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DiG! is a documentary that covers about 7 years of the intertwined careers of two indie rock bands, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. BJM is lead by a brilliant but disturbed megalo-maniac, Anton Newcombe, who rejects success and sabotages his own chances of it at every turn. While The Dandy Warhols is led by Courtney Taylor who achieves a certain amount of success but his desire for it is exceeded only by his desire to be his idol, Newcombe.

I've liked BJM's music for a while now but never realized how crazy their lead singer was, or that they were considered influential in the contemporary indie scene. The form that rock music takes today, with the likes of The White Stripes and the Hives, is a result of these bands following Anton Newcombe's lead. Meanwhile, he constantly shoots himself in the foot out of some sort of fear of selling out or losing control of his music. I'm not sure if the film goes overboard in depicting him as an asshole but the idea of Newcombe being a creative genius that others, like Taylor, admire gets lost a bit. He shows very little charisma on film here, just a lot of childish outbursts whereas Taylor actually seems like a pretty likeable, if uninspired, guy. However, it's clear in hearing the music from both bands that BJM's music is so much more real and interesting and that as much of an asshole as Newcombe is, he genuinely embodies that dangerous spirit that is meant to define rock and roll.

Posted at August 19, 2005 11:20 AM