Punk: Early Years

Product Description

PUNK:THE EARLY YEARS (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

Customer Reviews:

"The papers are a load of s***".......2007-02-10

"Punk: The Early Years" is a short documentary that takes a superficial, disappointing look at its subject matter. The footage was shot in 1977 and 1978 and includes interviews with the heads of EMI and Virgin Records, Glam rocker Marc Bolan and various bands--including The Slits, X Ray Spex, Generation X, Siouxsie, and the Adverts. If you are looking for an extensive history of Punk, this is not it.

There's a little info about a few of the clubs in the Punk scene, and many brief interviews with various Punk fans. The film also spends some time discussing fanzines and a larger amount of time discussing punk fashion. There's even a trip to McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's shop. There is very little mention of the political side of Punk (zero on Anarcho-Punk), there is no tracing of protopunk, no mention of the American Punk scene--apart from a brief allusion to the Ramones, and no analysis of the spread of Punk from America to England (where it soon found a thriving breeding ground largely due to the social and political discontentment of the times). If you are interested in the roots and development of Punk, then I highly recommend the book, "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk" by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain.

I don't really care that the footage was a bit ratty looking in places. What bothered me more was the shallow treatment of the subject matter. While it's nice to get various opinions from fans, there's not enough substance here. There are a few clips of a very young Billy Idol, and those portions were great and worth watching. But as it is, the film's title, "Punk: The Early Years" is a bit grandiose. A more accurate title would be "British Punk: Early Clips." Less time should have been spent on the fashion use of safety pins, and more on the serious side of Punk. This is not a history, and it's not even an overview--displacedhuman

Best Take on the Raw Spirit of London Punk.......2006-03-17

Originally named "Raw Energy", that title reflected perfectly what this film was about. It captured what was going on in the London punk scene at street level, through great bands that were actually playing regularly, unlike the Pistols, who had been relegated to no more than a media phenomenom in 1977-78 because, as they talk about in the film, they couldn't play anywhere because of the furore the media had created which caused town councils across the UK to ban their shows. Because this film was capturing a slice of what was going on at the time, it doesn't attempt to be some great all-encompassing film about everything going on in English punk rock, but merely a very representative look at it through one set of groups and people. I know everything I need to know about the Sex Pistols and Clash and the usual suspects, so it's fantastic that they concentrated on groups like the Adverts, Slits, and X Ray Spex, some of the most edgy bands of the London scene, and notably bands that all had women in them or in the case of the Slits, were entirely comprised of women.
In dramatic contrast to "Decline of Western Civilization", which tried to be the same sort of film set in LA with a much bigger budget, this film actually is filled with intelligent commentary from fans, band members, even shockingly enough the record company people interviewed. It's comical watching the Adverts interrupt each other while trying to make sure they explain "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" properly.
Though the inclusion of an Eddie and the Hot Rods live performance is seen as "not punk" by purists and perhaps their relation to punk isn't explained thoroughly enough (they do a fantastic cover of "Get Out of Denver"), they were part of the rock bands that stood out by embracing punk at the time. There were bands like the Tom Robinson Band and others who were notable for touring with punk bands and being excited at how much energy punk was bringing back to music, even while their own material remained rock and roll. That's the whole point of the Marc Bolan interview, showing that there were existing rockers who joined in and participated in the new excitement, and helped promote it. The New York Dolls had been a huge inspiration for English punk bands, giving glam an attitude, and a lot of the glam rockers recognized that punk was taking some of what they had been trying to do and getting that much more outrageous with it.
There are so many priceless moments in it for true fans of punk history - Siouxsie talking about being considered fascists merely because she "liked to wear a certain badge" is comical. It's even cool to see a young Billy Idol talk with sincere enthusiasm, rather than the old, strutting rock and roll hack we've seen for so many years now. Mark P of the zine Sniffin Glue and the band Alternative TV is a constant intelligent voice interviewed throughout, who pretty much invented the concept of the photocopied punk zine. Sure some of the accents are difficult, but that's life and just a problem for Americans, punks don't speak BBC English.
For someone who knows little about the bands portrayed and the scene, it might be confusing because it doesn't waste time trying to be a primer, so for those people Caroline Coon's book "1988" would be a essential read to put everything in the film into context. As a serious punk historian - I wrote the book "Going Underground: American Punk 1979-1992" - for me this film with all its rough edges captures the honest revolutionary spirit of punk from a ground level perspective better than any other documentary I've seen. Could have there been a ton of other things in it? Sure, I'd love a Ken Burns style six hour series on punk that intelligently did the subject justice for once and included everyone, but I think it's amazing that someone even took the time to capture this culture as it happened, and these kind of documents should be prized.

