The story of how Joey “Shithead” Keithley — frontman of the Canadian hardcore legends D.O.A. — pivoted from punk to politics is the focus of the upcoming documentary Something Better Change.
After four decades at the helm of the influential Vancouver punk band, Keithley entered the politics arena in 2018 in an effort to unseat the mayor of Burnaby, British Columbia. Despite a $7,000 campaign budget, the underdog Keithley ended up winning a city councillor seat, which in part helped end the mayor’s five-term reign.
Filmmaker Scott Crawford (Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington,...
After four decades at the helm of the influential Vancouver punk band, Keithley entered the politics arena in 2018 in an effort to unseat the mayor of Burnaby, British Columbia. Despite a $7,000 campaign budget, the underdog Keithley ended up winning a city councillor seat, which in part helped end the mayor’s five-term reign.
Filmmaker Scott Crawford (Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington,...
- 1/21/2021
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Kyle Written by Hollis James, Directed by Emily Owens Presented by Hot Tramp Productions at Under St. Marks, NYC March 11-25, 2017
Kyle is the first play from Hot Tramp Productions, which promises "darkly comic" shows as part of its mission to create "pre-apocalyptic theatre for a post-Bowie world." Written by Queens native Hollis James, Kyle mines comedy from the depths of addiction and marks an impressive debut both for James as a playwright and for his and director Emily Owens' newly-founded production company.
Kyle (Hollis James) may feature in the title, but it is Jack (Nat Cassidy) who pays the rent for the apartment in which they live amidst bottles of whiskey and posters of Robert Smith and Minor Threat. When we first meet Jack, a writer and vinyl-collecting music nerd, he has just returned from a concert with his girlfriend, Crystal (Tricia Alexandro), and the two have decided...
Kyle is the first play from Hot Tramp Productions, which promises "darkly comic" shows as part of its mission to create "pre-apocalyptic theatre for a post-Bowie world." Written by Queens native Hollis James, Kyle mines comedy from the depths of addiction and marks an impressive debut both for James as a playwright and for his and director Emily Owens' newly-founded production company.
Kyle (Hollis James) may feature in the title, but it is Jack (Nat Cassidy) who pays the rent for the apartment in which they live amidst bottles of whiskey and posters of Robert Smith and Minor Threat. When we first meet Jack, a writer and vinyl-collecting music nerd, he has just returned from a concert with his girlfriend, Crystal (Tricia Alexandro), and the two have decided...
- 3/19/2017
- by Leah Richards
- www.culturecatch.com
It's just after 6 p.m. on a Friday, and Duff's – a noisy heavy-metal bar adorned with autographed memorabilia and jagged-looking instruments in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – has just opened its doors to the sober, work-weary masses. In the center of the room, a woman clad in a black dress and high heels is headbanging atop a carpet adorned with Iron Maiden's corpse-mascot Eddie. The music is "Bleed," an angular, machine-gun–like aural assault that's little over seven minutes long, by Swedish extreme-metal growlers Meshuggah. Bargoers sip their beer in the back,...
- 11/30/2016
- Rollingstone.com
A trailer home sits hidden away in a wooded Michigan acreage not too far from Grand Rapids. Its occupants are an alienated and angry young man (flannel, Minor Threat T-shirt, chinstrap beard) and his cat, Kaspar. The young man toils with a small hacksaw and mortar and pestle, in a workshop that looks like a meth lab built by middle schoolers. He has a little book of what appear to be spells and alchemical formulae, which he is using to summon the demon Belial, who will bring him gold. The young man, named Sean, has secluded himself and has been living this way for some time. Mental illness may play a role. Lab supplies and groceries are brought on an irregular schedule by a sympathetic relative—probably not a brother, but maybe a cousin—named Cortez. He’s a small-time thief and the only other human character in Joel Potrykus...
- 10/5/2016
- by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
- avclub.com
For years, Lee Ving, the vocalist and leader of impish punk bruisers Fear, has been teasing the release of a song the group recorded with John Belushi in 1981. He's finally putting out the tune — the appropriately snotty-sounding "Neighbors," which was supposed to accompany the Belushi movie of the same name — digitally on Halloween and as a special seven-inch in November. But even before the decades-long wait for its release, the origins of the recording were steeped in strife.
The SNL actor became a fan of Fear after catching them on the L.
