Customer Reviews

Dig!

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Sure, "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" got all the love in 2004, but my favorite rock-doc-as-car-crash of last year was this: "DiG!"

Seven-some years in the making, it's director Ondi Timoner's crazy love letter to two men -- Anton Newcombe, leader of The Brian Jonestown Massacre; and Courtney Taylor, head of the Dandy Warhols. Both groups ignited like Apollo 11's on the launch pad of the 1990s music scene but slowly sputtered back down to the ground just as spectacularly.

Newcombe seems like a musical genius who can't resist imploding at the worst possible times and places, while Taylor has the drive and accessibility to succeed without the crucial spark of crazed brilliance. Their friendship/rivalry takes a lot of turns during the course of this film, which was mostly recorded on handheld cameras as the events unfolded.

Everything that's right and wrong with the music industry is here: the inescapable mechanics of the game; the perils of drugs, egomania, overambition, pride and possession of mass quantities of obnoxiousness. Anybody who thinks they might want to make music for money should see this film first.

Plus, there's a lot of great, entertaining footage here: Newcombe's ill-advised handling of a Georgia roadcheck; a run-in with David LaChappelle; and especially the BJM's disastrous, Andy Kaufman-esque meltdown in front of record execs at the Viper Room (you gotta love any fight scene that ends with "motherf----r broke my sitar, man!").

The movie's only significant weakness the fact that Taylor voices the film narration. Yes, he was there and can comment on the events unfolding with a distinct air of authority, but his reading also gives the lines an unignorable bias. It's a regretable slip that tilts the movie to a slightly unfair angle, but it doesn't sink "DiG!"

Plus, this movie had one of my favorite supporting "performances" of the year: long-suffering BJM sideman Joel Gion. If he doesn't parlay this movie into a career as a comedy star, he's not trying hard enough.

I lived in Portland saw the Dandy Warhols early on and thought that they were cool because they approximated a music I was always into, 60's psychedelia, and they brought their own sensibilities to it. I had the same reacton to the Brian Jonestown Massacre when I heard their early records. Anything that references that kind of 60's swirl in music is fine by me and I gravitate to it - Reasons I am fans of both bands -
HOWEVER-
I would never claim that either of these bands has a one up on the other one because I don't think either band is one of the alltime greats and I don't care how either achieved their musical goals concerning the reasons given. I don't care about b.s. arguments that claim "hey, man BJM is great because they were prolific and didn't sell out" or the Dandies were great because "they found a way to make it work and that's what you have to do." At the end of the day, all you are left with is the music and if you like it great, but the suggested argument that separates the two (one sold out, one didn't) is bogus. All the bands from the 60' sold out (whatever the hell that means) at one time or another and the ones who didn't wished they had. So what? Any entertainment deal involves a deal with the devil at some level and to suggest otherwise, or that the people who make "unheard" music are somehow "more pure" is nonsense. Why sign a record deal at all, in that case, if everything that comes from that intial decision is a frickin slippery slope to being compromised? IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THUS.
As to the hyberbole of the movie as if it is pitting two super bands against each other, the "5 years ahead of their time" is good rhetoric, but nothing more. Supporters of both bands can claim the Dandies' or BJM influence on music all day long, but as both were so influenced themselves (and never sold many records) who can claim a rightful timeline as to their either band's influence on anyone, unless you're talking about the heirs to BJM, none of which has had that much success on the kind of level the film wants us to accept.
To stress again, I am a fan of both bands, and I loved the movie, but the resulting success vs. sell out argument is, ultimately, a tired and worn out cliche from an era that, ironically or not, had great influence on both bands.

DiG! is a documentary that focuses on two promising 1990s rock groups: the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols. Though the film ostensibly concerns whether these groups will achieve stardom, it is at its best when it focuses on Anton Newcombe - the leader of the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

As a portrait of an angry, talented young man (Newcombe), DiG! is a success. People in the music industry regard Newcombe as a savant, even though he does everything he can to sabotage his career - fist fights with band mates, arrests for drugs, etc. DiG! offers viewers some insight into the possible roots of Newcombe's problems when discussing his childhood. Though it is sometimes difficult to watch Newcombe destroy himself, it is always interesting.

The material about the Dandy Warhols is middling. The group achieves more success than does the Brian Jonestown Massacre, but their story is just not as interesting. Anton is the main draw.

In short, DiG! is a good documentary that any fan of rock music will enjoy.

"Dig!" is a hilarious, heartbreaking documentary about the dueling indie bands of the '90s--the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The Brian Jonestown Massacre are the Bad Boys--the Rolling Stones compared to the rather staid (in their private lives,at least) Beatles that are the Dandy Warhols. Anton Newcombe (of the BJM) is the mad genius at the documentary's heart. He has an intense love/hate relationship with the Dandy Warhols. He can't stand them for being "sell-outs",yet he follows them avidly, even stalking their concerts. Ironically, while he dismisses the DWs as pop--I've never heard them on Top 40 Radio. Joel Gion is the true comic of the BJM, while Matt Hollywood, who looks like John Lennon, gives Newcombe some well-needed critique.

"Dig!" provides insight to the indie rock scene of the Pacific Northwest. After all, they were contemporaries with a little Seattle group called Nirvana. As Newcombe notes, the BJM paved the way for the White Stripes being played on pop radio. The Dandy Warhols have their own special studio in Portland, and recently their frontman, Courtney Taylor-Taylor, played guitar on the title track for Pink Martini's Splendor in the Grass. Newcombe has gone solo... and in a tragic footnote, due to his history of violence, he's not allowed to see his own son.

