Worth: $18.00
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Cast:
Distributor: Park Julian Casablancas, Albert Hammond Jr., Karen O, James Murphy, David
Intro:
The music – often beautifully unpolished – is excellent from start to finish, with a good balance of music and interviews.
The rise and fall of New York’s naughties music scene is documented in this gritty and grainy time capsule. Only archival footage and photos are used – any present-day interviews are heard but not seen. The absence of talking heads gives Meet Me in the Bathroom authenticity.
Based on the oral history book, Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001–2011 by music writer Lizzy Goodman, the historical importance of New York as a musical hub isn’t really covered, nor are the influences that gave rise to these bands. Yet the scene is put into the context of the times – Y2K and stockpiling, the end of the Clinton era and 9/11.
9/11 shifted budding musicians away from Manhattan and towards the lower rents of Brooklyn, where abandoned buildings and warehouses became rehearsal spaces. The rock tales begin circa 1999 with The Moldy Peaches, who come to New York City to prove that they’re a real band. They arrive when the Lower East Side was barren, dotted with delis and boarded-up stores. The music scene was equally barren. Moldy Peach Adam Green describes MTV at the time as being nothing more than “super dry pop-rock”.
The Moldy Peaches are interesting enough, but the bands that follow are far more compelling – Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem and the undisputed kings of the scene – The Strokes.
The music – often beautifully unpolished – is excellent from start to finish, with a good balance of music and interviews. The people are just as interesting as the music they make, with Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O emerging as the strongest character here. There was no code or rule book for women, like there was for men, she says, so she had carte balance – she made it up as she went along. But she was objectified, and it took its toll.
The documentary also charts the unravelling of the scene – the end of the era. While each band had their own sound and presence, it could generally be classified as post-punk indie rock (the intersection of rock and dance is also covered here). It was, quite possibly, rock and roll’s last gasp to appeal to younger audiences. It will, of course, come back in all its rebellious glory at some stage, but for now, the demise of rock gives an added dose of nostalgia to Meet Me in the Bathroom.
Photo by Phil Knott