808

I think this documentary missed the big portion. It was used for a lot of Rock bands, yet no mention of them. Just Rap and Hip Hop.....Disapointing.

I can't believe that a pioneer and a true legend like John Robie is not in this documentary. He is the driving force behind many of the most successful songs from the early 80's electro boom created by the Roland TR-808. John Robie was Arthur Baker's musician and right hand when they used to work together in the studio. He produced and co-produced many hits along with Arthur Baker who is one of the producers of this documentary. Really sad that he wasn't included in this movie because he's part of the Roland TR-808 history.

I'm a drummer and the historical aspect of this was interesting, but 1.5 hours of this stuff is just too much. Plus, whoever did the lighting for the shots did a terrible job. Wouldn't recommend this unless you're die hard music nerd. Otherwise, at about 30 minutes in you'll check the timeline to see that you still have an hour to go.

I bought this after a client at the studio told me about it and while watching it we couldn't help but to start tinkering with the Roland TR-808 we have. Great documentary, highly recommended this to anybody in the music business

If you want to see how the 808 changed music, watch this. Growing up in the 80's, this movie brought back a lot of memories with the music and video that they show. I'm really glad they got into Freestyle and Miami Bass since that is the music that really got me back in the day. I really liked the part with Planet Patrol playing in a parking lot in front of a chain link fence. Reminds me of the concerts I went to as a teenager. Highly recommend this.

Being a bonafide Native New Yorker, I was given a first hand experience of the emerging rap scene. Back then, rap music (not called hip hop back then) utilized both live bands, and electronics, sometimes a mixture of both--but regardless, the technology of the early 80's was strongly making it's presence known all over the musical landscape. We all first heard the TR-808 on the seminal "Planet Rock" produced by Arthur Baker & John Robie--we knew it was referencing Kraftwerk and we embraced this, while realizing that this was a new overall sound and vibe. Baker, co-produced this documentary, which is very appropriate given he might be the first producer to actually use an 808 on a commercially released recording. For this reason, his partner John Robie's absence is quite disturbing. Could he not get Robie for any particular reason? Robie was the sole instrumentalist on all Baker/Robie productions, and all of them featured the 808 quite prominently, and being very creatively processed during mixdown. Another glaring ommission is West Coast electro pioneer Egypian Lover. I am guessing he had other plans or was on tour, because there is no reason to not have him in this documentary. And while we are on the subject of California, where is Twilight 22?? "Siberian nights" & "Electric Kingdom" both 1984) are two of the best electro tracks ever in my opinion. On the plus side, we do get Man Parrish discussing his masterpiece "Hip hop be bop" (1982), and we are treated to Rick Rubin's first record with TLA Rock-- "It's Yours" (1983), Strafe's club killer "Set it off" (1984), which ironically has Ben Cenac's 808 on it, on loan at the time) as well as one of the first "top 40" uses of an 808 with Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" (1982) (btw, the ENTIRE album features the 808 for it's drum tracks..a rarity, even back then). In addition to these classics, we get a lovely reference to Baker/Robie's use of the IDENTICAL rhythm track from "Planet Rock", utilized for another blockbuster soul/electro hybrid "Play at your own Risk" by Planet Patrol. After this, we move further into the timeline and learn about producers like Goldie & Felix Da Housecat (who, in almost Kanye West fashion claims to have created the "hottest 808 track in the last 12 years"--yeah right.) At this point in the documentary, my interest started to wane. I would have much preferred to see John Robie, Egyptian Lover, and/or Ben "Cozmo D" Cenac, the founding member and driving force behind NEWCLEUS, who made two incredible albums in 1984 & 1985, the first of which utilized the 808 to great effect. (even though Ben admits he was not, and still not, that fond of the 808 sound in general). I may be in the minority here, but to focus on artists who utilize SAMPLES of the 808 rather than the machine itself, sort of defeats the purpose for me. Maybe I am a bit purest in this regard, but if an artist has not utilized the actual machine in a production, I don't need to hear about them in a documentary such as this. The last 10 minutes of the documentary make up for the previous 45 minutes of acid and techno however, as we get to meet Mr. Kakehashi, the founder of ROLAND!! We learn that the 808 was ultimately discontinued due to a faulty resistor that was no longer available! Great stuff indeed. All in all, a solid documentary on perhaps the most genre defining instrument created in the last 40 years--it has literally changed the musical landscape and continues to.

Amazing

I'm just 38 minutes into it and I'm totally thrilled !!!!

It was great to see my friends Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in this documentaries. 808 brought me back years and I loved it. Now I have a little knowledge about the history of the 808 and it explains why I like using it in my 30 second spots for my iBook promos for Design for the Home Run King. This documentary will go on my creative list and when I want to gift a creative person something, 808 will be it. Thanks for making it and telling a great story. Going now to download the songs and make a playlist - YEAH!

I think this film completely forgets about SO MANY artists that actually shaped mondern electronic music. Tiga? really? Horse Sh*t!!!!!