The Pop Corporation

“You broke my sitar, motherfucker!” In the current climate of pop and rock, it might be impossible to think of a documentary like ‘DIG!’ being made. So unflinching is it in parts, that you can’t foresee the manicured bands of 2025 allowing themselves to be shown quite as starkly as The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre did in ’96.

Put it into context – in this movie, you see open drug use, the fallout of said drugs, grim fights, fans getting kicked in the face, unhinged behaviour, prima donna tantrums, nudity, lousy shows, a group in the ascendency signing to a major label, another band fighting for its life, train wrecks and bitchiness… and not a 360 deal in sight, no social media hand-wringing, no Spotify algorithms, no pearl clutching gossip columns… just straight-ahead look at the infuriating madness of the world of independent music, life on the road, and bad behaviour.

In places, the film is cringeworthy and you find yourself laughing AT the assembled members. You also worry for them, pity them, and of course, there’s some half decent music in there too. It’s a scintillating watch, even if you have to do some of it through your fingers while your bumhole tries to clench into your stomach with second hand embarrassment.

You could argue that this movie was the last time we really got to see behind the curtain of what it is really like to be in a rock band, and the opening line of this piece is a direct quote from the documentary which has gone down in legend or ignominy, depending on your view.

Of course, it is all the stuff of legend for anyone who has seen it, and now, in a complete different media landscape, ‘DIG! XX’ is being released, with extra footage, thoughts, and everything else. More broken sitar.

The new, extended version features new clips, and new addition commentary from Dandy Warhols frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor, as well as BJM’s Joel Gion. It’ll hit the indie cinemas first, before appearing on streaming, possibly this month. With all those that surrounded the volatile mess of both of these groups, 2025 sees them a little more sober in their reflections. What remains is an unflinching look, which is a world away from the glossy tour documentaries that fans are so used to in the current day.

It’s incredible to think of musicians, A&R teams, and record labels having such little control over a film being made about themselves. What it is, oddly, a look at the beginning of the end of the record industry as the film is made on the precipice of illegal downloads and the eventual segue into streaming. Sure, we watch two bands imploding, but the spectre behind it is the record industry is collapsing around them also.

Here’s the trailer.