brothers Osborne
I Remember Everything* Zach Bryan Featuring Kacey Musgraves
Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold) Vince Gill & Paul Franklin
Save Me Jelly Roll With Lainey Wilson
We Don’t Fight Anymore Carly Pearce Featuring Chris Stapleton
40. Best Country Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Buried Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters (Brandy Clark)
In Your Love Tyler Childers & Geno Seale, songwriters (Tyler Childers)
Last Night John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak, songwriters (Morgan Wallen)
White Horse* Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)
41. Best Country Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new country recordings.
Rolling Up The Welcome Mat Kelsea Ballerini
Brothers Osborne Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan Zach Bryan
Rustin’ In The Rain Tyler Childers
Bell Bottom Country* Lainey Wilson
42. Best American Roots Performance
For new vocal or instrumental American Roots recordings. This is for performances in the style of any of the subgenres encompassed in the American Roots Music field including bluegrass, blues, folk or regional roots. Award to the artist(s).
Butterfly Jon Batiste
Heaven Help Us All The Blind Boys Of Alabama
Inventing The Wheel Madison Cunningham
You Louisiana Man Rhiannon Giddens
Eve Was Black* Allison Russell
43. Best Americana Performance
For new vocal or instrumental Americana performance. Award to the artist(s).
Friendship The Blind Boys Of Alabama
Help Me Make It Through The Night Tyler Childers
Dear Insecurity* Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile
King Of Oklahoma Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
The Returner Allison Russell
44. Best American Roots Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Americana, bluegrass, traditional blues, contemporary blues, folk or regional roots songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Blank Page Michael Trotter Jr. & Tanya Trotter, songwriters (The War And Treaty)
California Sober Aaron Allen, William Apostol & Jon Weisberger, songwriters (Billy Strings Featuring Willie Nelson)
Cast Iron Skillet* Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit)
Dear Insecurity Brandy Clark & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Brandy Clark Featuring Brandi Carlile)
The Returner Drew Lindsay, JT Nero & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)
45. Best Americana Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Americana recordings.
Brandy Clark Brandy Clark
The Chicago Sessions Rodney Crowell
You’re The One Rhiannon Giddens
Weathervanes* Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
The Returner Allison Russell
46. Best Bluegrass Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental bluegrass recordings.
Radio John: Songs of John Hartford Sam Bush
Lovin’ Of The Game Michael Cleveland
Mighty Poplar Mighty Poplar
Bluegrass Willie Nelson
Me/And/Dad Billy Strings
City Of Gold* Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
47. Best Traditional Blues Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental traditional blues recordings.
Ridin’ Eric Bibb
The Soul Side Of Sipp Mr. Sipp
Life Don’t Miss Nobody Tracy Nelson
Teardrops For Magic Slim Live At Rosa’s Lounge John Primer
All My Love For You* Bobby Rush
48. Best Contemporary Blues Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental contemporary blues recordings.
Death Wish Blues Samantha Fish And Jesse Dayton
Healing Time Ruthie Foster
Live In London Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Blood Harmony* Larkin Poe
LaVette! Bettye LaVette
49. Best Folk Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental folk recordings.
Traveling Wildfire Dom Flemons
I Only See The Moon The Milk Carton Kids
Joni Mitchell At Newport [Live]* Joni Mitchell
Celebrants Nickel Creek
Jubilee Old Crow Medicine Show
Seven Psalms Paul Simon
Folkocracy Rufus Wainwright
50. Best Regional Roots Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental regional roots music recordings.
New Beginnings* (tie) Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers
Live: Orpheum Theater Nola Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
Made In New Orleans New Breed Brass Band
Too Much To Hold New Orleans Nightcrawlers
Live At The Maple Leaf* (tie) The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.
Field 6: Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music
51. Best Gospel Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best traditional Christian, roots gospel or contemporary gospel single or track.
