The DVD:
When they were in high school, Bob Pollard and his pals sat around shooting the shit, drinking beer and imagining they were in a band. They had names, logos, album covers, 45 sleeve designs, song titles, lyrics and even a set of homemade t-shirts. Only problem was, none of them could play an instrument. As time drifted on, the dreams of rock and roll stardom faded. Pollard became a fourth grade teacher and the rest of his cohorts took normal day jobs. But music was still in their midwestern blood. With a mediocre skill at instrumentation and a near-genius way with a hook, Pollard and the boys became Guided by Voices and, in between lesson plans and teacher conferences (he was still teaching up and through Alien Lanes), the band began its assent into near-cult status. They made records and singles (sometimes even remembering to release them to radio stations and fans) but before long, rejection and isolation crept in. They turned inward, relying on the low-fi fun of home recording to manifest the majority of their ideas. When collections of these personal experiments finally saw the light of airplay (in the form of Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes) the alternative crowd came calling. Those 9 to 5 careers were dropped and the touring began. Guided by Voices became a viable rock entity and, as a natural result, subject to the same pitfalls and infighting as other acts. It is no real surprise then that in 2004, Pollard is the sole remaining member of the original band.

Not really a documentary, but a historical "accounting" of the group, Watch Me Jumpstart offers very little facts and behind-the-scenes trivia. This is not a chronological crawl through the numerous member changes, revolving door record company switches and interpersonal tensions between the band's creative element, outside sources (producers, other bands, etc.) and each other. Instead, Watch Me Jumpstart wants to paint a portrait of Guided by Voices circa 1996, accomplished in impressionist sketches: a little memory lane nostalgia, some current onstage heroics and substantial fan-based friend fawning. It's a lot like the album covers Pollard creates for his made up acts. It's a montage of mixed media elements, each piece meant to suggest something specific with the final amalgamation meaning another thing all together. Originally released on VHS in 1998 and long considered a must-have chronicle for GBV fans, it is now available on DVD separately, or as part of the highly recommended boxset from the band entitled Hardcore UFOs. The multi-CD collection features live, lost and best of discs from this prolific band. As an introduction to Pollard and his peculiar talents, Watch Me Jumpstart is very esoteric and insular. But as a statement of the teenage dream of rock and roll manifested in men encroaching on middle age, it's a stellar work of faded childhoods.

The best moments in Watch Me Jumpstart are when directorial pretense and camera trickery are foregone and filmmaker Banks Tarver merely lets Pollard and the other Voices mad men reminisce and remember what it was like to be teenagers with visions of stadium shaking anthems and thousands of adoring fans. Drummer Kevin Fennel confesses that, after years of dogged confusion, he has finally quit his day job, thinking that there may actually be something to this rock and roll hobby. Pollard himself laughs when describing how his parents ridiculed his musical pastime. "Manager for Life" Peter Jamison laments the lost days of handmade album covers and drunken basement recording sessions. Like an actual album by the group, Watch Me Jumpstart is scattershot, mostly overhead snippets and short musical segments. The entire experience is akin to twirling the AM knob as you cruise down the road toward a purplish sunset, stopping every once in a while just long enough to stumble across the tail end of a favorite hit. Sometimes you witness aural nirvana. Other times you just miss it. Pollard's power as a songwriter is that you instantly recognize his music's inherent pull and as it plays out, as the arcane lyrics and sloppy performances color in the open areas, you feel a refreshing burst of joy engulf your spirit. Sure, sometimes he can be a bit too twee or purposefully obtuse, but overall, no one understands the nature of pop better than Pollard. And why not? His entire life he has been searching for the perfect song.

