[Commlist] New book: Music Films - Documentaries, Concert Films and Other Cinematic Representations of Popular Music

New book /Music Films: Documentaries, Concert Films and Other Cinematic 
Representations of Popular Music,
BFI/Bloomsbury
May 2024

_https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/music-films-9781839023439/ 
<https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/music-films-9781839023439/>_

—

Description:

In /Music Films/, Neil Fox considers a broad range of music 
documentaries, delving into their cinematic style, political undertones, 
racial dynamics, and gender representations, in order to assess their 
role in the cultivation of myth.

Combining historical and critical analyses, and drawing on film and 
music criticism, Fox examines renowned music films such as /A Hard Day's 
Night/ (1964), /Dig!/ (2004), and /Amazing Grace/ (2006), critically 
lauded works like /Milford Graves Full Mantis/ (2018) and /Mistaken for 
Strangers/ (2013), and lesser-studied films including /Jazz on a 
Summer's Da/y (1959) and /Ornette: Made in America/ (1985). In doing so, 
he offers a comprehensive overview of the genre, situating these films 
within their wider cultural contexts and highlighting their formal and 
thematic innovations.

Discussions in the book span topics from concert filmmaking to music 
production, the music industry, touring, and filmic representations of 
authenticity and truth. Overall, Music Films traces the evolution of the 
genre, highlighting its cultural significance and connection to broader 
societal phenomena.

—

The book was launched at the BFI Library with a conversation with 
filmmaker Caroline Catz, whose film about Delia Derbyshire - /Delia 
Derbyshire: The Myths and Legendary Tapes /(2020) - I write about in the 
book.

I am travelling with the book in coming months, with events in New York 
later this month, in conversation with filmmaker Alex Ross Perry -

_https://www.roxycinemanewyork.com/screenings/black-roses-with-alex-ross-perry-and-neil-fox/ 
<https://www.roxycinemanewyork.com/screenings/black-roses-with-alex-ross-perry-and-neil-fox/>_

And in Manchester next month in conversation with filmmaker and musician 
Carl Hunter as part of the Louder than Words festival -

_https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/music-films-neil-fox-in-conversation-with-filmmaker-musician-carl-hunter-tickets-920875632807 
<https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/music-films-neil-fox-in-conversation-with-filmmaker-musician-carl-hunter-tickets-920875632807>_

Down the line there are planned events in Los Angeles, Berlin, Edinburgh 
and Gothenburg (dates TBC).

So far I have talked about the book and subject at Aberystwyth 
University, with a talk lined up at University of West Scotland soon. 
I’d love to talk to students at all levels about the subject, and if 
nothing else, the clips are hugely enjoyable. So please reach out if you 
are interested.

—

Sam Davies in */Sight and Sound/*//(September 2024) describes the book 
as being as much a *‘celebration as a survey’*, building a *‘persuasive 
argument that the years since the millennium have been the music film’s 
golden age’* and writes that it is *‘alert to the competing interests 
which can compromise music film, but also give it a unique tension*’.

I have been grateful to have been invited onto several podcasts and 
radio shows to discuss the book. You can hear me on the/Beatles Books 
/Podcast//here -

_https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fisJpSPGTFWtevMIKeM5g?si=7f1cbe3ce6b54c0d 
<https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fisJpSPGTFWtevMIKeM5g?si=7f1cbe3ce6b54c0d>_

And I was honoured that my /Cinematologists /co-conspirator Dr. Dario 
Llinares <https://dariollinares.substack.com/> saw fit to dedicate an 
episode of the show to the book, where he gave me an in-depth and much 
appreciated grilling on it -

_https://open.spotify.com/episode/33j0gDs2lNie2MpL0Zyqej?si=e9bcb301579b49b0 
<https://open.spotify.com/episode/33j0gDs2lNie2MpL0Zyqej?si=e9bcb301579b49b0>_

I also appeared on /Doc ’n’ Roll Radio /to talk music film, and pick 
some songs. Always fun -

_https://www.mixcloud.com/sohoradio/doc-n-roll-feat-dr-neil-fox-29062024/ 
<https://www.mixcloud.com/sohoradio/doc-n-roll-feat-dr-neil-fox-29062024/>_


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