Charting the Punk-geist

PUNK:ATTITUDE, A film by Don Letts

If you have any interest in the meaning of punk this film is worth a look. The DVD was released in the U.S. on September 6th, and the U.K. on October 3rd. The U.K. cover art totally cans the U.S. version, whatever that says about the conditions of their production, or more specifically, the vargaries of marketing to the North American audience. The U.K. and U.S. punk scenes, and the interplay between them, all get substantial attention. The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, and The Dead Kennedys take centre stage. Late in the film the Straight Edge movement rates a mention, as do “punk-inspired rock bands” such as Green Day, Nirvana and Blink 182. (But where was Rage Against the Machine?) Henry Rollins delivers innumerable one-liners. CBGBs, the Bowery and the Roxy all play their part. This is an exuberant and driven documentary that takes a sincere look at the discourse of punk from the 1970s to the present. A movie to get you all riled up.

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Instrument

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