Dig?

I watched the movie Dig! last night. It's a documentary about the fortunes (and misfortunes) of The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, two west-coast rock bands which began making music in the mid- to late-nineties, and who had a close and sometimes contentious relationship as they took widely divergent paths towards "success."

It's a really compelling look at how talent and ambition interacts with the music business and vice versa. I'm not really a fan of either band, especially the DW's (their hit was "Bohemian Like You"), but like all good movies, this one is less about particulars and more about the characters and relationships. My one complaint, which was the same one I had about I am Trying to Break Your Heart, is that there wasn't much of an attempt to capture the creative process. But that criticism may be more about the question of the nature of the creative process.

Like if there was a movie made about Burn Rome Burn... would it really show me, sitting in my living room, writing lyrics and singing to my cat and dog? 'Cause that's how I write. But it would make for a pretty boring movie. It's much more intriguing to just portray the finished product, the fruits of the labors, rather than the labors themselves. Anyway, Dig! is worth checking out, for the fight scenes alone.

And I'm not kidding. There are some great fight scenes.

jbg