who has seen DIG! the dandy warhols documentary?

[chris harris]

even with Anton coming off as the biggest prick in the world, I still finished that movie with much more respect for that asshole than those ridiculous, fashion phonies The Dandy Warhols.

[8th_note]

I just tried to find it and I couldn't - but Anton wrote a spirited rebuttal to the way he and the band were portrayed in the film. One example was the scene where they were busted for pot. The pot actually belonged to the film maker, not the band.That was conveniently left out of the documentary.

If anyone has the link to Newcombe's rebuttal please post it. It's good reading after seeing the film.

[Alex Netick]

I saw it a few times, and thought it was a great movie. My favorite part is where that idiot Anton gave the permission to the police to search him when he had dope in the car -- not that it really made any difference. Definitely a classic.

[matthewinphilly]

Dig's a great film. Didn't know indie rockers did coke (I genuinely never met one who did in all my years--but maybe they were hoarding it for themselves). And neither band really rocks my world, never did... But the theme song to Veronica Mars is cool.

I checked out that Mayor on Sunset Strip film that someone suggested in this thread--depressing and amazing. A great study of the emptiness of celebrity worship. And a bit of a love letter to glam rock, in a good way. Made me really excited I'm leaving the LA area for Chicago this summer...

mp

[fossiltooth]

I haven't seen the movie.

I thought the film tentatively tries to suggest that Anton's radical dysfunction marks him as the kind of uncompromising genius who deserves cult status. But the music doesn't support that claim, which is why the film spends so little time with the actual music.

That's exactly what I was afraid of. Does it really suggest this? There are only a few things in this world that still make me very depressed and angry. This movie seems to be a bout two of those things:

1) People making music for all the wrong reasons.
2) Herds of sheep devoting themselves to it.

Unintended parallels to the actual Jonestown story, perhaps?

I have a feeling that watching this movie would make me very depressed and angry. I'd rather not be. I'd rather not sit down and be forced to ruthlessly judge others for 2 hours. So, I'd just as well not watch it for the time being. I'm just starting to become very accepting of others, and I don't want to take a giant leap backwards at the moment. I have a feeling that watching this the whole way through would send me into a negative spiral of judgmental fury. I've had enough of that for a lifetime, myself.

I've generally become pretty interested in checking things out, even if I might not like them. But..... The thought of watching two hours of one band that seems to spend every waking hour staring into a mirror, and another band that has never really looked into one, being heralded by the documenter....

No thanks. If that's what it is, I don't think I can handle it. I just ain't strong enough!

[hiddendriveways]

One of the things I liked best about this film was that someone bothered to capture the 1990's indie scene and make an interesting film of it. Does anyone else know of films that document the 90's indie scene?

I'm in the camp of those who don't care for the Dandies, but can get into BJM's music. I saw BJM live in NYC a few months after this film came out. It was a pretty bad show.

The thing I found most interesting about the film was that BJM made much better albums when they had very limited studio time and a producer - as compared to when they got their own recording equipment. Creatively, that's when Anton totally falls apart. Think about this Tape Opers, think about it hard.

Also, props to the engineer named "Muddy."[/b]

[MoreSpaceEcho]

Creatively, that's when Anton totally falls apart. Think about this Tape Opers, think about it hard.

*thinks about it hard.*

*is still entirely certain that the heroin addiction was the bigger problem.*

[tdbajus]

I was surprised at how great both of the bands sounded on the film. I had heard both a few times before seeing Dig, and was a little underwhelmed.

Checked them both out again, and realized that I still didn't like them very much.

Last winter I found myself talking to a crazy person on the Lower East Side for a half hour before I realized that it was Anton. He's obviously really smart, and spins a hell of a paranoid delusion.

[jamoo]

i guess i'm anomalously in the dandy camp. i think they can sound really good, and i feel like i understand them.
i saw bjm once and was like, 'who cares?' there was a palpable buzz not backed up by what i heard.

if anton is some instrumental wizard and a musical messiah, i'd say:

a) it doesn't take a technical wizard to make compelling pop (even the wierd stuff is pop), and
b) why is he soaking in the 60's and acting like it's his? i'm mean, when courtney feigns lou reed everyone knows what he's doing, right? there's no pretention in declared pretention.


( beyond the music, courtney once ordered me a pina colada when i didn't have my voice and entertained me with stories of touring the south. i just like the guy. )

[Winstontaneous]

Creatively, that's when Anton totally falls apart. Think about this Tape Opers, think about it hard.

*thinks about it hard.*

*is still entirely certain that the heroin addiction was the bigger problem.*

But I thought heroin was so passe!

I didn't really know anything about either band before watching the movie.
I'm not really a fan of clever indie rock(ers). Anton/BJM is portrayed as a creative maverick while the Dandys come across as careerist. That said, there's nothing glamorous about junkies, and there's certainly nothing wrong with wanting to make a good living with your music.

To be honest, the most striking thing for me was how much energy a full-time tambourinist can add to a rock band.

[JoshT]

I saw the movie a few hours before seeing BJM live (I went for the opening act though). It was a bit freaky to get there and all the sudden Anton is standing right next to me. Definitely a bit of a trip after just watching him self destruct on screen.

Has anyone seen the Gilmore Girls (*cough* my girlfriend watches it) that parodies Dig? It even has Joel in it.

[Joe P.]

I liked BJM better the first time around... when they were called Spacemen 3.

The DW's 'Bohemia' album is excellent despite (or maybe because of) the ripped off Stones licks. While I like that album, I don't get the impression from it that I'd like hanging out with dude.

[jamoo]

well, as a disclaimer i'll state that i'm neither an 'aspiring musician' or an engineer. it's an addictive hobby and i love rock-n-roll. i'll state that because i don't really care about the stigma of 'name dropping' or 'engineer-client privilege'. i'll say what i preceive is worthy and avoid being needlessly disrespectful.

in a different conversation before 'bohemia' came out, courtney in apprehensive dread declared, "it doesn't have any hits!"
i told him 'horse pills' -- all the way!
then i told him how it sounds when he performs it, and he jumped about two feet off the ground in something i could best call 'self-conscious shock'.
it was not long before bohemia was platinum in friggin' IRELAND! (just even try that, by any means.)

i think about the stones rip that next he should rip off "undercover of the night".

[trodden]

Joel Gion -- he's my vote for hero of the movie.

The Babe Ruth of bonus rocking. I watch this movie any chance I get.

He made me feel good about being a bonuth rocker.

[Knight79]

The Dandy Warhols are talentless buttholes.

Anton is talented and has a good ear but is a butthole himself.

The movie is very entertaining though.