Monday Muse: Dig!

This weekend I rewatched my favorite documentary, Dig! Dig! follows the members of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols over several years, chronicling the dovetailing of their careers. BJM frontman, Anton Newcombe, is somewhat of a sad, mad genius. Although the documentary is narrated by Dandy frontman Courtney Taylor, the movie clearly shows the BJM as the better, more authentic, more talented band. However, talent cannot keep the band together as they descend into a spiral of ego and drug abuse. It is both hilarious and sad. The BJM live in squalor while the Dandies co-opt their trash/punk lifestyle for a photoshoot. There is a sort of rivalry between the bands, between Newcombe and Taylor, between stardom and never-selling-out. This leads to some pretty funny moments and some very disturbing ones as Newcombe spirals more and more out of control over the course of the documentary.

The BJM have been my favorite band for about 10 years now, ever since a guy I was dating told me I should check them out. This was already way past their prime and I was late to the party as usual. Things like this fill me with a nostalgia for things I was never around for. The documentary begins in 1995 in San Francisco, where The BJM and The Dandies are just getting started. Long before the affordable housing crisis or Silicon Valley boom. It seemed like artists could be artists then. The only war was between selling out to a major record labor or staying independent, building your loyal fan base through word of mouth. Newcombe produces all The BJM records in a ramshackle studio where he plays every instrument known to man. Strange sounds, synths, and sitars blend somehow into the perfect mix of Postmodern psychedelia. You feel the band’s nostalgia for what they consider a simpler musical time, the 60s, which inspires all of their sound. And yet, there is this thoroughly relevant Gen X malaise, like a film over the sound which makes the music something totally new. It isn’t simply a 60s revival sound, it’s a unique mix of influences that in turn have influenced countless bands. The movie makes me think of the time before social media existed and before every aspect of life was monetized and commodified. A time when you needed to really BE THERE to see.

I never get tired of this film or thinking about what it means to be a true artist in our current times. Did those who came before us have an easier time or a harder time? Today, when everyone has an audience and a platform, what does it mean to be a performer? What is the line between creator and artist? What does it matter if it’s all available all the time? These are the things I’ve been wondering lately… I’ll probably just put Their Satanic Majesty’s Second Request on and try to drown it all out.