Documentaries on Friday

 

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 I considered going to a football game Friday night but decided to watch it at home instead.

 This is high school by the way. Around here they show at least one game per week on TV, usually the best match up of the week. I wasn’t able to find it after scanning the channels though. Same thing happened last week. What’s likely going on is that the game is only available on the cable affiliate. I’ve got an old school antenna and no, I don’t miss having cable TV. Other than high school football games I don’t watch sports anymore. I’m through with woke sports; this is year two of pretending the baseball and football don't exist at the pro level.

 Golf is the one exception because it’s positively focused on the sport. But I wouldn’t rush home to in order to watch a match. If it’s on great, if not no big deal.

Without sports I won't pay for cable, the internet however is another matter. The high school game was supposed to be on a YouTube channel but it never started. I might have had the wrong station but the date and teams were correct on the description line. Whatever. I had already convinced myself I wasn’t going to write or do any sort of work last night. I surfed Hulu for bit, then Amazon.

Finally I landed on a documentary about drummers on Netflix instead called “Count Me In”. Anytime I can listen to a gifted musician, or artist or athlete talk about their process I'll check it out. I’m not even a big Rock N Roll guy anymore. I hardly listen to music on a regular basis anymore. When writing I like to put on a Pandora station (jazz mostly) for background.

 Documentaries are to me what sitcoms are to others, nostalgia and silly stories. But right in the middle, I’d call it the sweet spot, are professionals talking about their love of craft. Try it next time you watch any of these shows featuring pros, experts. It works for cooking, painting, home restoration builders, actors and countless others. They really love what they do and it’s inspiring.

I recognize most of them contain a lot of filler. Here is what I mean. On the drummer doc there was a lot of talk about Keith Moon (The Who) and John Boham (Led Zeppelin). Others were mentioned as well from the early jazz guys like Buddy Rich and Art Blakey. I don’t have any special inside knowledge on styles or sounds or creativity, but these are names most people know. If you didn’t know the names of the drummer you’d certainly know the bands. My point is you can fill up a lot of time talking about legends and showing old footage.

 It’s easy to do and it becomes a point of reference for the rest of the story. It brings the viewer back to something they likely remember from childhood.  

 In fact, most of the film consists of drummers breaking down their inspirations. Just a side note here: not one of these current band members referenced Neil Peart from Rush. Really guys? Not one mention?

I recognize how simple this format is and I still love it. Sitcoms come to mind because the  educational value is zero, just entertainment. This is how some documentaries are done and you either love it or you don’t. ESPN did one called just last year called "The Last Dance" about the Chicago Bulls and their final championship run in 1998. The series stretched over 10 episodes and included a ton of old footage. It was a masterclass in how to do documentaries right.

Some are more historical or investigative, this kind relies heavily on interviews to move the story.

 "Count Me In" reminds me a of the "VH1 Behind the Music" series.  There is a story running in parallel to the parade of old rockers detailing their influences. Four drummers prepare for kind of jam session (Is that what they’re called?) in middle of telling their origins. Stephen Perkins (Janes Addiction), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Cindy Blackman (Lenny Kravitz), Jess Bowan (The Summer Set).

The session right at the end of the film was intense. I’m not that into long drum solos but for those inclined it was skill central. I like the stories, the history, the inspiration and the creativity. For that reason documentaries work well for bored days when nothing else will do.

Or if you can’t find your high school football game on the YouTube.