The SNL actor became a fan of Fear after catching them on the L.
- 9/10/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Lamb of God offset the Los Angeles sunshine with the darkness of "512" during Thursday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, performing the brooding single on the show's outdoor stage. Led by Randy Blythe's dark bellow and the explosive soloing of guitarist Mark Morton, the metal veterans inspired a crowd mosh pit.
In June, Lamb of God premiered a macabre music video for "512" filled with dead bodies and murderous revenge. The track is featured on the Virginia band's eighth LP, VII: Sturm Und Drang, which was inspired by Blythe's life-changing stint in Prague's Pankrác Prison.
In June, Lamb of God premiered a macabre music video for "512" filled with dead bodies and murderous revenge. The track is featured on the Virginia band's eighth LP, VII: Sturm Und Drang, which was inspired by Blythe's life-changing stint in Prague's Pankrác Prison.
- 8/28/2015
- Rollingstone.com
The Slamdance Cinema Club has programmed a one-two punch for punk-rocking cinephiles this Fall. On September 20, "End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones" will screen at the Arclight Hollywood, 8pm. Directors Jim Fields and Michael Gramaglia charts the seminal punk quartet, from their modest roots in Queens to their 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, with breakups, rifts and deaths in between. This first premiered in 2003 at Slamdance, which celebrates its 20th year as Utah's alternative to Sundance. On September 21, Paul Rachman's "American Hardcore," which took five years to make, tunnels through the birth of hardcore punk rock between 1978 and 1986, with underground footage of Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains and more. This film also screens at the Arclight, 8pm. The Slamdance Cinema Club has year-round offered a curated tasting of the rogue festival's offerings, some of which annually wear their Sundance rejection as a badge of.
- 8/7/2015
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
The group only existed for three years and released 26 songs, but the '80's hardcore band Minor Threat are a seminal staple to anyone with a passing interest in the genre. Ian Mackaye and company arrived in the midst of a thriving scene that emerged in Washington, DC in the early part of that decade, one that birthed many influential bands and laid down a Diy ethos that would inspire countless others across the country and around the globe in the succeeding decades. It's a fascinating story told in Scott Crawford's documentary "Salad Days: A Decade Of Punk In Washington, DC (1980-90)," and today we have an exclusive clip from the film. Read More: SXSW '12 Review: 'Bad Brains: A Band In DC,' A Kinetic, Frenetic & Long Overdue Tribute To the Legendary Hardcore Band Featuring insights from Mackaye, Henry Rollins, Thurston Moore, Brian Baker, Dave Grohl,...
- 8/4/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Before he was a member of two of the most popular rock bands in the world, Dave Grohl was a fan, just like us. And boy, was he adorable! At age 14, the Foo Fighters frontman and former drummer of Nirvana sent a letter to one of his music idols, rocker Ian MacKaye, then the frontman of popular hardcore punk band Minor Threat. The group broke up in the '80s and he later formed Fugazi. He is currently the lead singer of the group The Evens. Grohl, now 46, shared a photo of part of his fan mail on Foo Fighters' Instagram page this week, saying, "Look what my hero Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat/Fugazi) just found: a letter I wrote to him when I was 14! Haha!" "Good thrash,"...
- 5/30/2015
- E! Online
Foo Fighters' HBO series Sonic Highways visited Washington D.C. Friday night, which marked a homecoming of sorts for Dave Grohl: The rocker was raised in the Virginia suburbs outside of D.C. – his mother still lives there – and he started out drumming for area acts like Mission Impossible, Dain Bramage and "his favorite band ever," Scream.
In addition to recording the Sonic Highways track "The Feast and the Famine," Grohl also provides an extensive look at a pair of homegrown genres that became the backbone of the D.
In addition to recording the Sonic Highways track "The Feast and the Famine," Grohl also provides an extensive look at a pair of homegrown genres that became the backbone of the D.
- 10/25/2014
- Rollingstone.com
Foo Fighters' HBO musical travelogue series Sonic Highways next visits Washington D.C., and Rolling Stone has your exclusive preview at what Dave Grohl considers to be his homecoming. Having grown up in the Virginia suburbs outside of D.C., Grohl got his start in the city's influential hardcore scene performing with local acts like Dain Bramage and Scream before popping up on Nirvana's radar.
