From Woodstock to Alanis Morissette: HBO's music documentaries are on the way

With the launch of HBO Max in Italy comes one of the most interesting music productions of recent years: "Music Box," the anthology series of original HBO documentaries created by journalist and producer Bill Simmons. The platform is making the first six episodes of the collection available, each helmed by a different director and dedicated to an artist, an event, or a phenomenon that left its mark on the history of contemporary music.
Far from the celebratory approach typical of many music biopics, "Music Box" uses music as a starting point to tell stories of social, cultural and industrial transformation. It's the approach Simmons, founder of The Ringer network after his long stint at ESPN, has developed over the years: examining pop culture through stories that weave together music, lifestyle and society.
The first available episodes span different genres and eras.

"Woodstock '99: Peace, Love and Rage" reconstructs the festival that was meant to celebrate the legacy of the historic 1969 gathering, but instead became one of the symbols of the collapse of American pop culture at the end of the '90s, amid violence, fires and serious organizational failures.

"DMX: Don't Try to Understand" follows the final years of the rapper's life after his release from prison, recounting the difficult balance between success, addiction and personal conflicts that stayed with him until his death in 2021.

“Jagged” is instead dedicated to Alanis Morissette and to “Jagged Little Pill“, the album that in 1995 changed the mainstream rock landscape, also exploring the weight of sudden fame and the consequences of worldwide success.

With "Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss" the series delves into the world of emo rap through backstage footage, creative sessions and previously unseen material tracing the artist's brief career, cut short by his death in 2019 at just 21 years old.

"Listening to Kenny G" tackles one of the most singular cases in American popular music, examining the figure of a saxophonist who managed to sell millions of records while remaining one of the artists most reviled by jazz critics, turning his success into a genuine cultural phenomenon.

"Mr. Saturday Night" closes out this first selection: a documentary dedicated to Robert Stigwood, manager of the Bee Gees and the producer who played a decisive role in the explosion of disco music and in building the legend of "Saturday Night Fever".

The arrival of "Music Box" also marks the start of a catalog set to expand: in the coming months HBO Max is expected to add new documentaries to the series, including ones dedicated to Jeff Buckley, Jason Isbell and Counting Crows.

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