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Johann
03-26-2007, 10:02 AM
American Hardcore


Lyrics to Black Flag's "POLICE STORY":

Understand it: we're fighting a war that we cannot win......they hate us....WE HATE THEM!

This film blew my mind with great insight into the hardcore punk scenes that spread all over Reagan's USA from 1980-86.

The opening credits montage was astounding- lightning fast edits over a Bad Brains song.
I was clenching my fists during that.

The Bad Brains were an unstoppable force in their prime. HR and crew were a tornado of energy. HR would do back flips, jump into the crowd, annihilate audiences with sonic carnage. They were the main inspiration for people like Ian Mackaye and Henry Rollins.
HR says they were like his students.
I gotta buy some Bad Brains records now..

Keith Morris is an awesome talking head in the film. He says the movement was basically " I hate my parents, I hate my job, I hate my stupid boss, I hate people in general, I hate the police, I hate people always needling me, and this music is our chance to be with our own kind of people and just go off..."
BA-WOOM! Like a mushroom cloud.

Indeed, these people were angry.
Angry at society, angry at the staus quo, angry at rules, angry at stifling bullshit.
Just pissed off.

Mr. Ronald Reagan is one of the catalysts for this rage.

His new government was supposed to be this
"cleaning up of America", Jimmy Carter was a
wimp, and this fucking ACTOR was gonna make the country a way better place.

Feathered hair, disco and a new sort of 50's wholesomeness retro vibe was coming back, and the people with a brain were saying
FUCK THAT. That ain't real. That's Leave it to Beaver shit. That's a sell-out of the worst kind. Plastic people with their three-car garage, 2 dogs, white-picket fence with dinner on the table SHARP.

Trapped in a hell of domesticity and illusion.

These punks were saying "That ain't me, ain't never gonna be me, and I could napalm every asshole in these fifty states who tells me I should tow the line"

I got my own worldview, and it don't include you.

To quote Black Flag: I got NO VALUES, NOTHING TO SAY.

I got no talent, I'm just gonna bang away and vent my rage into this mic and BE PROUD that it ain't gonna be on the radio.

The whole ethos was: "I LIKE not being you. Fuck off and die. Eat the rich, cuz their mantra is KILL THE POOR. Listen to that track by the dead kennedys- it'll blow your head off boy.
It is Nine-teen Eighty-FOUR. We are marching to the Third. World. War
Here come the uber-secret police. They are coming for your uncool niece.

Or how about "Family Man" by Mr. Henry Rollins:

[
Family man with your life all planned, with your strange glances my way, takin' no chances on the new day. Family man with your Christmas lights already up- you're SUCH a MAN when you're putting up your christmas lights! I wanna crucify you to your front door, with nails from your well-stocked garage, FAMILY MAN

This documentary is not a complete profile of the movement- the dead kennedys are not even in it- they are mentioned a few times, and lots of other bands were omitted.

But it has my current fave band Black Flag, and I loved it. I wanna marry Kira Roessler.
Henry, how did you let her get away?
I know, it wasn't you. She says she fucked the relationship up by being too clingy.
She was babe then and even though she's a lot older now, I'd date her in an L.A. minute.

Sorry you didn't like the Slip It In album cover Kira. It's classic, but it's also insensitive to women.

That's punk. Hardcore punks were not P.C.

And they liked it that way.

oscar jubis
03-26-2007, 10:39 AM
Amazing post J. I think many within the hardcore movement would agree that songs like this one, written by Joe Strummer of The Clash in '76 provided some of the inspiration.

White riot - I wanna riot
White riot - a riot of my own
White riot - I wanna riot
White riot - a riot of my own

Black people gotta lot a problems
But they don't mind throwing a brick
White people go to school
Where they teach you how to be thick

An' everybody's doing
Just what they're told to
An' nobody wants
To go to jail!

All the power's in the hands
Of people rich enough to buy it
While we walk the street
Too chicken to even try it

Everybody's doing
Just what they're told to
Nobody wants
To go to jail!

Are you taking over
or are you taking orders?
Are you going backwards
Or are you going forwards?

White riot - I wanna riot
White riot - a riot of my own
White riot - I wanna riot
White riot - a riot of my own

Johann
03-26-2007, 10:57 AM
Amen brother.

