Best Music Movies of 2002

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

A fish-out-of-water comedy about a talented street drummer from Harlem who enrolls in a Southern university, expecting to lead its marching band's drumline to victory. He initially flounders in his new world, before realizing that it takes more than talent to reach the top.

Rock In Rio Festival 2001 - Iron Maiden headlines one of the biggest shows on Earth to a massive sell-out 250,000 crowd and a global TV audience of millions. The explosive two hour set, shot using 18 cameras and edited by Steve Harris, is Maiden at its best, performing their biggest show ever on the final date of their Brave New World Tour.

A documentary by photographer Sam Jones documenting American rock band Wilco recording their fourth album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Originally intended as a showcase of the band's creative process, the film crew catches unexpected complications between the band and its record label and problems among the band members themselves.

Getting Away With It... Live is the thirteenth release and the third live album from Manchester Indie group James. It was recorded at the Manchester gig of their 2001 winter tour, which was dubbed as James' final tour until their reunion in 2007. This DVD of the concert was released in 2002 and features band interviews and promotional videos. Former members Larry Gott (guitar) and Andy Diagram (trumpet) make guest appearances during the show.

Documentary examining the politics, music, and life of Tupac Shakur.

Tracks: Hunter, Come To Me, All Neon Like, You’ve Been Flirtin, Isobel, Immature, Play Dead, Alarm Call, Human Behaviour, Bachelorette, Hyper Ballad, Pluto, Anchor Song, Joga. A fantastic live performance caught of Bjork live at Cambridge in 1998.

Davey Stone, a 33-year old party animal, finds himself in trouble with the law after his wild ways go too far.

With the untimely passing of frontman Stuart Adamson in 2001, the title Final Fling couldn't be more sadly appropriate. This two-disc set captures Big Country toward the beginning and near the end of their 20-year career. The first disc features a 1988 performance from an outdoor peace concert in East Berlin, shortly before the release of Peace in Our Time (and before the Berlin Wall came down in 1989). It's a straightforward, electric set played in front of a huge, enthusiastic crowd during the twilight hours. The second disc finds the Scottish rockers back at their old stomping grounds, Glasgow's Barrowlands, while on their Driving to Damascus tour with the Alarm in 2000. They may look older, but their chiming twin-guitar attack is as passionate and rousing as ever. Both sets include such fan favorites as "Look Away," "Fields of Fire," and Top 40 hit "In a Big Country." --Kathleen C. Fennessy