God Is Good Stanley Brown Featuring Hezekiah Walker, Kierra Sheard & Karen Clark Sheard; Stanley Brown, Karen V Clark Sheard, Kaylah Jiavanni Harvey, Rodney Jerkins, Elyse Victoria Johnson, J Drew Sheard II, Kierra Valencia Sheard & Hezekiah Walker, songwriters
Feel Alright (Blessed) Erica Campbell; Erica Campbell, Warryn Campbell, William Weatherspoon, Juan Winans & Marvin L. Winans, songwriters
Lord Do It For Me (Live) Zacardi Cortez; Marcus Calyen, Zacardi Cortez & Kerry Douglas, songwriters
God Is Melvin Crispell III
All Things* Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin, songwriter
52. Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best contemporary Christian music single or track, (including pop, rap/hip-hop, Latin, or rock.)
Thank God I Do Lauren Daigle; Lauren Daigle & Jason Ingram, songwriters
Love Me Like I Am for KING & COUNTRY Featuring Jordin Sparks
Your Power* Lecrae & Tasha Cobbs Leonard
God Problems Maverick City Music, Chandler Moore & Naomi Raine; Daniel Bashta, Chris Davenport, Ryan Ellis & Naomi Raine, songwriters
53. Best Gospel Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.
I Love You Erica Campbell
Hymns (Live) Tasha Cobbs Leonard
The Maverick Way Maverick City Music
My Truth Jonathan McReynolds
All Things New: Live In Orlando* Tye Tribbett
54. Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian music, including pop, rap/hip hop, Latin, or rock recordings.
My Tribe Blessing Offor
Emanuel Da’ T.R.U.T.H.
Lauren Daigle Lauren Daigle
Church Clothes 4* Lecrae
I Believe Phil Wickham
55. Best Roots Gospel Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional/roots gospel music, including country, Southern gospel, bluegrass, and Americana recordings.
Tribute To The King The Blackwood Brothers Quartet
Echoes Of The South* Blind Boys Of Alabama
Songs That Pulled Me Through The Tough Times Becky Isaacs Bowman
Meet Me At The Cross Brian Free & Assurance
Shine: The Darker The Night The Brighter The Light Gaither Vocal Band
Field 7: Latin, Global, Reggae & New Age, Ambient, or Chant
56. Best Latin Pop Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Latin pop recordings.
La Cuarta Hoja Pablo Alborán
Beautiful Humans, Vol. 1 AleMor
A Ciegas Paula Arenas
La Neta Pedro Capó
Don Juan Maluma
X Mí (Vol. 1)* Gaby Moreno
57. Best Música Urbana Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Música Urbana recordings.
SATURNO Rauw Alejandro
MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO* Karol G
DATA Tainy
58. Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Latin rock or alternative recordings.
MARTÍNEZ Cabra
Leche De Tigre Diamante Eléctrico
Vida Cotidiana* (tie) Juanes
De Todas Las Flores* (tie) Natalia Lafourcade
EADDA9223 Fito Paez
59. Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano)
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new regional Mexican (banda, norteño, corridos, gruperos, mariachi, ranchera and Tejano) recordings.
Bordado A Mano Ana Bárbara
La Sánchez Lila Downs
Motherflower Flor De Toloache
Amor Como En Las Películas De Antes Lupita Infante
GÉNESIS* Peso Pluma
60. Best Tropical Latin Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new tropical Latin recordings.
Siembra: 45º Aniversario (En Vivo en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, 14 de Mayo 2022)* Rubén Blades Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Voy A Ti Luis Figueroa
Niche Sinfónico Grupo Niche Y Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia
VIDA Omara Portuondo
MIMY & TONY Tony Succar, Mimy Succar
Escalona Nunca Se Había Grabado Así Carlos Vives
61. Best Global Music Performance
For new vocal or instrumental Global music recordings.
