Documentary fans can dig BJM’s ‘Bravery’

Spencer Patterson

Friday, April 22, 2005 | 8:39 a.m.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre toiled in relative obscurity for more than a decade before a documentary film shined an unexpected spotlight on the band last year.

Right now "Dig!", winner of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for documentaries, is exposing even more music fans to the San Francisco outfit. The film hit shelves on DVD this week.

But while "Dig!" provides a fascinating look at the Brian Jonestown Massacre's penchant for sabotaging its own success through a series of onstage brawls, member ousters and arrests -- not to mention a destructive rivalry with one-time mates the Dandy Warhols -- the movie hardly provides a glimpse of the BJM's vast musical legacy.

More a collective of musicians revolving around frontman Anton Newcombe than a "band" in the true sense of the word, the Brian Jonestown Massacre have crafted a series of albums far more memorable than any of their headline-grabbing misadventures.

Though "Dig!" repeatedly espouses Newcombe as a musical genius, it rarely offers proof, generally opting for song fragments in lieu of full studio tracks and live mishaps in place of noteworthy performances.

To get a better idea of the BJM's sound, head over to official Web site www.brianjonestown massacre.com. In keeping with his decidedly anti-commercial stance, Newcombe has posted every major release in the group's catalog as a series of free, downloadable mp3s.

Where to begin? Every Brian Jonestown Massacre album has merit, but the recommendation here is 2001's "Bravery, Repetition and Noise," a dreamy, droney set that seems to unfold with each successive spin.

On early efforts -- such as 1996's aptly named "Their Satanic Majesties' Second Request" -- Newcombe's obsession with the Rolling Stones' mid-1960s psychedelic phase is in full force.

Those records are wonderfully retro, opening a wormhole into an alternate universe in which Brian Jones didn't leave the Stones in 1969, or drown to death later that summer.

"Bravery, Repetition & Noise" still finds Newcombe channeling the Stones, as on the organ-driven "Sailor," a cut that recalls the original "Satanic Majesties" LP.

This time out, though, the BJM leader blends his '60s influences with something more modern. The shadowy "Open Heart Surgery," for example, could have been plucked from the Cure's 1989 classic "Disintegration," while the atmospheric "You Have Been Disconnected" hints at Spacemen 3.

Amid all that unabashed derivativeness, however, lies plenty of imagination, from the wonderfully catchy "You're like candy to me" chorus of "Let Me Stand Next to Your Flower" to the crashing waves-of-sound finish to final track "If I Love You" (New European Gold Standard Secret Babylonian Brotherhood)."

Fans of everyone from the Beatles and Stones to Galaxie 500 and Ride should enjoy this stuff. Anyway, it's free music, so why not try it out and decide for yourself?

Check out "Dig!" too, if only to marvel at the train wreck. Just don't allow Newcombe's destructive antics to keep you from appreciating his singular music vision.

Artist: The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Title: "Bravery, Repetition and Noise."

Year of release: 2001 (Bomp! Records).

Tracklisting: "Just For Today," "Telegram," "Stolen," "Open Heart Surgery," "Nevertheless," "Sailor," "You Have Been Disconnected," "Leave Nothing For Sancho," "Let Me Stand Next to Your Flower," "If I Love You," "(I Love You) Always," "If I Love You (New European Gold Standard Secret Babylonian Brotherhood)."