"The experiences I've had in this city, from the age of 14 years old, set this foundation for the rest of my life as a musician,...
"The experiences I've had in this city, from the age of 14 years old, set this foundation for the rest of my life as a musician,...
- 10/24/2014
- Rollingstone.com
We live in a time where singing about your butt, or other people's butts, is a surefire way to get to the top of charts and amass millions of YouTube views. But for those who like their music gritty, grimy, real and actually about something, there are two documentaries on the way to remind you that there's so much more to love outside the superficial pop sphere. First up is "Salad Days," which chronicles the vibrant and hugely influential DC punk scene of the '80s and '90s. Directed by Scott Crawford, and featuring input from Ian MacKaye, Brian Baker, Dave Grohl, Henry Rollins, Thurston Moore, Fred Armisen and more, it explores what was behind the relatively tiny scene that birthed bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Void, Fugazi, Government Issue, Dag Nasty, Embrace and many, many more. For those who thought punk started and ended with Sex Pistols,...
- 10/3/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever #2
Various Artists
(I Will Destroy You/Microcosm)
It seems as though the saga of Henry and Glenn has sparked somewhat of an indie cottage industry. There are Henry and Glenn t-shirts, stickers and posters commemorating the comics union of these two punk rock icons. The series has even inspired imitators like gross out pro, Johnny Ryan, who threw his whip into the ring with a comic in Vice titled “Mark and Gary Forever” featuring Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh and the synth fiend Gary Numan staring as a not so ambiguously gay duo. For the uninitiated, Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever is the further adventures in a comics compilation depicting Henry Rollins (Black Flag, Rollins Band) and Glenn Danzig (Misfits, Samhain, Danzig) as gay lovers. Before you roll your eyes (which you are certainly justified in doing), it should be noted that these comics take the joke outside...
Various Artists
(I Will Destroy You/Microcosm)
It seems as though the saga of Henry and Glenn has sparked somewhat of an indie cottage industry. There are Henry and Glenn t-shirts, stickers and posters commemorating the comics union of these two punk rock icons. The series has even inspired imitators like gross out pro, Johnny Ryan, who threw his whip into the ring with a comic in Vice titled “Mark and Gary Forever” featuring Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh and the synth fiend Gary Numan staring as a not so ambiguously gay duo. For the uninitiated, Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever is the further adventures in a comics compilation depicting Henry Rollins (Black Flag, Rollins Band) and Glenn Danzig (Misfits, Samhain, Danzig) as gay lovers. Before you roll your eyes (which you are certainly justified in doing), it should be noted that these comics take the joke outside...
- 10/2/2013
- by Chris Auman
- SoundOnSight
Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye says he’s absolutely fine with Urban Outfitters selling $28 T-shirts featuring his former band’s logo. Turns out that, unlike the Forever 21 shirt from 2009, the current model is legit and licensed. Because so many Minor Threat bootlegs had been popping up in the marketplace, MacKaye and Co. hired California-based Tsurt to produce and oversee sales of some T-shirts for the band. Though MacKaye is careful to clarify to the Washington City Paper that Dischord “doesn’t make T-shirts,” he said hiring Tsurt lets him spend his valuable time doing other things besides ...
- 7/31/2013
- avclub.com
If you've listened to music, in say, the past 35 years, you've probably heard D.C. native Ian MacKaye's voice -- fronting a slew of bands from Fugazi to Minor Threat.
On May 7, he decided against melodies and opted for the spoken word at the Library of Congress during an hour and a half talk where he spoke about everything from his columnist grandmother to file sharing to smartphones.
Here are some of the most interesting tidbits from MacKaye's talk, courtesy of Spin:
If you are a rockstar, singing about love, perhaps it's in your genes:
My grandmother, Dorothy MacKaye, under the name Dorothy Disney, wrote a column for the Ladies' Home Journal called ‘Can This Marriage Be Saved?' It was essentially a column where she would interview a man and a woman who were having difficulty in their marriage and then a counselor who would weigh in on their problems.
On May 7, he decided against melodies and opted for the spoken word at the Library of Congress during an hour and a half talk where he spoke about everything from his columnist grandmother to file sharing to smartphones.
