Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician

This amusing film from 2001 follows the La La Land traumas of struggling musician Chance (played convincingly by Rory Cochrane of Dazed and Confused) as he navigates seedy L.A. searching for his stolen prized possession: a ’69 Moletron synthesizer resembling something off the Mothership. Though loosely directed, the film features a fun minor cast including Beck (as himself), Richard Edson, Lawrence Hilton Jacobs (aka “Washington” from Welcome Back Kotter) as a homicidal, tennis playing ex-funkstar, Hank Williams III as a junk man, and Laura Prepon (That’70s Show) as a telepathic TV guru named 7=5. Shot in digital video and looking like an improvised, low-budget home video, the film has enough quirkiness, bizarre plot twists and good music (DJ Me DJ You, Royal Trux, Elliott Smith and The Coup) to enjoy as a modern cult classic. From psychedelic hill parties to random thrift and music stores, a slice-of-life treat in the vein of Linklater’s Slacker sans the armchair philosophy.