Hipsters and Strippers

Watching the movie DiG! and reading the book Candy Girl both produced extreme feelings of familiarity. The specifics of each were different, of course, as were the causes. But I found it interesting to have intimate knowledge of the subject matter for entirely disparate reasons.

The music documentary DiG! parallels the fortunes of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols during the mid-nineties. Though the movie was released in 2004, I only saw it for the first time a few months ago. It was hard to watch because I knew, felt really, that plot. I have not officially met any of the members of either band, though my husband has opened for them or other permutations involving former members. (And apparently we startled some BRMC guys in the basement of the Entry one night. Long story.) So, while both bands enjoyed more fame and success than local peers, the basic elements of the 90s music scene were the same. And, having lived that scene here in Minneapolis, seeing it before me was startling. I knew the Twin Cities versions of all those character archetypes. I’d counseled friends through Midwest versions of the same interpersonal dramas. I’d witnessed the infighting and backstabbing and adoration and jealousy and assistance and luck that had swirled around all the bands of my friends and acquaintances. Consequently, viewing the movie was just a bit…too close to home.

On the other hand, I do personally know the narrator of Candy Girl, and her husband and step-daughter. But the familiarity I felt in this situation was not due to the subject matter, though I did read the Pussy Ranch when it was still up. Rather, I knew what was happening at the edge of the action described in the pages of her memoir. The apartment building Diablo and Jonny lived in? We lived one floor below. The road trip they took Out West? We cat sat George (R.I.P.) and Larry. The Vegas wedding? We attended. The house they bought? I gave them the name of a loan officer. All the mundane details of everyday life when you live and work near your friends. As well as the feelings of concern I had for Jonny while reading the Ranch during The Year. I didn’t know Diablo well yet, though it was obvious she was a vast improvement on the previous wife. I did know very well what Jonny had gone through getting out of that last marriage—hell, he lived with us for a while afterwards!—and I didn’t want him getting hurt. Now I can see my worries were unfounded, but then I had no idea if she was going to start “making movies” or just how far it would all go. It was very interesting being reminded of those overprotective feelings towards Jonny’s well-being.

I am curious to know how I will react to someday seeing the possible film version of Candy Girl onscreen. Will it be the same ephemeral familiarity, of seeing myself just around the corner, at the edge of my peripheral vision, that I had while reading the book? Or will it be the visceral, gut level, absolute, life style, personal familiarity I had while watching DiG!? I sure hope I get to find out.