Abundance In Millets Falu & Gaurav Shah (Featuring PM Narendra Modi)
Pashto* Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia
Todo Colores Ibrahim Maalouf Featuring Cimafunk & Tank And The Bangas
62. Best African Music Performance
Amapiano ASAKE & Olamide
City Boys Burna Boy
UNAVAILABLE Davido Featuring Musa Keys
Rush Ayra Starr
Water* Tyla
63. Best Global Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Global Music recordings.
Epifanías Susana Baca
History Bokanté
I Told Them… Burna Boy
Timeless Davido
This Moment* Shakti
64. Best Reggae Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new reggae recordings.
Born For Greatness Buju Banton
Simma Beenie Man
Cali Roots Riddim 2023 Collie Buddz
No Destroyer Burning Spear
Colors Of Royal* Julian Marley & Antaeus
65. Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental new age recordings.
Aquamarine Kirsten Agresta-Copely
Moments Of Beauty Omar Akram
Some Kind Of Peace (Piano Reworks) Ólafur Arnalds
Ocean Dreaming Ocean David Darling & Hans Christian
So She Howls* Carla Patullo Featuring Tonality And The Scorchio Quartet
Field 8: Children’s, Comedy, Audio Books, Visual Media & Music Video/Film
66. Best Children’s Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new musical or spoken word recordings that are created and intended specifically for children.
Ahhhhh! Andrew & Polly
Ancestars Pierce Freelon & Nnenna Freelon
Hip Hope For Kids! DJ Willy Wow!
Taste The Sky Uncle Jumbo
We Grow Together Preschool Songs* 123 Andrés
67. Best Comedy Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new recordings.
I Wish You Would Trevor Noah
I’m An Entertainer Wanda Sykes
Selective Outrage Chris Rock
Someone You Love Sarah Silverman
What’s In A Name?* Dave Chappelle
68. Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording
Big Tree Meryl Streep
Boldly Go: Reflections On A Life Of Awe And Wonder William Shatner
The Creative Act: A Way Of Being Rick Rubin
It’s Ok To Be Angry About Capitalism Senator Bernie Sanders
The Light We Carry: Overcoming In Uncertain Times* Michelle Obama
69. Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Award to the principal artist(s) and/or ‘in studio’ producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album. In the absence of both, award to the one or two individuals proactively responsible for the concept and musical direction of the album and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable. Award also goes to appropriately credited music supervisor(s).
AURORA (Daisy Jones & The Six)
Barbie The Album* (Various Artists)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From And Inspired By (Various Artists)
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3: Awesome Mix, Vol. 3 (Various Artists)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Weird Al Yankovic
70. Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)
Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current legitimate motion picture, television show or series, or other visual media.
Barbie Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, composers
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever* Ludwig Göransson, composer
The Fabelmans John Williams, composer
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny John Williams, composer
Oppenheimer Ludwig Göransson, composer
71. Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media
Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, video games and other interactive media.
Call Of Duty®: Modern Warfare II Sarah Schachner, composer
God Of War Ragnarök Bear McCreary, composer
Hogwarts Legacy Peter Murray, J Scott Rakozy & Chuck E. Myers “Sea”, composers
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor* Stephen Barton & Gordy Haab, composers
A Songwriter(s) award. For a song (melody & lyrics) written specifically for a motion picture, television, video games or other visual media, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.)
Barbie World [From “Barbie The Album”] Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters (Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Featuring Aqua)
Dance The Night [From “Barbie The Album”] Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Dua Lipa)
I’m Just Ken [From “Barbie The Album”] Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Ryan Gosling)
Lift Me Up [From “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From And Inspired By”] Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Robyn Fenty & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Rihanna)
What Was I Made For? [From “Barbie The Album”]* Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
73. Best Music Video
Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.