Here are some of the most interesting tidbits from MacKaye's talk, courtesy of Spin:
If you are a rockstar, singing about love, perhaps it's in your genes:
My grandmother, Dorothy MacKaye, under the name Dorothy Disney, wrote a column for the Ladies' Home Journal called ‘Can This Marriage Be Saved?' It was essentially a column where she would interview a man and a woman who were having difficulty in their marriage and then a counselor who would weigh in on their problems.
- 5/14/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Hardcore fans of Sloan will enjoy news the band's releasing a limited edition 7" vinyl single "Hardcore Package" that also includes a covers album of classic hardcore punk songs.
According to the band's official site, the package includes the vinyl single with two new songs entitled "Jenny" and "It's In You, It's In Me." Meanwhile, perhaps the big score is a bonus digital download featuring "songs of the bands that were soundtrack to Sloan's youth" and date from 1978 to 1984.
The album is led by three Angry Samoans covers ("Gas Chamber," "Gimme Sopor" and "Hot Cars") along with two from 7 Seconds ("Bully" and "This Is The Angry"). Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Black Flag, Circle Jerks and The Descendents are also covered on the album.
"We recorded it actually a while ago," singer Chris Murphy says of the vinyl in a YouTube clip. "My song 'Jenny' I wrote in 1988 or something and recorded...
According to the band's official site, the package includes the vinyl single with two new songs entitled "Jenny" and "It's In You, It's In Me." Meanwhile, perhaps the big score is a bonus digital download featuring "songs of the bands that were soundtrack to Sloan's youth" and date from 1978 to 1984.
The album is led by three Angry Samoans covers ("Gas Chamber," "Gimme Sopor" and "Hot Cars") along with two from 7 Seconds ("Bully" and "This Is The Angry"). Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Black Flag, Circle Jerks and The Descendents are also covered on the album.
"We recorded it actually a while ago," singer Chris Murphy says of the vinyl in a YouTube clip. "My song 'Jenny' I wrote in 1988 or something and recorded...
- 4/29/2013
- by HuffPost Canada Music
- Huffington Post
In a letter published in a downstate Illinois newspaper, popular Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy wrote the "time is now" for marriage equality in the land of Lincoln.
Writing in the Belleville News-Democrat, Tweedy -- a Belleville, Ill. native now based in Chicago -- urged the Illinois state House of Representatives to approve same-sex marriage legislation:
By excluding same-sex couples from marriage, our state saddles them, their children and itself with second-class status. That is wrong, and it hurts Illinois families and businesses. … Nine other states have already extended the freedom to marry to gay and lesbian couples. I work and have friends in all those states, and I can say assuredly that it's time for Illinois to join them.
Tweedy has been outspoken about his support for marriage equality. Last year, he joined Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) and Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and other musicians in speaking out against...
Writing in the Belleville News-Democrat, Tweedy -- a Belleville, Ill. native now based in Chicago -- urged the Illinois state House of Representatives to approve same-sex marriage legislation:
By excluding same-sex couples from marriage, our state saddles them, their children and itself with second-class status. That is wrong, and it hurts Illinois families and businesses. … Nine other states have already extended the freedom to marry to gay and lesbian couples. I work and have friends in all those states, and I can say assuredly that it's time for Illinois to join them.
Tweedy has been outspoken about his support for marriage equality. Last year, he joined Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) and Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and other musicians in speaking out against...
- 3/24/2013
- by Joseph Erbentraut
- Huffington Post
Bad Brains is a hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., over 35-years ago. But their aggressive sound is still appealing to young people around the world.
In fact, Vice featured a YouTube video posted last week that showed Bad Brains gaining a very young, and extremely adorable, fan. Take a look (story continues below):
The star of the video may have some punk rock fans her own age across the pond. Last August the kids of noisey reviewed Black Flag's "TV Party" with mostly positive results (don't miss the homemade Minor Threat shirt).
If these videos prove anything, it's that Diy hardcore punk will have a foothold with the next generation of rockers.
In fact, Vice featured a YouTube video posted last week that showed Bad Brains gaining a very young, and extremely adorable, fan. Take a look (story continues below):
The star of the video may have some punk rock fans her own age across the pond. Last August the kids of noisey reviewed Black Flag's "TV Party" with mostly positive results (don't miss the homemade Minor Threat shirt).
If these videos prove anything, it's that Diy hardcore punk will have a foothold with the next generation of rockers.
