Spring Break
Dig!
Movie Review
Matt Stonecipher
Issue date: 5/6/05 Section: The Edge
- Page 1 of 1
Grade: B+
Sex and drugs have become synonymous with the ever-changing genre of rock 'n' roll over the years. The recent rock documentary "Dig!" has made that statement truer than ever before.
"Dig!" follows two rock bands, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre over a span of seven years. These bands have been friends since the beginning of their careers when they were touring together and playing small clubs in Los Angeles and Portland.
As the years went by, The Dandys would go on to sign with the major record label Capitol Records. After this, a bitter rivalry would form between the two bands, and more importantly, each of the bands' frontmen. Anton Newcombe of the BJM and Courtney Taylor of The Dandys started off as great friends, but would later find themselves competing for whose band would hit it big and start a musical revolution first.
While The Dandys would later go on to sell thousands of records and even hit it big in Europe, The BJM struggled to achieve the success it thought it so rightfully deserved. The documentary shows the BJM struggling to get its big break while battling a heroin addiction, feuding bandmates and a near mad frontman.
In this "rockumentary," Newcombe almost becomes the focal point. Still considered by some to be a musical genius and to this day one of the biggest musical influences on The Dandys and many artists in the indie rock scene, Newcombe's overly eccentric personality could almost rival that of Charles Manson (who when Newcombe was in jail in San Francisco swore he recorded some songs with and to this day is still debatable).
The DVD shows Newcombe at some of his more intense moments. One of the more memorable ones is Newcombe getting in a brawl with his bandmates onstage during a show at The Viper Room in L.A. where they were being scouted by major label representatives.
"Dig!" is one of the best rock documentaries that has come out in recent years. It shows great insight into the music business and how far to the edge artists will push themselves just to get their big break. Fans of documentaries, both bands and even rock 'n' roll will definitely dig "Dig!"
Sex and drugs have become synonymous with the ever-changing genre of rock 'n' roll over the years. The recent rock documentary "Dig!" has made that statement truer than ever before.
"Dig!" follows two rock bands, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre over a span of seven years. These bands have been friends since the beginning of their careers when they were touring together and playing small clubs in Los Angeles and Portland.
As the years went by, The Dandys would go on to sign with the major record label Capitol Records. After this, a bitter rivalry would form between the two bands, and more importantly, each of the bands' frontmen. Anton Newcombe of the BJM and Courtney Taylor of The Dandys started off as great friends, but would later find themselves competing for whose band would hit it big and start a musical revolution first.
While The Dandys would later go on to sell thousands of records and even hit it big in Europe, The BJM struggled to achieve the success it thought it so rightfully deserved. The documentary shows the BJM struggling to get its big break while battling a heroin addiction, feuding bandmates and a near mad frontman.
In this "rockumentary," Newcombe almost becomes the focal point. Still considered by some to be a musical genius and to this day one of the biggest musical influences on The Dandys and many artists in the indie rock scene, Newcombe's overly eccentric personality could almost rival that of Charles Manson (who when Newcombe was in jail in San Francisco swore he recorded some songs with and to this day is still debatable).
The DVD shows Newcombe at some of his more intense moments. One of the more memorable ones is Newcombe getting in a brawl with his bandmates onstage during a show at The Viper Room in L.A. where they were being scouted by major label representatives.
"Dig!" is one of the best rock documentaries that has come out in recent years. It shows great insight into the music business and how far to the edge artists will push themselves just to get their big break. Fans of documentaries, both bands and even rock 'n' roll will definitely dig "Dig!"
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