I’m Only Sleeping* (The Beatles) Em Cooper, video director; Jonathan Clyde, Sophie Hilton, Sue Loughlin & Laura Thomas, video producers
In Your Love Tyler Childers Bryan Schlam, video director; Kacie Barton, Silas House, Nicholas Robespierre, Ian Thornton & Whitney Wolanin, video producers
What Was I Made For Billie Eilish Billie Eilish, video director; Michelle An, Chelsea Dodson & David Moore, video producers
Count Me Out Kendrick Lamar Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jason Baum & Jamie Rabineau, video producers
Rush Troye Sivan Gordon Von Steiner, video director; Kelly McGee, video producer
74. Best Music Film
For concert/performance films or music documentaries. Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.
Moonage Daydream* (David Bowie) Brett Morgen, video director; Brett Morgen, video producer
How I’m Feeling Now Lewis Capaldi Joe Pearlman, video director; Sam Bridger, Isabel Davis & Alice Rhodes, video producers
Live From Paris, The Big Steppers Tour Kendrick Lamar Mike Carson, Dave Free & Mark Ritchie, video directors; Cornell Brown, Debra Davis, Jared Heinke & Jamie Rabineau, video producers
I Am Everything (Little Richard) Lisa Cortés, video director; Caryn Capotosto, Lisa Cortés, Robert Friedman & Liz Yale Marsh, video producers
Dear Mama (Tupac Shakur) Allen Hughes, video director; Joshua Garcia, Loren Gomez, James Jenkins & Stef Smith, video producers
Field 9: Package, Notes & Historical
75. Best Recording Package
The Art Of Forgetting Caroline Rose, art director (Caroline Rose)
Cadenza 21′ Hsing-Hui Cheng, art director (Ensemble Cadenza 21′)
Electrophonic Chronic Perry Shall, art director (The Arcs)
Gravity Falls Iam8bit, art director (Brad Breeck)
Migration Yu Wei, art director (Leaf Yeh)
Stumpwork* Luke Brooks & James Theseus Buck, art directors (Dry Cleaning)
76. Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
The Collected Works Of Neutral Milk Hotel Jeff Mangum, Daniel Murphy & Mark Ohe, art directors (Neutral Milk Hotel)
For The Birds: The Birdsong Project* Jeri Heiden & John Heiden, art directors (Various Artists)
Gieo Duy Dao, art director (Ngot)
Inside: Deluxe Box Set Bo Burnham & Daniel Calderwood, art directors (Bo Burnham)
Words & Music, May 1965 – Deluxe Edition Masaki Koike, art director (Lou Reed)
77. Best Album Notes
Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane With Eric Dolphy (Live) Ashley Kahn, album notes writer (John Coltrane & Eric Dolphy)
I Can Almost See Houston: The Complete Howdy Glenn Scott B. Bomar, album notes writer (Howdy Glenn)
Mogadishu’s Finest: The Al Uruba Sessions Vik Sohonie, album notes writer (Iftin Band)
Playing For The Man At The Door: Field Recordings From The Collection Of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971 Jeff Place & John Troutman, album notes writers (Various Artists)
Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos* Robert Gordon & Deanie Parker, album notes writers (Various Artists)
78. Best Historical Album
Fragments – Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996-1997): The Bootleg Series, Vol. 17 Steve Berkowitz & Jeff Rosen, compilation producers; Steve Addabbo, Greg Calbi, Steve Fallone, Chris Shaw & Mark Wilder, mastering engineers (Bob Dylan)
The Moaninest Moan Of Them All: The Jazz Saxophone of Loren McMurray, 1920-1922 Colin Hancock, Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer; Richard Martin, restoration engineer (Various Artists)
Playing For The Man At The Door: Field Recordings From The Collection Of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971 Jeff Place & John Troutman, compilation producers; Randy LeRoy & Charlie Pilzer, mastering engineers; Mike Petillo & Charlie Pilzer, restoration engineers (Various Artists)
Words & Music, May 1965 – Deluxe Edition Laurie Anderson, Don Fleming, Jason Stern, Matt Sulllivan & Hal Willner, compilation producers; John Baldwin, mastering engineer; John Baldwin, restoration engineer (Lou Reed)
Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos* Robert Gordon, Deanie Parker, Cheryl Pawelski, Michele Smith & Mason Williams, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer; Michael Graves, restoration engineer (Various Artists)
Field 10: Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement
79. Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses.)