"Dig!" is a bittersweet symphony.

Let me state upfront that I am a huge Brian Jonestown Massacre fan, and not very knowledgeable about the Dandy Warholes. That cleared up, I don't know what it's taken me so long to see this movie, but I finally did, and it frankly blew my mind. This release comes with 2 DVD's.

DVD 1 (120 min.) brings the original film (107 min.), tracing the origins of both bands, and their respective band leaders/singer-song-writers, Aton Newcombe for BMJ and Courtney Taylor for the Warholes. The movie was filmed over a 7 year period (1996-2003) and showcases the struggles of both bands to make it 'big'. The main focus of the film is on Anton Newcombe, a brilliant musician, but a very troubled human being (and I'm being kind). Clearly having the talent to make it big, Anton simply self-implodes time and again. Whether this is by choice or not is probably a medical issue, frankly. Watch the LA Viper Room scene, when they all know there are a number of record executives in the room, wanting to sign the band, and the gig ends up incredibly in an all-out fight among the band members on stage. Unbelievable, but real. The movie comes with a number of "linkouts" (about 15 min. in total) that lead you to additional scenes (such as when the Dandy Warholes' drummer leaves the band, which then gives a interview with the guy after the facts, reflecting on it).

DVD 2 ( 65 min.) brings deleted scenes, videos from the Dandy Warholes, and several live clips from BJM, as well as a jam session between Anton and Courtney. But most interesting for me was the "Where Are They Now" sequence, as well as an extended interview with the film's director.

I had never seen Brian Jonestown Massacre live until last year at the Monolith Music Festival (at the Red Rocks near Denver) and their 60 min. tension-filled set was fascinating. Anton Newcombe berated both the audience and his own band members, walking out several times, only to return. Unforgettable. Earlier this year, both bands have released a new album (BMJ's "My Bloody Underground" is quite good actually). Meanwhile, "Dig!" is indispensable for any indie-music fan.

First time I learned about "Dandy Warhols" music group was when I saw (not so good) "9 Songs" movie. They were one of the featured bands and their video was in Special edition portion of the DVD. And then, I thought they were British only to learn (after this documentary) that they are from Potland, Oregon. What I definitely did not know is all the rivalry between them and the other band "Brian Jonestown Massacre" that turns out to be a really fine band too. Both bands are very talented but also very different too. I wanted to see more videos and performances from both groups. It is definitely not a "Ramones" movie - which of course is a let down. Skip the movie, get the CD music. You will miss watching the beautiful Courtney Taylor and handsome Anton Newcombe, but you will at least enjoy music that both bands - in their own way - are good at. There - I said it.

Seven years in the making, Ondi Timoner's absorbing, eye-opening two-band portrait pillories the excesses of record-industry imagemaking and greed, but it achieves real fascination in its intimate glimpses of unhinged BJM frontman Anton--a megalomaniacal head case, but also a prodigiously talented musician. Next to the polished, even-keeled Taylor--a friend and supporter--Newcombe seems like an unhinged, tortured genius set to self-destruct. His fistfight with his own band members on-stage at an industry showcase is just the beginning of a long, slow ride to hell. You'll "Dig!" this sad, outrageous, engrossing portrait of dysfunction.

A friend of mine once observed, partly from personal experience, that behind every great person there often lay a trail of human wreckage. In this energetic documentary about two 1960s-revivalist rock music groups--the Brian Jonestown Massacre led by Anton Newcombe, and the Dandy Warhols led by Courtney Taylor--that dictum proves true. Taken from over 2,000 hours of original footage, the resulting 107 minutes take you on the scene and behind the scenes of the bands, record executives, fans, roadies, drug binges, police arrests, and concerts across the United States, Europe and Japan. Newcombe in particular is a tragic mix of manic energy, musical genius, and abusive dysfunction. I could hardly believe it when the end of the film indicated he was still alive and had independently produced twelve CDs (no one would work with him). "Linkouts" on the main DVD allow you to view extended deleted scenes. This is a great film to view if you feel, like I sometimes do, that you are "out of it" when it comes to the contemporary rock music scene.

My opinion: if you are thinking about starting a rock band, WATCH THIS FILM. This is how it is. I think that Spinal Tap was a great parody, but this is riveting to watch.

It's great they were able to get as much footage as they did over the amount of time they did it in, and left all the warts and bumps and scrapes in. You needed the 7 years to make the story out of it. You see why a lot of bands don't make it... some aren't as volatile as BJM were, but they're not that far off.

You see what "the industry" is like and their POV is on there. You see what they have to deal with on their end.... the indie and major label POVs both represented.

You see egos, big egos. Drugs. Lots of drugs. Living out of the van, promoting... gigs falling apart, gigs going great. The hecklers in the audience trying to give Anton a meltdown..it's a joke by the end. It's almost like you pay to see how long it takes before he storms off. Changes in band personnel, watching people come and go...quitting or getting fired. To have that stuff on film is great.

The extras on the DVD are definitely worth checking out.

This is quite possibly one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Anton is hilarious and it gives a really interesting perspective on the music industry and the lives of pseudo rock stars. It is crazy to see what these bands have to go through, and it was filmed over seven years, so it covers a lot. I definitely recommend it if you are into either the Dandys or the Masacre...or if you are just a music fan in general.