Where Watch Me Jumpstart fails, though it is a minor one considering its style, is that we never learn very much substantive about the band as people, especially the once and future king of the 3 minute masterpiece, Tobin Sprout. Shortly after this material was filmed, Sprout and Pollard had a falling out which resulted in Bob firing the rest of the group and reforming Guided by Voices with Cleveland band Cobra Verde filling in. Sprout says virtually NOTHING here, not much of anything other than small talk and occasional group rejoinders. He is obviously hurt, angry and sullen, but this is never addressed. Since Watch Me Jumpstart first premiered six years ago, a few updates would have been nice (especially when, in the bonus material, we see several new band members banging out the riffs). While the format and stylistic choices Tarver chooses do not lend themselves to such in-depth reporting, the fact that this is virtually the last time this version of the band ever played together is all but ignored. This is the GBV of Watch Me Jumpstart. This is the version that got them the media darling attention and superstar support. To ignore it is to disrespect the very legacy you are trying to preserve.

Indeed, in retrospect, Watch Me Jumpstart is like the old war stories your elderly relatives regale you with at reunions. It's a tone poem to one edition of Bob Pollard's junior high fantasy, free from questioning or the tarnish of tabloid exploitation. Bob and his band members are captured for future generations to see and experience, to witness the "classic lineup" in their moment and majesty. And this is indeed classic GBV. The live footage has the patented Pollard pilsner polish (the band is well known for their drunken, often incoherent concerts. How very college) and the sequences where Pollard and Sprout put the finishing touches on a 4-track recording (in this case, "System Crash" from the Plantations of Pale Pink EP) showcase the group's lo-fi fidelity to a turn. But this basement session is also the only time we see any actual recording or new original music. The rest of the film consists of interview responses, in-jokes, home movies, old photos, humorous/emotional recollections, montages and loads of local Ohio color (the drive-thru beer barns are something else). Watch Me Jumpstart will teach newcomers that there once was a group of Dayton daydreamers with a desire to be pop rock gods and illustrates how close they actually came. This short film hints that GBV was about to break through and, start selling out. Luckily, the band still hovers around the edges of near-cult status. And at its center is the man who has named his publishing company Needmore Songs. As long as there is something like Guided by Voices around, Bob Pollard will still be priming that pop song pump. He has to; he is our one best hope for the future of rock.

The Video:
Watch Me Jumpstart is presented in a clean and refreshed 1.33:1 full screen transfer, perfectly mimicking its direct to video roots while simultaneously polishing it up. Tarver's various artistic treatments to the image (desaturation, artificial enhancement) retain their nuances and the DVD actually illuminates details missing in the VHS version. Since there is a mixing of stocks and footage (all manner of cameras and setting were used) you will experience purposeful grain, a lack of color correction and imperfect print issues. But this was the filmmaker's intent and it makes Watch Me Jumpstart as impressive visually as it is musically.

The Sound:
Guided by Voices, as a band, reflect Tarver's mixed medium roots equally well and the Dolby Digital Stereo treats all the music, from homemade to live exceptionally well. There is good separation and range to the songs, and the dialogue between the band and others is always understandable. While some could argue that in this age of digital remastering, all music titles should have an alternative 5.1 surround soundtrack, the music of Pollard and GBV would not benefit from it here. The four track tunes just couldn't withstand opening up. So be thankful for the great aural experience Watch Me Jumpstart offers.

The Extras:
Since Watch Me Jumpstart lasts a little over 35 minutes, Matador thankfully fills out the disc's running time by including several wonderful bonus moments. Addressed one by one, first we get:

Snippets (26mins)
Call this Watch Me Jumpstart, the deleted scenes. What we have here are mini-moments of band interaction, some cut Q&A sessions and complete versions of all the songs in the film itself. As part of this musical medley, you will be treated to live takes on "Hot Freaks", "The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory", "Goldstar for Robot Boy", Shocker in Gloomtown", "Postal Blowfish", "Weed King", "Exit Flagger" and "I am a Scientist". It is all great stuff and should have been part of the film proper. But it is also easy to see how its inclusion would have cramped Tarver's aesthetic vision for the film.