Desire, I Want To Turn Into You Macks Faulkron, Daniel Harle, Caroline Polachek & Geoff Swan, engineers; Mike Bozzi & Chris Gehringer, mastering engineers (Caroline Polachek)
History Nic Hard, engineer; Dave McNair, mastering engineer (Bokanté)
JAGUAR II* John Kercy, Kyle Mann, Victoria Monét, Patrizio “Teezio” Pigliapoco, Neal H Pogue & Todd Robinson, engineers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer (Victoria Monét)
Multitudes Michael Harris, Robbie Lackritz, Joseph Lorge & Blake Mills, engineers (Feist)
The Record Owen Lantz, Will Maclellan, Catherine Marks, Mike Mogis, Bobby Mota, Kaushlesh “Garry” Purohit & Sarah Tudzin, engineers; Pat Sullivan, mastering engineer (boygenius)
80. Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
The Blue Hour Patrick Dillett, Mitchell Graham, Jesse Lewis, Kyle Pyke, Andrew Scheps & John Weston, engineers; Helge Sten, mastering engineer (Shara Nova & A Far Cry)
Contemporary American Composers* David Frost & Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Fandango Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel, Anne Akiko Meyers, Gustavo Castillo & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Sanlikol: A Gentleman Of Istanbul – Symphony For Strings, Percussion, Piano, Oud, Ney & Tenor Christopher Moretti & John Weston, engineers; Shauna Barravecchio & Jesse Lewis, mastering engineers (Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, George Lernis & A Far Cry)
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Schulhoff: Five Pieces Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Field 10: Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement
81. Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
David Frost The American Project (Yuja Wang, Teddy Abrams, Louisville Orchestra) (A) Arc II – Ravel, Brahms, Shostakovich (Orion Weiss) (A) Blanchard: Champion (Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Latonia Moore, Ryan Speedo Green, Eric Owens, Stephanie Blythe, Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra) (A) Contemporary American Composers (Riccardo Muti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra) (A) The Guitar Player (Mattias Schulstad) (A) Mysterium (Anne Akiko Meyers, Grant Gershon & Los Angeles Master Chorale) (A) Verdi: Rigoletto (Daniele Rustioni, Piotr Beczala, Quinn Kelsey, Rosa Feola, Varduhi Abrahamyan, Andrea Mastroni, The Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra) (A)
Morten Lindberg An Old Hall Ladymass (Catalina Vicens & Trio Mediæval) (A) Thoresen: Lyden Av Arktis – La Terra Meravigliosa (Christian Kluxen & Arktisk Filharmoni) (A) The Trondheim Concertos (Sigurd Imsen & Baroque Ensemble Of The Trondheim Symphony Orchestra) (A) Yggdrasil (Tove Ramlo-Ystad & Cantus) (A)
Dmitriy Lipay Adès: Dante (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) (A) Fandango (Gustavo Dudamel, Anne Akiko Meyers & Los Angeles Philharmonic) (A) Price: Symphony No. 4; Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony (Yannick Nézet-Séguin & Philadelphia Orchestra) (A) Rachmaninoff: The Piano Concertos & Paganini Rhapsody (Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) (A) Walker: Lyric For Strings; Folksongs For Orchestra; Lilacs For Voice & Orchestra; Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony (Asher Fisch & Seattle Symphony) (A)
Elaine Martone* Ascenso (Santiago Cañón-Valencia) (A) Berg: Three Pieces From Lyric Suite; Strauss: Suite From Der Rosenkavalier (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A) Between Breaths (Third Coast Percussion) (A) Difficult Grace (Seth Parker Woods) (A) Man Up / Man Down (Constellation Men’s Ensemble) (A) Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A) Rachmaninoff & Gershwin: Transcriptions By Earl Wild (John Wilson) (A) Sirventés – Music From The Iranian Female Composers Association (Brian Thornton, Katherine Bormann, Alicia Koelz, Eleisha Nelson, Amahl Arulanadam & Nathan Petipas) (A) Walker: Antifonys; Lilacs; Sinfonias Nos. 4 & 5 (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Brian Pidgeon Fuchs: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (John Wilson & Sinfonia Of London) (A) Music For