Review of American Hardcore (2006) by Blancoa. — 29 Sep 2006

A movie like this restores your faith that good music exists somewhere, at some point in time. This film brought me back to 1984, driving into downtown LA for private school in the backseat of a car driven by a couple of sophomore punks who blared Bad Brains, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, and Minor Threat.

I was scared sh.t.ess that Sam Picture and Matt Artukavich were gonna crash the car they were going so ballistic in the front seat of that crappy little Honda Civic. I had no idea what it was all about as a freaked out freshman, but the stuff grew on me and it was the antidote to the early-80s, Reagan, preppy, button-down cluture.

I have a new respect for the influence of Bad Brains after seeing this film. It was great seeing Greg Ginn & Ian McKaye explaining how the nerve centers of the movements in the South Bay and D.C. spawned pockets throughout the country.

I always thought that the hardcore movement was pretty abbreviated, and this film really drives it home. By 1985, the thing just STOPPED. Whenever I get too depressed by the state of music today, I pull out the old reliable Black Flag album to make things right.

Hopefully one day, a similar visceral movement will resurface, but as they say in the movie, it'll never be Hardcore. I loved the film. The footage is incredible. I just went online and bought the first Bad Brains album to replace my old warped, riddled-with-sand cassette.

"X" "X" Straight edge....M.T.