User Reviews

This in-your-face documentary offers a refreshingly candid and abrasive glimpse into the wonderfully raucous punk music scene of the late 70's and early 80's. Among the folks interviewed are Richard Hell of the Voidoids and the Heartbreakers, Greg Burk of the band Dred Scott, "Punk Magazine" editor/photographer Roberta Bayley, Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69, "D.O.A." documentary director Lech Kowalski, punk historian Richard Sabin, skateboarder and punk band member Duane Peters, Keith Morris of Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, and "The Decline of Western Civilization" documentary director Penelope Spheeris. Among the subjects discussed herein are the family backgrounds of the interview subjects, what punk was all about (chaos, anger and violence for the most part), the heavy drug usage that became prevalent in the punk scene, how punk spoke directly to a select audience of disaffected kids, using Nazi imagery to shock people, striving for fame, the legendary New York City punk club CBGB's, the painful transition from adolescence into adulthood, and how today everything is all about money. Some of the people interviewed are marvelously raw and profane, others more thoughtful and articulate, all are interesting and entertaining. Directors Susan Ricketts and Val Kuklowsky wisely relate the whole crazy thing in a suitably rough and unpolished style (the boom mike actually dips into the frame at one point!). The hard-thrashin' score by David Ricketts fits like a spiked leather black glove. Essential viewing for fans of punk music.