Strings (John Wilson & Sinfonia Of London) (A) Nielsen: Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 4 (James Ehnes, Edward Gardner & Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra) (A) Pierre Sancan – A Musical Tribute (Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Yan Pascal Tortelier & BBC Philharmonic) (A) Poulenc: Orchestral Works (Bramwell Tovey & BBC Concert Orchestra) (A) Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3; Voclaise; The Isle Of The Dead (John Wilson & Sinfonia Of London) (A) Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 3 (Edward Gardner & City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) (A) Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 12 & 15 (John Storgårds & BBC Philharmonic) (A) Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Works (Alpesh Chauhan & BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra) (A)
82. Best Remixed Recording
(A Remixer’s Award. (Artists names appear in parentheses for identification.) Singles or Tracks only.)
Wagging Tongue (Wet Leg Remix)* Wet Leg, remixers (Depeche Mode)
Workin’ Hard (Terry Hunter Remix) Terry Hunter, remixer (Mariah Carey)
83. Best Immersive Audio Album
For vocal or instrumental albums in any genre. Must be commercially released for physical sale or on an eligible streaming or download service and must provide a new immersive mix of four or more channels. Award to the immersive mix engineer, immersive producer (if any) and immersive mastering engineer (if any).
Act 3 (Immersive Edition) Ryan Ulyate, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Ryan Ulyate, immersive producer (Ryan Ulyate)
Blue Clear Sky Chuck Ainlay, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Chuck Ainlay, immersive producer (George Strait)
The Diary Of Alicia Keys* George Massenburg & Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineers; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Alicia Keys & Ann Mincieli, immersive producers (Alicia Keys)
God Of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack) Eric Schilling, immersive mix engineer; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; Kellogg Boynton, Peter Scaturro & Herbert Waltl, immersive producers (Bear McCreary)
Silence Between Songs Aaron Short, immersive mastering engineer (Madison Beer)
84. Best Instrumental Composition
A Composer’s Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.
Amerikkan Skin Lakecia Benjamin, composer (Lakecia Benjamin Featuring Angela Davis)
Can You Hear The Music Ludwig Göransson, composer (Ludwig Göransson)
Cutey And The Dragon Gordon Goodwin & Raymond Scott, composers (Quartet San Francisco Featuring Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band)
Helena’s Theme* John Williams, composer (John Williams)
Motion Edgar Meyer, composer (Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain Featuring Rakesh Chaurasia)
85. Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
Angels We Have Heard On High Nkosilathi Emmanuel Sibanda, arranger (Just 6)
Can You Hear The Music Ludwig Göransson, arranger (Ludwig Göransson)
Folsom Prison Blues* John Carter Cash, Tommy Emmanuel, Markus Illko, Janet Robin & Roberto Luis Rodriguez, arrangers (The String Revolution Featuring Tommy Emmanuel)
I Remember Mingus Hilario Duran, arranger (Hilario Duran And His Latin Jazz Big Band Featuring Paquito D’Rivera)
Paint It Black Esin Aydingoz, Chris Bacon & Alana Da Fonseca, arrangers (Wednesday Addams)
86. Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals
An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
April In Paris Gordon Goodwin, arranger (Patti Austin Featuring Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band)
Com Que Voz (Live) John Beasley & Maria Mendes, arrangers (Maria Mendes Featuring John Beasley & Metropole Orkest)
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning* Erin Bentlage, Jacob Collier, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick & Amanda Taylor, arrangers (säje Featuring Jacob Collier)
Lush Life Kendric McCallister, arranger (Samara Joy)
Field 11: Classical
87. Best Orchestral Performance
Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.
