From Amy Winehouse to Nina Simone, 8 Essential Music Documentaries Inspiring Our Style This Summer Inline
Photo: Courtesy of Leacock-Pennebaker1/8The film: Don’t Look Back
The subject: Bob Dylan
Iconic moments: A peek into Dylan’s 1965 U.K. tour, which was a crossroads in his career between counter-cultural folk hero to full-fledged rock star. It’s a classic example of cinema verité, fly-on-the-wall filmmaking, chronicling the musician’s breakup with Joan Baez and opening with a music video prototype of Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” featuring a cameo by poet Allen Ginsberg.
The look: beatnik chic (black Wayfarers and fitted coat); disheveled grown-out mane; surly expression; endless cigarettes.
Photo: Courtesy of The Foundation See2/8The film: Monterey Pop
The subject: Jimi Hendrix (as well as Janis Joplin, Ravi Shankar, the Who, and Otis Redding)
Iconic moments: Being an emblematic Summer of Love artifact; Hendrix, at the end of “Wild Thing,” lighting his guitar on fire, breaking it onstage, and hurling its neck at the crowd; the Who’s Pete Townshend destroying his guitar, as well; the career launch of musical luminaries like Janis Joplin and Otis Redding.
The look: canary yellow ruffled top; folksy embroidered vest; candy-red flared pants; chunky gold rings; face aglow with the musical instrument you just set aflame.
Photo: Courtesy of Mainman3/8The film: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
The subject: David Bowie
Iconic moments: Bowie shining in his Ziggy Stardust era during his 1973 tour promoting the album Aladdin Sane; a deep look into his transformation into the ultimate, androgynous glam rocker hailing from outer space.
The look: flowing silk tunic with girlish bow around the neck and Japanese-style black patterning and matching thigh-highs; dramatic makeup—blue eye shadow, barely visible eyebrows, colored lips, and contoured cheeks—and blazing coral hair; total vibe of psychedelic opulence.
Photo: Courtesy of Boy Toy4/8The film: Madonna: Truth or Dare
The subject: Madonna
Iconic moments: Madonna’s blockbuster 1990 Blonde Ambition world tour; the attempted police intervention for her more-than-lewd dancing during “Like a Virgin” in Toronto; the almost-ban of the Italian leg of the tour by the then-Pope; a glimpse into the rise and fall of her relationship with actor Warren Beatty.
The look: nouveau Marilyn Monroe bleached-blonde bob, perfectly stenciled black eyebrows, and red lips; Chanel sleeveless blazer; multiple strands of pearls; round acetate and light-rimmed sunglasses.
Photo: Courtesy of Bob Yari Productions5/8Film: Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
The subject: Lauryn Hill (as well as Kanye West, John Legend, Dead Prez, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, the Roots, and Jill Scott)
Iconic moments: Portrayal of the block party thrown by pre-émigré Dave Chappelle in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill as well as Fort Greene and Bed-Stuy; a legendary appearance by Lauryn Hill and the reunited-for-the-night Fugees; the performance of “Jesus Walks” by the very young and talented duo of Kanye West and John Legend, more than a decade before Yeezus and Kim K. and Selma and Chrissy.
The look: baseball hat worn to side, representing—where else?—New York; crisp and classic safari jacket; piles of bracelets and oversize hoops; luminous skin; and a power gaze.