Videos: (18 mins for 6 videos)
Individually, or via a "Play All" option, you can witness GBV in all its faux MTV glory. The clips featured here are:
"I Am a Scientist" (from 1994's Bee Thousand)
A basic performance clip, filmed in black and white, showing the band bouncing in and around Dayton. A great song, but only a mediocre clip.
"Auditorium"/"Motor Away" (from 1995's Alien Lanes)
GBV's first concept video. "Auditorium"'s oddball lyrics are interwoven with a group of teens as they plan a night of cruising. Suddenly, a call comes in and one of them hops in his tow truck. It's off to save the Guided by Voices' van as "Motor Away" blares in the background. While "Auditorium" can be grating, "Motor Away" is a certified pop classic and, somehow, it all works well with the dude in a tow truck.
"My Valuable Hunting Knife (Ver.)" (Original found on 1995's Alien Lanes)
A weird take on a great song. This "expanded mix" which includes more band and less electronic beats is decent, but deceptive. The album version is substantially better, retaining Pollard's paranoid vocal performance. The video is standard performance stuff mixed in with band hi-jinx.
"The Official Ironman Rally Song" (from 1996's Under the Bushes, Under the Stars)
Another fantastic bit of songwriting on Bob's part. This instantly memorable tune will have you humming along before the final chorus plays. And the video might as well be called Watch Me Jumpstart Junior, since it was culled from the film's footage. Surprising evocative and moving.
"Bulldog Skin" (from 1997's Mag Earwig)
A hilarious clip. Pollard draws on his days as a fourth grade teacher to tell the tale of the new kid in school, constantly harassed by his less than understanding classmates. The answer to his problems? A trip to the Guided by Voices show, where he gets in the mosh pit and lets his aggressions run wild. While the song has a slinky blues blast feel, the giddy video more than makes up for any musical shortcomings.
"Glad Girls" (from 2001's Isolation Drills)
Jumping forward a bit, this Photoshop-style clip features Pollard, a bunch of iconographic females and a few shots of the group all pixelated and mosiaced for pure visual art delight. The song itself is another example of Pollard's 'wasn't this already a hit' songwriting. Good, good stuff.
There are also a couple of Easter Eggs, but finding them (and the videos that you'll view) is half the fun.

Live From Warsaw (9 mins)
Here there are three clips from a 2002 show featuring Pollard and his new version of GBV. The songs tackled are "Echoes Myron" (offered in a multi-angle experience which is quite interesting and fun), "Cut Out Witch" and "Tight Globes". Good performances and excellent concert footage make for a fun bonus.

Beautiful Plastic (9 mins)
In what is probably the most profound extra on the set, Bob Pollard and his brother Jim go down into their old basement to do a little Guided by Voices archeological digging. They come up with a box of photos, old album covers and some true rarities, the most compelling of which are Bob's old notebooks from high school. These constantly referenced lyrical tomes contain carefully written songs that Pollard transcribed before he could even play a note. And the scary thing is, he remembers every one. As he pages through the words, Jim challenges him and Bob responds with a complete, fully realized song. It's incredible and makes a fitting end to a DVD filled with equally amazing material.

Final Thoughts:
When this critic discovered Guided by Voices (with a purchase of Under the Bushes, Under the Stars) it was as if a new musical light switch had been thrown in his head. In the long search for a new musical icon to match his legion of legends (the Beatles, XTC, etc) he had finally found a possible contender. For 18 months straight, he listened to NOTHING but Guided by Voices; in his home, in his car, at work and on business trips. Every possible CD was purchased, EPS and rare LPS were located and immediately added to the collection and eBay was scoured for those must have bootlegs and rarities. Before long, his GBV collection rivaled that of other favorite bands. Pollard's music, that dazzling pop without an internal monologue spoke louder and longer to him, more so than any other adulthood rock and roll discovery. And for anyone else interested, Watch Me Jumpstart is a great place to learn about this amazing band. It functions as a secret peek inside a prolific songwriter's creative process. It shows that, sometimes, dreams almost come true. And it signifies the last time when the classic lineup of the band would be on speaking and playing terms. An artistic triumph which may fail to undercover all the inner workings of the band dynamic, it is still a great short film and as placed with the other material on the digital release, a fantastic DVD offering. Watch Me Jumpstart will definitely trigger your synapses and free you from your traps.

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