This excellent documentary, inspired by the thorough book of the same
name, chronicles the rise and fall of the American hardcore music scene
I first watched this documentary about one year ago, around the time I
also read Dance of Days and another book or two about the rise and fall
of the American punk music scene. I
I remember thinking then, and even more so now after viewing it a
second time, that it does a spot on job of covering several related
issues from growing resentment against President Reagan to the increased
interest and success of American hardcore punk bands.
Two things prompted me to watch it again. One was spotting it on sale
for $10 at a Food Lion, which cracked me up because Food Lion is
exactly the kind of business being mocked by many good pubk bands and
it just didn't belong there between bad Adam Sandler movies. So I freed
it.
The second reason was that the film title came up when I was doing research for this interview with Vic Bondi about his current band, Report Suspicious Behavior, who I later saw and reviewed It was noted that he was featured prominently in the movie and so I wanted to go back to see what exactly he had to say.
Turns out Vic Bondi (formerly
of Articles of Faith) is one of the first speakers in the film, as the
director uses Vic to set the scene for the viewers, explaining that with
Reagan's election in 1980 there was a direction the nation was headed
that he described as being like a 1950s fantasy (preppie clothes, for
example) which Vic said was essentially "re-establishing the order."
Thus while the nation was saying, "We are going to re-institute order
here... we (the punk musicians and movement) were just like "@!$%#
you! @!$%# you, not us. You can take that and shove it up your @!$%#,'"
Vic said.
He later says, "Normal people did not listen to hardcore and we liked it that way!... You (normal people) can listen to Fleetwod Mac, can go listen to that shit. We are about blowing all of that up."
The documentary also includes interviews with punk legends from Keith
Morris (Circle Jerks and Black Flag) to Mike Watt (Minutemen and
Firehose) to Henry Rollins (Black Flag, the Rollins Band)
The best part, for me, was the footage with Ian MacKaye, who is one of my musical heroes. He literally started the straight edge political music movement
(no drugs, no alcohol, for some no sex, - instead focusing on, as the
motto went, "flexing your head" or thinking for oneself, cleanly and
clearly. Ian was the founder and lead member of Minor Threat in the 80s
and, for the last 15 or so years, Fugazi.
The emphasis with much of this music was on short fast songs. As Ian
said, "I wanted to say exactly what was on my mind and do it in 32
songs"
I learned a few things I didn't know about Minor Threat, namely that
they played for the Bad Brains - both Ian and HR talk about what that
audition of sorts was like (it was so bad and Ian hoped it was the
instruments that were faulty but then the Bad Brains used the
instruments and Ian knew the problem was not the instruments but those
using it.
While Reagan's election was good in that it brought forth so much
good punk music the re-election threw things awry. The movement become
more fragmented. While some bands followers were getting more violent
Ian and others were thinking things had gotten out of hand .
Put simply the allure and focus was gone. Brian Baker of Minor Threat
said a lot of those who started in 1979/1980 were now disilluisioned
and put it this way: "the baby was no longer cute."
The dvd extras include photos by Ed Colver of punk shows, premiere
parties with D.O.A. and Circle Jerks and some musical performances.
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