The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps (2019)

☆ ☆ ☆

The Chills:  The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps (2019) – J. Parnell & R. Curry

It must have been 1986 or 1987 when I first heard the Chills (courtesy of Karen Adams & Pung Van) amid the surge of Flying Nun bands from New Zealand that were flooding onto American college radio (our station being WCWM-FM in Williamsburg, VA).  Was it “Party in my Heart” or “House with 100 Rooms” or perhaps something more omnipresent such as “Pink Frost”? In any event, it wasn’t until 1990 and the Submarine Bells tour of the US that I first saw them live – in Minneapolis (but where? First Avenue, probably).  I do remember Mike Wolf and I and a few others had dinner with The Chills at the Sri Lanka Curry House – but Martin Phillipps, singer, guitarist, and songwriter, himself didn’t show.  Perhaps this could have offered some insight into the man then that it would take decades later and this documentary to reveal.  It seems that he had his problems and was not always good at dealing with other people, churning through dozens of bandmates over the years.  To their credit, the filmmakers (who wisely devote the majority of their interview time to Phillipps himself) don’t hide this fact – this isn’t a puff piece.  The film succeeds as it reviews the history of the band, its early local successes that grew into international success (with “Heavenly Pop Hit”) and a US major label contract before collapsing under the pressure that eventually resulted in  years of drug abuse for Phillipps.  Of course, he finally pulled himself together, got off of alcohol and drugs, and reignited the band (which had limped along all those years).  I recall a fantastic gig here in Melbourne around 2013 or 2014 that was a virtual greatest hits show – and then another tour on the back of the Silver Bullets album in 2015 or so in a bigger venue.  There has been a subsequent album (Snow Bound) and some songs from that one feature in the film.  Where the film doesn’t quite succeed is when it follows Phillipps to his GP for various treatments for Hepatitis C – sure, it humanises him but it isn’t as interesting as his musical pursuits.  And, in the end, it is Phillipps’ songwriting (then and now) that is the most inspiring part of his story – and I command you to stop everything and listen to The Chills now to recall (or discover) that fact.

Addendum: As someone who studies personality, I feel as though I should have included at least some commentary about how creativity may be associated with certain traits or that the ability to focus single-mindedly on a project may come at the detriment of social relationships but a) that would be a cliché and b) it probably isn't really true. That said, different forms of expression (i.e., different results) may be associated with different traits/experiences -- but you knew that.