For years I was very keen to what was considered the last wave of rock and roll in the early aughts. I only was aware of it because MTV decided to air a lot of the more listenable brand of near rock and roll. From The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Hive, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I loved all of it. But it being MTV they only scratched the surface of it all. “Meet Me In the Bathroom” is an okay documentary that has the ability to really capture a moment in time, a moment when rock and roll was really booming. It could have been a chronicle of a big final gasp for the music genre, and most times it feels like the directors left so much out, preventing it from feeling cohesive and even coherent.
While Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern’s documentary does discuss the passion for making alternative rock and roll that bordered on an early eighties New Wave revival, “Meet Me in the Bathroom” is so bleak and dire. It’s so down on its own subject matter that it sucks all the artistry and creativity of this music out from the seams. Literally everyone spends their time moping around and complaining about how successful they were, and how they couldn’t even handle their massive attention. Some members of the group the Yeah Yeah Yeahs could also be seen kind of mocking conversations they were having with fans.
Along with that the movie spends a shockingly large amount of time on Karen O, leader of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Sadly while Karen O was a victim of sensationalism and fetishization, the documentary leans in very heavily on that consequence. It misses the opportunity to explore her massive influence, and ability to perform and be something so ethereal that no one in the traditional media covered them or even gave them respect. Everyone walks around with a cross to bear and that’s tackily juxtaposed by the whole 9/11 attacks. Mid-way the documentary cuts to the way their dreamy little artistic city was turned in to rubble before their eyes.
And all they could do was watch and mope even harder. One scene that perfectly articulates the frustrating mixed messaging is one singer’s explanation “I wanted to our music to be popular but still underground.” So you want success but not the success? “Meet Me In the Bathroom” has such a great opportunity here, but the painfully self serious tone destroys any appeal there is to learning about the origins of excellent bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
At least the music is still excellent.