- 2/11/2013
- by Brandon Wetherbee
- Huffington Post
Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat) and wife Amy Farina (The Warmers) have been busy raising 4-year-old Carmine (that’s him on the album’s cover), so it’s understandable why they haven’t released a full-length album as The Evens since 2006. The clock will be reset next week with the arrival of The Odds and NPR is giving fans an advanced listen as the album is streamed in its entirety. The 13-track collection is available for pre-order now through Dischord Records (the label MacKaye founded in 1980 with Minor Threat bandmate Jeff Nelson). Listen to the new album here....
- 11/12/2012
- Pastemagazine.com
Interview Magazine has a great feature on the gorgeous duo of Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron from Snow White and The Huntsman in their latest issue. Here we have a couple of shots from their photoshoot and a little bit of the interview with Kristen. In this little snippet of the interview, Kristen talks about shooting different movies in-between shooting the Twilight movies, and discusses just how hard it was to shake the character of Joan Jett from The Runaways.
Mitchell: It seems like every year you have these two wildly different pulls between the bigger movies that you do, like the Twilight films, and then the smaller ones that you’ve done. I remember a couple of years ago when you had both Welcome to the Rileys [2010] and The Runaways at Sundance.
Stewart: Yeah, I think it went Twilight, Welcome to the Rileys, New Moon, Runaways, then Eclipse, so it was like one of those movies between each Twilight movie.
Mitchell: It seems like Joan would be another hard habit to shake.
Stewart: She was. I went to do Eclipse right after, and I think the director of that movie might have said to another cast member that he had to beat the Joan Jett out of me. [Mitchell laughs] For a while, I just walked kind of hunched over. Joan has great defensive tools, and I became a bit attached to them.
Mitchell: Like which ones?
Stewart: Just the way she deals with people. I think we were promoting New Moon just as I was finishing The Runaways, and I remember going to Comic-Con with a Minor Threat T-shirt on. I was really happy and excited to be there, but I was so defensive and crazy. [laughs] It’s hard to deal with the press. There are always a lot of leading questions and opinions. Of course, our work is creative, and it’s subjective. But I was totally Joan Jett-ing out. We were doing interviews, and one wrong thing was said, and Joan has this crazy ability to just shut down and look at you like, “Well, I’m done now. Later.” It was so . . . I’m not like that, but . . . Yeah, I was then
Read the full story at Interview Magazine here.
Mitchell: It seems like every year you have these two wildly different pulls between the bigger movies that you do, like the Twilight films, and then the smaller ones that you’ve done. I remember a couple of years ago when you had both Welcome to the Rileys [2010] and The Runaways at Sundance.
Stewart: Yeah, I think it went Twilight, Welcome to the Rileys, New Moon, Runaways, then Eclipse, so it was like one of those movies between each Twilight movie.
Mitchell: It seems like Joan would be another hard habit to shake.
Stewart: She was. I went to do Eclipse right after, and I think the director of that movie might have said to another cast member that he had to beat the Joan Jett out of me. [Mitchell laughs] For a while, I just walked kind of hunched over. Joan has great defensive tools, and I became a bit attached to them.
Mitchell: Like which ones?
Stewart: Just the way she deals with people. I think we were promoting New Moon just as I was finishing The Runaways, and I remember going to Comic-Con with a Minor Threat T-shirt on. I was really happy and excited to be there, but I was so defensive and crazy. [laughs] It’s hard to deal with the press. There are always a lot of leading questions and opinions. Of course, our work is creative, and it’s subjective. But I was totally Joan Jett-ing out. We were doing interviews, and one wrong thing was said, and Joan has this crazy ability to just shut down and look at you like, “Well, I’m done now. Later.” It was so . . . I’m not like that, but . . . Yeah, I was then
Read the full story at Interview Magazine here.
- 6/2/2012
- by Evie
- twilightersanonymous.com
Dethklok, Saint Vitus, Gallows, Pod, Stray from the Path, Dying Fetus, Baroness, Limp Bizkit, Van Halen and more. Don't touch that dial!
News
Versailles Records will release No More Tears: A Millennium Tribute To Ozzy Osbourne on June 5. The tribute album features appearances from past and current members of bands such as Black Sabbath, Motley Crue, Dokken, Megadeth, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Spinal Tap and more.
In dumb news of the week: Limp Bizkit's new album will be titled Stampede of the Disco Elephants.
Streams
Stream Hot Water Music's new album, Exister, here. The album is out this week on Rise Records.
