In every "Classic Album" TV/Radio documentary...

We could poll these, but I feel Aja would probably walk home with it.

We did poll them, 13 years ago, and Aja did in fact win.

BEST EPISODE OF CLASSIC ALBUMS

#onethread

For most of that episode Becker and Fagen sound like they're simultaneously complimenting each other while also zinging each other at the same time. It's not a surprise that Steely Dan are practically the ILX house band.

I just saw that about 10 mins ago, blushing, talk about stepping on a rake lol

109. within the first five minutes: a writer or actor who was introduced to the record by their older sister's boyfriend. the album was "a right of passage" and was spoken about "in hushed tones"

110. montage of session musicians: "at the time it was just another date. we had no idea we were making history."

It's cool, Maresn3st, no need to feel bad. Nobody has the entire board memorized... except a few posters (who know who they are)

111. Impressionistic footage of a stylus gently undulating as a vinyl LP lusciously revolves on a turntable

112. Dave Grohl

113. Establishing footage of aged Rock Star arriving at studio in a new sports car.

114. Someone who was once a legendary reckless party animal making and drinking something like a wheat-grass smoothie

(And yes, Dave Grohl arriving in a sports car and then drinking an acai kombucha could hit these last three easily)

Anyone say "Carlos Santana invokes 'Coltrane' and 'Miles' amidst some cosmic gobbledygook talk"?

115. Footage of people frugging at Woodstock

116. Musician suddenly pausing while describing something horrible and staring off into space before reaching a very brief, apologetic conclusion.

Did anyone ever see BBC Four's When Albums Ruled the World or whatever it was called, and the narrative was that MTV came along and ruined the fun (somehow). And I can't remember who it was but some talking head in a very quivering voice came on at this point, to talk about how things were before MTV, saying 'looking at someone's record collection used to be like LOOKING INTO THEIR SOUL'.

Absolutely correct.

looking at someone's spotify history is more intimate since you see what they actually listen to not just what they own and display

117. unrelated famous musician or other celebrity roped in to explain the importance of music they're clearly not very familiar with, because the producers reckon no one will care otherwise

somehow never discovered this thread before. fantastic read. "it changed my life."

117a - celebrity is Stuart Maconie.

118. Easily licensable photos and/or crummy stock footage of "influences", most of which have diddley shit to do with the featured act.

119. Shot of interviewee finishing their chat and walking out of frame.

Printed Postscript: [insert name here] DIED AFTER THIS INTERVIEW. THIS FILM IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF [HE/SHE/THEM].

120. Producer or someone sits in front of a mixing desk with what is apparently the original master tapes loaded into the tape machine - or at least that's the idea - but irritatingly they don't actually describe the production process, or show how the music is mixed, or play any of it back, or anything.

I mention this because there's a documentary about Steely Dan's Aja where they do play alternative drum tracks from "Peg" while sitting at the mixing desk, and it's fascinating. The obvious audience for classic album documentaries is super-nerds, but the producers always insist on aiming them at a general audience who (in the producers' mind) don't need to know about the technical stuff.

I mean, doesn't everybody want to hear Steve Albini talk for half an hour about vintage guitar pedals? I rest my case.

121. "We wanted to get back to basics."

Ha @ 120 -- I was actually thinking about this earlier, how the financial backers of these kinds of things have to pursue a wide audience.... fundamentally at cross purposes with the lore-seeking musicians and music nerds in the audience (or doing the interviews). And so:

122. Palpable sense throughout that hours of genuinely interesting minutia and making-of stories have been left on the cutting-room floor, in favor of anecdotes which anyone remotely familiar with the band/album has already heard millions of times.

123. Band members filmed separately, often thousands of miles apart, because they cannot stand each other and have only been doing it for the money for years.

124. Palpable tension between original producer and 20-year-old assistant when the latter is required to press the spacebar on a ProTools rig.

125. Studio being used for playback scenes not the original studio, which is long gone and replaced by a mixed-use development of condos and an anchor Starbucks.

126. Band member/creative genius with a long history of "recovery" wearing shades during every interview.

125(A). Scene of band members pulling up to said Starbucks in disbelief.

"Bloody hell!... Anybody for a latte?"

125 (B) “So this is where the control room was…the drums were usually set up where that espresso machine is…oh, and the bathroom, that was the vocal booth. Let’s check it out…[snaps fingers]…wow! Still got that sound!”

Did anyone ever see BBC Four's When Albums Ruled the World or whatever it was called, and the narrative was that MTV came along and ruined the fun (somehow). And I can't remember who it was but some talking head in a very quivering voice came on at this point, to talk about how things were before MTV, saying 'looking at someone's record collection used to be like LOOKING INTO THEIR SOUL'.