Music, Film & Performing Arts Documentaries:

Watch Me Jumpstart

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Description

This Banks Tarver documentary about the perpetually touring Dayton, OH lo-fi gods Guided by Voices is a tricky affair. On one hand, it is intriguing to see this rare interview footage of the band, especially the somewhat eccentric, pop-genius frontman Robert Pollard and brilliant, and the often seemingly mysterious guitarist Tobin Sprout. On the other hand, the film is a little too artsy for its own good. Live footage of the band and assorted scenes of Dayton are shown over, and over and over with various bandmembers' voices dubbed over them. Live footage and hard-to-find videos (including two directed by Tarver: “I Am a Scientist” and “Official Ironman Rally Song”) are included, though several songs are included multiple times for no apparent reason other than to make the film longer. Whereas fans might hope Watch Me Jumpstart would offer some sort of insight into the inner workings of the band, it generally does not, aside from taking a look at the creation of one of a kind Guided by Voices t-shirts and album covers. Still, it has its high points, primarily funny stories told by the band – such as Robert Pollard's account of kicking so high onstage one night that he fell down, but just had to keep on singing anyway. Tarver's intent to document one of the indie scene's most prolific outfits is admirable, but it seems to lack an overall sense of vision, coherency, and direction – but perhaps this was done on purpose as an attempt to reflect the cut-and-paste sonic collage quality that typifies early Guided by Voices records. Only Tarver knows for sure. At any rate, this documentary is one that will really be of interest only to those already familiar with the world of Guided by Voices. – Review by Karen E. Graves

Release date NZ
March 11th, 2015
Movie Format
DVD Region
  • Region 4
Number of Discs
1
Genre
Original Release Year
2014
UPC
744861059592
Product ID
23006835

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