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50 greatest music films ever
Top 50 index | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-6 | 5-1
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| Road rage: Anton Newcombe (right) with the Dandy Warhol's Courtney Taylor |
22 ‘DiG!’
(Ondi Timoner, 2004)
Regardless
of mythical (or not) tales about using fish as sex toys, touring is a
boring, bloody and brutal nightmare. If you’re lucky enough to go on a
tour like the one documented in ‘Festival Express’, in which The Band,
Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin spend two weeks in the summer of 1970 on
a train packed with friends, free booze, drugs and a gourmet restaurant
car, then it will probably be an enjoyable experience. But, for most
bands, touring is a mind- and friendship- destroying slog in which the
uppers, downers and groupies are cheap and more likely to destroy your
immune system than keep you going.
If ever a film catches this
on-the-road pain it’s ‘DiG!’, Ondi Timoner’s seven-years-in-the-making
rockumentary about psychedelic also-rans the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Great guffawworthy moments arrive when frontman Anton Newcombe whines
the immortal line, ‘You broke my sitar, motherfucker,’ and when the
band’s jester/tambourine shaker Joel Gion pops up. But much of ‘DiG!’
deals with Newcombe’s paranoia (with record labels, The Dandy Warhols,
the director, you name it), ever expanding ego (including a messianic
complex) and a massive drug intake – out of control in the grubby petri
dish of constant touring. It’s a film that Pete Doherty should be
forced to watch with his eyes peeled back like Malcolm McDowell in ‘A
Clockwork Orange’ because it depicts a man losing his marbles and
believing his own hype without ever having proved himself. By the end
of ‘DiG!’, Newcombe, a man you’ll struggle to find sympathy for, has
lost his band mates, his friends and gets arrested for kicking an
abusive audience member in the face ‘Karate Kid’-style. It came as
little surprise when Newcombe disowned the film.
Elsewhere in
the world of bands on tour, things don’t look any more appealing.
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy gets royally messed up in ‘I Am Trying To Break
Your Heart’ and the Ramones documentary, ‘End Of A Century’, is
essentially the tale of a group who’ve signed up to go on the road for
all eternity as a cartoon punk band. None of the members like each
other at all. They refuse to talk and the band’s existence becomes a
depressing gladiator match of a punk rock tour. One in which Johnny
Ramone is the last man standing.
For a more positive spin on
touring, perhaps see Cameron Crowe’s fictional ‘Almost Famous’, which
shows the shallow fun times (‘I’m on druuuugs,’ shouts Stillwater
frontman Russell Hammond), while Blur’s ‘Starshaped’ and the Minutemen
documentary, ‘We Jam Econo’, make touring as an indie band seem more
palatable. ‘Starshaped’ follows a young, spotty Blur journeying across
Europe fuelled by booze and features an important lesson to any touring
band: don’t drink tea from a cup and saucer while in a taxi. ‘We Jam
Econo’ – slang for doing things on the cheap – is rather more serious.
It shows early ’80s US indie punks and young idealists Minutemen touring
against all odds, being spat on and living in squalor, just because
they want to use their voice. It’s a triumphant, poignant film that,
quite rightly, and for their own health, will scare away poseurs or
naive indie kids who think getting in the van is an easy ride. Chris Parkin
Greatest hit The leader of Brian Jonestown Massacre dons some robes and thinks he’s God.
Top 50 index | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-6 | 5-1
Author: Dave Calhoun. Written by Derek Adams, Geoff Andrew, Dave Calhoun, Wally Hammond, Michael Hodges, Martin Horsfield, Martin Hoyle, David Jenkins, Trevor Johnston, Eddy Lawrence, Sharon O'Connell, Chris Parkin, Graeme Thomson, Peter Watts
User comments on this story
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- Harry said...
- The Chuck Berry film Hail Hail Rock'n'Roll is a great documentary about the contrary genius. And your admiration for Keith Richards can only increase - he displays inifinite patience when Chuck corrects his playing. Posted on Mar 29 2008 20:49
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- A Sad Man said...
- What about the Monkees film "Head" its a surrealist, psychadelic classic. And Velvet Goldmine too. Posted on Jan 31 2008 15:22
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- Holly said...
- Nice...personally, i like "Raise your voice!", "Confessions of a teenage drama queen"...something more modern :D:D Posted on Jan 31 2008 14:22
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- KevinT said...
- I would have to include the documentary 'A Great Day In Harlem' - one of the best films about jazz musicians. Posted on Oct 17 2007 17:20
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- Brendan Thorpe said...
- How about "Born to Boogie"? Marc Bolan at the height of TRextasy - the arty bit may not be great, but the concert stuff is excellent! Posted on Oct 16 2007 15:37
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- J said...
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Taste is subjective, so we'll cut you some slack... But how could you snub "Ray" or the Cash film "Walk the Line?" "Rockers" was pretty amazing. "The Wall..." and the new release of "The Grateful Dead Movie" is hot. The bonus features (esp. the performances uncut) kick ass. AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock" & come on... "Yellow Submarine."
Personally I think "Spinal Tap" & "Hedwig & The Angry Inch" should be included. The bands may have been born out of the movies (the original play in Hedwig's case), but they are rocking bands nonetheless. Posted on Oct 14 2007 12:52 - Report as inappropriate
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- Alex Murillo said...
- Just to correct a common mistake..."This Is Spinal Tap" is not "Christopher Guest's mockumentary", as you said...it was directed by Rob Reiner. Guest was indeed a co-writer, and of course the film bares a resemblance to Guest's later films, but I think it's unfair to both Reiner and the other members of Spinal Tap (McKean, Shearer) to label the film as Guest's alone. Posted on Oct 11 2007 02:49
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- alex said...
- Actually I'm positive Spinal Tap did a few novelty shows back in the L80's/E90's (8 in all I believe) one at the lamented CBGB/OMFUG in NYC. Even one novelty show brings a band into the plane of existence as anyone knows who has ever been in bands. I've been in a lot, some did only one show, and they ALL existed even if no one but the three of us knew it. So Spinal Tap existed. QED. Posted on Oct 10 2007 16:23
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- Graz said...
- I also forgot to metion the Rock n' Roll, Australian Japanese Surfing Road Movie " Bondi Tsunami". 2004. Check it out. Posted on Oct 10 2007 04:32
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- Graz said...
- What about B.Middler in t"The Rose". Garland and Striesand in thier versions of " A Star is Born" . The briilant "Hair" and now also "Hairspray". But absoutley " Once" is brillant. Who compiled this list? Posted on Oct 10 2007 03:28
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- kay said...
- where the hell is PURPLE RAIN?!?!?! this surely has to be in the list?! Posted on Oct 08 2007 14:58
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- Don said...
- You've missed some of the truly great performances by real bands while playing up other performers imitating the stars. And some are as much fantasy as reality based on someone's interpretation of what happened. That is not a true documentary, just fiction passed off as one. Posted on Oct 08 2007 13:42
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- kanna77 said...
- this is great ! Posted on Oct 08 2007 03:47
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- Vince said...
- this list is horse shit, wot's the deal, because the brits hate the irish you can't out "the commitments" or "once" up in the top 50? and did you forget about a movie one of your own made called "the wall"? and the number one film listed is a bloody movie about the world's worst singer karen carpenter? wot the hell???? Posted on Oct 06 2007 05:04
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- Massimo said...
- The worst movie ever, with the best soundtrack ever: Streets of Fire! Posted on Oct 05 2007 20:53
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