Adès: Dante* Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Bartók: Concerto For Orchestra; Four Pieces Karina Canellakis, conductor (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra)
Price: Symphony No. 4; Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)
Scriabin: Symphony No. 2; The Poem Of Ecstasy JoAnn Falletta, conductor (Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra)
Stravinsky: The Rite Of Spring Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
88. Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) of a world premiere Opera recording only.
Blanchard: Champion* Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Ryan Speedo Green, Latonia Moore & Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
Corigliano: The Lord Of Cries Gil Rose, conductor; Anthony Roth Costanzo, Kathryn Henry, Jarrett Ott & David Portillo; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project & Odyssey Opera Chorus)
Little: Black Lodge Timur; Andrew McKenna Lee & David T. Little, producers (The Dime Museum; Isaura String Quartet)
89. Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
Carols After A Plague Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
The House Of Belonging Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Miró Quartet; Conspirare)
Ligeti: Lux Aeterna Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony Chorus)
Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil Steven Fox, conductor (The Clarion Choir)
Saariaho: Reconnaissance* Nils Schweckendiek, conductor (Uusinta Ensemble; Helsinki Chamber Choir)
90. Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
American Stories Anthony McGill & Pacifica Quartet
Beethoven For Three: Symphony No. 6, ‘Pastorale’ And Op. 1, No. 3 Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax & Leonidas Kavakos
Between Breaths Third Coast Percussion
Rough Magic* Roomful Of Teeth
Uncovered, Vol. 3: Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, William Grant Still & George Walker Catalyst Quartet
Field 11: Classical
91. Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
Adams, John Luther: Darkness And Scattered Light Robert Black
Akiho: Cylinders Andy Akiho
The American Project* Yuja Wang; Teddy Abrams, conductor (Louisville Orchestra)
Difficult Grace Seth Parker Woods
Of Love Curtis Stewart
92. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with greater than 50% playing time of new material.
Because Reginald Mobley, soloist; Baptiste Trotignon, pianist
Broken Branches Karim Sulayman, soloist; Sean Shibe, accompanist
40@40 Laura Strickling, soloist; Daniel Schlosberg, pianist
Rising Lawrence Brownlee, soloist; Kevin J. Miller, pianist
Walking In The Dark* Julia Bullock, soloist; Christian Reif, conductor (Philharmonia Orchestra)
93. Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 50% playing time of the album, and to the Composer and Librettist (if applicable) with over 50% playing time of a world premiere recording only.
Fandango Anne Akiko Meyers; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Dmitriy Lipay, producer
Julius Eastman, Vol. 3: If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? Christopher Rountree, conductor; Lewis Pesacov, producer
Mazzoli: Dark With Excessive Bright Peter Herresthal; Tim Weiss, conductor; Hans Kipfer, producer
Passion For Bach And Coltrane* Alex Brown, Harlem Quartet, Imani Winds, Edward Perez, Neal Smith & A.B. Spellman; Silas Brown & Mark Dover, producers
Sculptures Andy Akiho; Andy Akiho & Sean Dixon, producers
Zodiac Suite Aaron Diehl Trio & The Knights; Eric Jacobsen, conductor; Aaron Diehl & Eric Jacobsen, producers
94. Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
Adès: Dante Thomas Adès, composer (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Akiho: In That Space, At That Time Andy Akiho, composer (Andy Akiho, Ankush Kumar Bahl & Omaha Symphony)
Brittelle: Psychedelics William Brittelle, composer (Roomful Of Teeth)
Mazzoli: Dark With Excessive Bright Missy Mazzoli, composer (Peter Herresthal, James Gaffigan & Bergen Philharmonic)
Montgomery: Rounds* Jessie Montgomery, composer (Awadagin Pratt, A Far Cry & Roomful Of Teeth)