Disappointing.......2006-02-26

This is a really disappointing product for a couple major reasons. First, there's the logistical problems. So much of the footage is poor and so badly-cut together that me and my husband, both punk fanatics, wanted to turn it off out of frustration at how jumpy and un-followable the narrative was. Second is the truly unforgivable part and that's the incomprehensible leaving out of so many pertinent bands and events. I understand if you can't cover everyone, of course you can't, but they left out more than they included. Really disappointing...I doubt I'll ever want to watch it again.

If you remember or are curious about what punk was REALLY like..........2005-08-15

...then this DVD is invaluable. The previous reviewer of this DVD apparently had a strange or romanticized idea of what early UK punk was like. The reviewer's description of The Adverts as "no name" will suffice to indicate his or her level of sophistication and knowledge of UK punk.

I think that this "warts and all" film does a better job than any other I've seen of getting across the giddy experimentalism, frenetic posing, and just sheer lunacy of early UK punk. The American equivalent would be the original DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, which takes a similarly honest look at the highs 'n lows of the LA punk scene circa 1980.

True, The Slits couldn't really play when this was shot. That was the point. True, X-Ray Spex were not terribly polished. True, there was a certain amount of uncertainty about what "really counted" as "punk," and some former pub rock bands like the Hot Rods did get lumped together with more overtly punky bands. True, there were moments of boredom and tedium in the birth of punk; punk was (among other things) a reaction against a sense of ceaseless boredom and this film manages in its rough way to capture some of the atmosphere.

If, like the previous reviewer, you'd like to have a nice, polished MTV video for your documentary of UK punk, well, this DVD isn't it. If you'd like something a bit more accurate, however, then this is a fine companion piece to FILTH & FURY and WESTWAY TO THE WORLD.

YUCK.......2005-04-05

Most of the live performances feature no-name and decidedly non-punk acts like Eddie and the Hot Rods and the Adverts. The Gen X footage is not synched with the song, The Slits can barely play their instruments, and most of the interviews are brief and (to my american ears)unintelligeable. This "documentary" will not help those who weren't there appreciate the power and impact of early Brit punk, nor will will it provide any pleasant nostalgia for the old farts. Get "The Filth and the Fury" instead...

Average customer rating:

Good footage and information on the band
Insight to the band onstage...
Right On!!!
Jelllllooooooo!
Like Dead Kennedys? Don't miss this one.

Dead Kennedys - The Early Years Live
Starring: DH Peligro , Jed , East Bay Ray , Klaus Flouride , and Jello Biafra
Director: Joe Reese
Manufacturer: Eclectic DVD Dist.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005LO66
Release Date: 2001-07-03

Product Description

EARLY YEARS LIVE (DEAD KENNEDYS)

Customer Reviews:

Good footage and information on the band.......2006-03-09

Im sure there are better Dead Kennedy Dvds out there but this dvd isn't bad at all , It provides great live footage and information on the band. I definitley recommend this to new DK fans.

Insight to the band onstage..........2005-02-25

As someone who was born in 1984, I was too young to enjoy the Dead Kennedys onstage (granted, I wasn't even thought of when these live performance pieces were videotaped), so I find this a truly enjoyable view. It gave me a feel of what an actual Dead Kennedys concert was like, and I suggest to all DK fans of today to pick this up. You'll be glad you did.

Right On!!!.......2003-12-08

This DVD was worth every penny, the audio was a LITTLE disappointing but you don't even notice when you see Jello Biafra running around and acting out the song and seeing fans tackle him to the ground and he never misses a word. And Klaus Flouride's amazing bass always all over the place and East Bay Ray (who only weighs about 8 grams) with his unforgetable guitar playing. An old ad for Jello running for Mayor of San Fransisco and a music video for Holiday in Cambodia and Bleed for me, this DVD is one to be owned by every DK fan. Seiing Classics like Kill the Poor and Drug Me live... I don't know what I'd do without this.

Jelllllooooooo!.......2003-06-14

Mixed quality but very cool old footage of early DKs shows. You get to see them playing in clubs, in the streets, and at a studio that looks like someone's extra bedroom. The sound quality is listenable but this is more interesting for historical reasons.

Like Dead Kennedys? Don't miss this one........2002-06-12

If you like Dead Kennedys, seeing how they looked like in stage back in the late 70's is mandatory. Jello Biafra is, as usual..., the band's energy is fantastic. It's one of the best music DVDs ever, I give it 4 stars only because it is a bit short (30 mins). It's as raw and real as punk rock can get.

Average customer rating:

Early Years Live
Starring: Dead Kennedys
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000A2X8BQ
Release Date: 2005-06-07

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