I Need That Record! (2008): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2008, I Need That Record! is a music and documentary film directed by Brendan Toller, running about 77 minutes. “The death (or possible survival) of the independent record store” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Guerilla filmmaker Brendan Toller unleashes I NEED THAT RECORD! THE DEATH (OR POSSIBLE SURVIVAL) OF THE INDEPENDENT RECORD STORE, "an elegy for a vanishing subculture...a lively, bittersweet film that examines - with caustic humor, brutal candor, and, ultimately, great affection - why roughly 3,000 indie record stores have closed across the nation over the past decade," (Johnathan Perry, Boston Globe). A tour-de-force tale of greed, media consolidation, homogenized radio, big box stores, downloading, and technological shifts in the music industry told through candid interviews, crestfallen record store owners, startling statistics, and eye-popping animation. Fat cats or our favorite record stores? You decide. Featuring- IAN MACKAYE, NOAM CHOMSKY, MIKE WATT, THURSTON MOORE, LENNY KAYE (Patti Smith), CHRIS FRANTZ (Talking Heads), GLENN BRANCA, PATTERSON HOOD (Drive By Truckers), PAT CARNEY (Black Keys) , LEGS MCNEIL, BOB GRUEN, BP HELIUM, and many indie record stores across the U.S.

Who’s in it. I Need That Record! stars Ian MacKaye as Himself, Thurston Moore as Himself, Noam Chomsky as Himself and Lenny Kaye as Himself, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.3/10, I Need That Record! has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Night Flight Plus, Fandor Amazon Channel and FlixFling and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube and FlixFling. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch I Need That Record! page.

If you liked it. Fans of I Need That Record! tend to enjoy Whiplash, Coco, Green Book and The Legend of 1900.