Punk: Attitude Overview
Hot Docs: Attitude Just an overview of a documentary I watched on SBS.
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Review:
I found Punk: Attitude to be one of the most helpful resources for my own understanding of Punk and the history of Punk and what it has progressed to today.
The interviews and comments from a wide variety of people not only spectators but actual band members themselves gave the best kind of insight as to what was happening at the time.
The combination of these interviews and clips of footage from the past helped create a clear mental map for myself regarding the relationships between everything that was happening and the progression of each stage of music.
I regard this resource as one of the best if you wish to extend your own understanding of punk and it's progression.
The only criticism I have of the documentary as that it is unable to further explore each stage of music (and certain bands) to a much greater depth. Instead it keeps its flow and continuously jumps from one place to another in order to give you a full overview of everything; which I'm sure was its intention.
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Summary:
Original punk rockers- MC5, the stooges, velvet underground, New York dolls
Sex pistols started it all in Britain – interview, swearing, people were afraid to be in the same room as them.
Some of their American tour got canceled.
They played for a room full of rednecks wanting to beat them up. Johnny Rotten wears a t-shirt with two gay cowboys having sex. Sid Vicious gets hit in the mouth with a full beer can and they keep playing. The audience then loves it.
Sid Vicious hangs out with a girl from another band and starts taking smack. (The drug of choice- people shoot up in the toilets and crowd)
He stays for 3 nights in a row learning to play guitar from listening to Ramones' albums- remember none of them had much musical talent or ability.
Original punk rock – 100 days – didn't really last very long. The very nature of it- anyone who was passionate about it – and wanted to make music- would inevitably 'get better at their craft'.
Punk rockers all hang out together- everyone knew everyone else- if you weren't in a band you were trying to form a band. Starting hanging out with Reggae crowd.
The end of punk rock- anyone who wanted true punk rock was becoming ridiculous- 'hair too long; what are you a hippie?', songs longer than a minute were unacceptable etc. Die hard punk rockers sticking around until the end were becoming pedantic.
The end became quite violent- audiences with safety pins in their lips and bin liner clothes and Mohawks- all this came about from the tabloids and the image- none of the original bands were doing this- and the original bands didn't know where it came from and were looking to progress.
So punk goes to new wave and hardcore.
Blondie becomes new wave even disco.
New wave becomes experimental- everyone becoming more musically talented. Some artists goals- trying to fuck with people. Trying to mess with their own image.
A merger between punk rock and reggae in the 80s, turn tables and punk e.g. Beastie Boys. A common theme- 'fight the power', 'fuck the system' mentality.
New wave- Johnny - slapping people at his performance wanting them to get off the ground. Doing his ‘James Brown thing’ backed by others with not much talent- making scratchy strange sounds.
Hardcore- Henry Rollins from Black Flag- big muscle guys, a lot of touching, yelling almost homo- erotic. Somewhat purist. See the 'Fuck Yeah!' guy and give him a guitar.
Henry Rollins- east side- talks fast, talks loud, in your face.
Instead of Alice Cooper singing about fictional monsters and demons, Black Flag were singing about real horrors like police brutality and violence. A lot of hardcore punks were skaters and surfers- quite violent skaters and surfers. You could still live on the east side of the country- surf, sand, sun, bikini babes and still have a shitty life and still have something to complain about. Hardcore was trying to stay true and rejected the progression of New Wave and Straight Edge.
New Wave was progressing and things like Straight Edge were emerging. The counter-culture to the counter-culture. Don't drink, smoke, fuck. Seen as a form of empowerment.
So New Wave progressed to 80s music. Djs and turn tables.
The punk scene disbanded. The bands went on tours or progressed. Hardcore was underground. All of the fans were underground. In the context of punk all of the fans kind of waited around for 10 years, went to underground gigs. A lot of the punk bands struggled at the time, not much support throughout the 80s.
Sonic Youth kept producing albums, touring- not much success at the time- persevered.
Late 80s early 90s, Seattle scene. Nirvana came along. Still considered quite an underground band. Raw. Released 'Bleach'.
Then released 'Nevermind'. Everyone got it. It wasn't just because they were a kick ass band with an awesome sound. 'They used all of the mistakes of the past'.
It was a guy that came out of Seattle that looked like them, had the same mentality- was pissed off, bored, frustrated with everything else. Looked like them, sang what they wanted hear, sang for them. Everyone went nuts. Everyone then rejected the big hair- epic rock shows. Knocked Michael Jackson from no. #1.
Nirvana changed the way people thought about music. All of the fans who were waiting around for 10 odd years finally got what they were waiting for. The fans were always there.
Bands like sound garden, rancid, pearl jam, offspring, green day came along; Sonic Youth became successful.
MTV starts. Commodities. Giving the youth another perspective on life. Other than school and home living.
Kurt Cobain kills himself- sick of the mainstream mentality- had all these people hanging around him.
Record companies then starting signing all these bands. Anything different.
Paved the way for punk such as Green Day and Offspring even Blink 182.
Progressed to music as it is today- variety. Combinations of mixes, raps big epic choruses- Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park- 'if you're an angry 17 year old'- this is what you wanna listen to.
Music as it is today- easily accessible- commodities. DIY easily. Mix your own tracks. Make your own websites. Download music- legally, illegally.
HOT DOCS - ATTITUDE
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“In the mid 1970s, a revolution was ignited on the streets of London and New York - almost overnight it shattered the status-quo, and it would continue to impact all future generations of youth culture. It redefined popular music and fashion, threatened the establishment, and legitimised an independent, do-it-yourself attitude. Very much the product of youth rebellion, this movement had its originators, its intellectuals, its trendsetters and its burnouts. It inspired an entire generation of filmmakers, poets, photographers, fashion designers and graphic artists. For a moment in time, it was the most important cultural force on the planet. It was punk rock and what happened in London, New York & L.A. during the late 1970's was explosive, far-reaching and historic. Punk: Attitude explores how classic teenage rebellion combined with the musical and social environment of the time and created the punk movement. The documentary also chronicles punk's unique identity of independence and how this continues to define youth culture today.” (From the US, in English) CC WS
http://www.sbs.com.au/whatson/index.php3?progdate=21:02:2006