Stream Saint Vitus' new alum, Lillie: F-65, here. This is the doom metallers' first album in 17 years. It will be released on May 22 via Season of Mist.
Listen to a new Bullet Treatment song entitled "Insomnia" here. The track features both current and former Comeback Kid vocalists Andrew Neufeld and Scott Wade.
News
Versailles Records will release No More Tears: A Millennium Tribute To Ozzy Osbourne on June 5. The tribute album features appearances from past and current members of bands such as Black Sabbath, Motley Crue, Dokken, Megadeth, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Spinal Tap and more.
In dumb news of the week: Limp Bizkit's new album will be titled Stampede of the Disco Elephants.
Streams
Stream Hot Water Music's new album, Exister, here. The album is out this week on Rise Records.
Stream Saint Vitus' new alum, Lillie: F-65, here. This is the doom metallers' first album in 17 years. It will be released on May 22 via Season of Mist.
Listen to a new Bullet Treatment song entitled "Insomnia" here. The track features both current and former Comeback Kid vocalists Andrew Neufeld and Scott Wade.
- 5/14/2012
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- DreadCentral.com
Sometimes the greatest and most profound art is created during moments of upheaval, as a reaction against a political or social climate that is seen as unjust. And that explosive blend of vision and expression will be on full display at the Tribeca Film Festival in the documentary "Let Fury Have the Hour."
The feature directorial debut from acclaimed author, visual artist, and filmmaker Antonino D’Ambrosio chronicles how a generation of artists, thinkers and activists used their creativity -- and their creations -- as a response to the reactionary politics that came to define 1980s culture. The mixed-media collage incorporates graphic art, music, animation and spoken word and spans three decades of change -- from the cynical heyday of Reagan and Thatcher through today -- and brings together over 50 writers, playwrights, painters, poets, skateboarders, dancers, musicians and rights advocates, all of whom attest to the fact that we can...
The feature directorial debut from acclaimed author, visual artist, and filmmaker Antonino D’Ambrosio chronicles how a generation of artists, thinkers and activists used their creativity -- and their creations -- as a response to the reactionary politics that came to define 1980s culture. The mixed-media collage incorporates graphic art, music, animation and spoken word and spans three decades of change -- from the cynical heyday of Reagan and Thatcher through today -- and brings together over 50 writers, playwrights, painters, poets, skateboarders, dancers, musicians and rights advocates, all of whom attest to the fact that we can...
- 4/18/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
As Henry Rollins states early on in "Bad Brains: A Band in DC," a definitive documentary on the legendary hardcore band is long overdue. "Legendary" is even understating it a bit, as Bad Brains helped to invent what we know as American hardcore, taking inspiration from the Sex Pistols and The Damned, melding it with their own funk and soul inspired musicality and "positive attitude message” and electric performance style to birth a beast all their own. Bad Brains influenced everyone from Rollins to Minor Threat to the Beastie Boys to the Cro-Mags and more. The new documentary directed by Mandy Stein and Ben Logan attempts to capture and commemorate the history of this band while also dealing with the serious issues they have faced, mostly thanks to wonderfully (and destructively) unhinged lead singer H.R.
"Bad Brains: A Band in DC" hopscotches through time, starting with a nasty confrontation...
"Bad Brains: A Band in DC" hopscotches through time, starting with a nasty confrontation...
- 3/13/2012
- by Katie Walsh
- The Playlist
There have been so many exegeses of punk rock—including the recent documentary American Hardcore—that there wouldn't seem to be much need for Susan Dynner's "people's history" Punk's Not Dead. But Dynner brings a broader perspective. Rather than breaking punk down into its UK, NY, DC, and La golden ages and leaving other scenes and eras out to dry, Dynner treats punk as an ever-evolving, eternally relevant movement that keeps producing great bands and vital scenes. Few would put modern million-selling pop-punkers on the same plane as U.K. Subs or Minor Threat, but Punk's Not Dead rightly notes that for some kids out there now, The Offspring are old-school and The Used changed their lives. Punk's Not Dead starts with the first punk explosion in the late '70s—complete with scenes from tongue-clucking episodes of CHiPs, Donahue, and Quincy—then jumps ahead to Rancid and Green Day,...
- 7/16/2008
- by Noel Murray
- avclub.com
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