The ’90s were a time of revision in the arts, culture, and politics. It isn’t a massive change like the ’60s, where it was a complete revolution, but it did have its array of growth and technicalities. When it comes to music, more specifically the rock genre, that decade re-evaluated the sounds of the ’80s and combined them with a rougher edge. Artists like Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Garbage, My Bloody Valentine, and Sonic Youth made sure to pave the way for the next generation.
The 2000’s Music Scene Was Scrambled, but Got the World’s Attention
Then came the 2000s; the music scenes were scrambled, but one of them got the world’s attention: the anti-folk and alternative movement in New York. That’s where this documentary starts rolling, covering from 1998 to 2006. “Meet Me in the Bathroom” recalls the beginnings of many bands in the underground anti-folk scenes, the uprising alternative/indie shows, and the clubbing dance community.
In the anti-folk section, bands like Moldy Peaches (who have been on hiatus since 2004), the brilliant Regina Spektor, Dufus, and Schwervon! were emerging. Nevertheless, the documentary shines a light on the Moldy Peaches only from that group of artists, even though most were playing in the same spots. Hidden in the shadows, the multi-talented and free-spirited Karen O came about, who later formed the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and delivered classic singles like “Head Will Roll,” “Maps,” and “Y Control.”
The other segment relied on alternative music, where The Strokes became the big-ticket and conquered New York, later to hit big in England. It’s hard for a band to beat fame as fast as The Strokes did in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, Interpol was in the shadows of The Strokes but eventually did their thing. And lastly, on the corner of it all, not knowing what to do after multiple plans fracture, is James Murphy, who later created the music staple LCD Soundsystem.
The ’90s were a time of revision in the arts, culture, and politics.”
The Documentary Covers Many Bands…Maybe to its Detriment
Now, I’m all for music documentaries exploring the scene of a respective state or country in a time of great importance and change, but this felt like three different docs meshed with a sloppy turnout. Its first couple of minutes starts well with the introduction to pre-fame Moldy Peaches and Karen O, which is an excellent segment to begin with.
Yet, later, it switches into the rise of The Strokes intertwined with the creation of LCD Soundsystem through the multiple attempts of James resurrecting his career after a couple of failed indie bands and production problems. It contains little to no vision as to what exactly it wants to focus on if either the 2000s New York rock scene as a whole, the rise to fame of a couple of bands, or everything that happened in music during the years 1998 to 2006. The directors could have done separate documentaries for each topic instead of meshing them into one.
‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ Tries to Pack Too Much in to its Run-Time
I would have loved a documentary about Karen O’s beginning, how she started the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the way their style and presentation changed after the accident. Karen was an inspiration to many during their years of high fame, so that could have been a fascinating documentary by itself. The same with The Strokes; although I’m not the biggest fan of the band, a documentary highlighting their quick rise to fame would have been captivating.
Lovelace and Southern have already tackled the ups and downs of LCD Soundsystem with their 2012 concert doc “Shut Up and Play the Hits.” It pains me not to like it since I really wanted to learn about that time in music and how the music changed in the NYC scene before and after 9/11, as well as how that movement paved the way for this new generation of artists like Pom Pom Squad, Geese, Pearla, Bambara, and others. Instead, “Meet Me in the Bathroom” lacks vision, structure, and coherence.
This review was written from day 6 of Sundance Film Festival’s 2022 programming.
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