One thing that really struck a chord with me was seeing George and Barbara Bush standing next to Reagan on his second inauguration.

My eyes were boring a hole in the screen when I saw those two standing there.

This music has more relevance now than it did then.
I may be a Johnny -come-ridiculously-late punk, but this music is saving my soul.

The world seems so unhealthily bleak, with everybody floundering.

Films like Jesus Camp and Iraq in Fragments proving that we're in a sorry sate, desperate beyond measure. What do you do?

It was not in vain, that movement.

Greg Ginn (founder of Black Flag) says that in 1986 the band was right back where it started, their whole fan base was gone, it was OVER.

Reagan winning a second term was a big blow to everybody in the scene too. Nobody could believe it. One by one the bands started to disappear.

They'd lost the drive, the will.

That was THE punk movement.

Green Day are not punks to me- they can't hold a candle to Minor Threat.
All of these pseudo-punks, these emo motherfuckers just don't get it. They don't understand that somebody came along before you, and they did it way better.
With volcanic fury.

You listen to "Nervous Breakdown" (which was cranked over the end credits of American Hardcore) and that says it all right there.

as Henry said, this music was strong enough to blast away the tonnage of life's oppressive grind

Johann
03-26-2007, 07:06 PM
There were only 3 people in the theatre when I went to see this at the Bytowne.

It's been really shitty weather here for the last few days- dark grey clouds, chilly winds, it was pouring today. It was very gloomy last night- people didn't wanna leave their homes I guess.

But this film played for a limited run a while ago, and I think all the cool people who wanted to see it did.

There's an awesome vintage clip in it of Black Flag around about '82, when Henry had his facial hair goin' on.

This asshole in the audience is taunting him over and over, taking swipes at his head.
Henry's got a shit-eatin' grin on his face, and rocking back and forth.

He hits Henry's mic, which hits him in the face. Henry keeps smiling and rocking.
The guy hits him again and again.
Hank's still smilin'
Another swing.
BOOM! Henry EXPLODES, he just starts smashing the guy, over and over and over again, until the guy's got his hands up, "don't hit me! don't hit me!

You gotta see it to believe it.
In my head I was thinking "awesome. just plain awesome- that's why that guy rocks. He took on all comers at the shows".

There's another awesome clip of the band performing "Slip It In", when Henry had the wild tangle of a mane. The baddest band in the land indeed.

Johann
03-26-2007, 07:09 PM
And it's on DVD already, so
CHECK
IT
OUT

oscar jubis
03-26-2007, 10:30 PM
You bring the film to life in your posts Johann. Extras on the dvd include 6 performances (Bad Brains included) and 50 minutes of interviews left off the final cut.

oscar jubis
03-27-2007, 09:55 AM
Originally posted by Johann
Films like Jesus Camp and Iraq in Fragments proving that we're in a sorry sate, desperate beyond measure.

The scariest moment in any 2006 movie takes place in Jesus Camp when the female brainwasher states:
"Democracy is designed to destroy itself because we can't give everybody equal rights".
There are 80 million like her in this country.

Johann
03-27-2007, 11:25 AM
I know man, I know. It's unbelieveable.

I saw Jesus Camp (free, thank god) and was so disgusted I didn't even want to review it.

How about the prayers to the George Bush cardboard cut-out?

"Please God, give wisdom to our president"

wowza. holy wowza martha...

80 million without a prayer... :0

Johann
03-27-2007, 01:45 PM
I gotta make a shameless plug for another hero of mine, Jello Biafra.

He's got a brand-new spoken word 3-CD digipak set called In the Grip of Official Treason, and if you like the straight shit, with no spin (except of course the odd humourous one) then buy it with PRIDE.

it's only 17 bucks from www.AlternativeTentacles.com

I have a sneaky suspicion that the version of DIE FOR OIL, SUCKER contained therein is from the show I saw in Ottawa, last April.

He's also got some rants on there that have interesting titles:

Assclowns in Toyland

Go down on me, Moses

Pirates of the Reconstruction

And all I got were these lousy freedom fries

and

American Idle



Ah, mother's milk for the fed up citizen...