The worst album ever made? ‘We Are The Shaggs’ demands a reaction | Entertainment

In his first full length documentary “We Are The Shaggs,” director Ken Kwapis — known for his work on the mockumentary series “The Office” — explores a subject matter of great personal curiosity: the rock ’n’ roll trio The Shaggs and their idiosyncratic music.

When he first heard the band’s 1969 record “Philosophy of the World,” Kwapis was “flabbergasted.”

“This record continues to haunt me,” Kwapis says in the film. “This is the most head-scratching music ever committed to vinyl.”

The album was championed by Kurt Cobain, NRBQ and Frank Zappa, who once said it was “better than the Beatles.” 

Not everyone had such favorable opinions about the album. Some considered it a juvenile and misguided attempt at late ’60s rock music. Others considered it a productive shock to status quo understandings of musical aesthetics.

Is The Shaggs music good or bad? Does it matter? It demanded a reaction, which is why Kwapis believes it was exceptional — and worth a listen. 

For the many who will go into this film having never heard The Shaggs, the opening sequence jolts everyone up to speed. In it, the band’s song “My Pal Foot Foot,” which features discoordinated drums and guitars, out of tune instruments, and a serpentine melody sung in unison by two vocalists and doubled on guitar, plays along with footage of individuals listening to the song for the first time, their varied reactions on full display.

The film tells the story of the Wiggin sisters, Dot (guitar and vocals), Betty (guitar and vocals), and Helen (drums) and how three young women from Fremont, New Hampshire came to record an album that has inspired stage musicals and tribute bands while also being regarded by many as the worst album ever made.

Before this film, some knew that the Wiggin sisters were forced to form the band by their father who, following a prophecy from his mother, kept his daughters mostly isolated. He required them to practice and perform religiously for years, and forced them to record an album. 

Tying together archival material, interviews with the surviving band members (Dot and Betty), and insight from music producers, scholars and historians, the film explores the band beyond “Philosophy of the World.” It follows the death of the Wiggin sisters’ father, through the record’s 1980 re-release, and into its singular position in the history of music.

Kwapis plans to attend showings of the film on April 11 and 12 as part of the Wisconsin Film Festival. In 2023, he donated to the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research his personal papers, which document his extensive creative output from 1983 to 2022. 

The Cap Times spoke to Kwapis about meeting The Shaggs, how the film came together, and the lasting power of The Shaggs’ music.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

When making this film, your first full length documentary, did you have any other films in mind?

One of the music docs that I found very powerful and emotionally moving was “Anvil! The Story of Anvil.” Anvil is not a band that many people know. I wanted to make the film as much for fans as for people who have not been initiated into the mysteries of The Shaggs.

How did you develop the idea for the opening sequence?

I have a very vivid memory of playing the album for the first time when I bought it in 1980 and I was so mystified by it. I loved it, but I was puzzled. I thought it was a great way to open the film, to just have a lot of unsuspecting listeners hear “My Pal Foot Foot” for the first time. I did not steer the questioning in any way. I just let people speak and there was such a wide variety of responses.

When you met them, were Dot and Betty what you expected?

When I first started the film, they were a little guarded, but we got to know each other more and more. I think they felt very comfortable sharing some of the more painful aspects of their upbringing. But exciting to me as a storyteller and a director was how their different personalities really make for a great story.

A piano arrangement of “Philosophy of the World” underscores a few crucial moments in the film. How did this arrangement come about?

I asked Brittany Anjou, the lead singer of The Shaggs tribute band, to arrange the song in the style of French composer Erik Satie. Satie was sort of ridiculed in the same way The Shaggs are. The second occurrence I find very poignant: during the town hall sequence, where, as Betty puts it, they knew of the kids, they just didn’t know them personally.

I love how much of the film is a discussion of the music. Was that unavoidable?

At first, this was going to be a straightforward telling of their story, but it evolved into something more philosophical and personal. It ended up being an essay about what we mean when we use certain value judgments: good versus bad, accidental versus intentional, or sophisticated versus primitive … it ended up being more about aesthetics than anything else.

What questions does this film answer about this band?

I feel like people will come away understanding that the music was intentional. The Shaggs intended for it to sound the way that they rehearsed it. 

What I’m hoping to do is humanize them and dignify The Shaggs. What interests me is putting a human face on these sisters and letting them tell their story. The title of the film, “We Are The Shaggs” is my way of giving back to Dot and Betty their story. I also feel that it speaks to the outsider in all of us, that we are all The Shaggs.

Why do you think we’re still talking about The Shaggs today?

The Shaggs’ music forces you to think about what we mean when we say something’s good versus bad in the arts. I can think of no better praise for a song than one that challenges you to reframe how you think about art.