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American Hardcore on YouTube


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American Hardcore is a documentary directed by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. It is based on the book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush. It was released on September 22, 2006 on a limited basis. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Black Flag, Bad Brains, D.O.A., Minor Threat, The Minutemen, SS Decontrol, and others.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

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The book was alright, but the film wasn't that great I though. I found it a bit boring really. As for the book, I actually prefer Our Band Could Be Your Life.

All these 80's punk rock documentaries always seem to completely miss out the DESCENDENTS! Why is this?

I don't know why the Descendents get missed out a lot but it's certainly criminal. They are a cracking band.

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Them and Black Flag even shared members at one point. Plenty of oppertunity for coverage. I guess they don't fall under the banner of Hardcore, but I wouldn't really say the Minutemen do either, or half the bands covered in Our Band Could Be Your Life. Criminal indeed!

Slightly on topic, Frank Navetta, a founding member of the Descendents died last Friday. He played on their first demo before Milo joined, the Bonus Fat EP, and more importantly - Milo Goes To College. A milestone as far as punk rock is concerned.

I think the difference is, is that bands like Minor Threat and Black Flag didn't have long lifespans but are documented very well in various formats. The Descendents / ALL family tree is as long as it is complicated, and technically - both bands are still 'active', but neither are documented that well at all. I would pay good money for this to have some kind of coverage in the same way, from the start to the present day. Maybe the death of an important founding member will spark this as an idea.

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Any documentary on the Descendants probably wouldn't do the band justice. It has always puzzled me why they have been overlooked in other films, but i've always felt films, such as American Hardcore, kinda do the general analysis sort of thing, or pick a band or group of bands and focus on them.

There's been a book recently published called POST, which deals with the scene after hardcore, might be of some interest to people here? - MySpace.com - POST is NOW AVAILABLE! - 29 - Male - DALLAS, Texas - www.myspace.com/posthardcorebook

It was sad news that Frank Navetta passed on, being spinning Milo alot recently in tribute.

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American Hardcore is a documentary directed by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. It is based on the book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush. It was released on September 22, 2006 on a limited basis. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Black Flag, Bad Brains, D.O.A., Minor Threat, The Minutemen, SS Decontrol, and others.

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Excellent, thanks for posting the link. :)

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Any documentary on the Descendants probably wouldn't do the band justice. It has always puzzled me why they have been overlooked in other films, but i've always felt films, such as American Hardcore, kinda do the general analysis sort of thing, or pick a band or group of bands and focus on them.

There's been a book recently published called POST, which deals with the scene after hardcore, might be of some interest to people here? - MySpace.com - POST is NOW AVAILABLE! - 29 - Male - DALLAS, Texas - www.myspace.com/posthardcorebook

It was sad news that Frank Navetta passed on, being spinning Milo alot recently in tribute.

I agree it wouldn't do them justice, but I don't think American Hardcore or Our Band... really does Black Flag any justice, and no amount of words or interviews could possibly convey how intense their performances must have been - which, in the 80's, just didn't translate too well onto record. I really would still like to see some kind of document of the history of Descendents and ALL though. Both have been two of my favourite bands for many years, but their lifespan and the crossover of each band still puzzles me. I'd love to hear them speak about their approach to songwriting, and their commitment and differentiating between each band and the boundaries each one has. They are one of the longest serving punk rock bands who haven't somehow lost the plot like alot of bands do when they've been around for almost 30 years. I guess their inconsistency to being an active band supports that, and that is probably a good thing. People didn't get sick of them and if anything, wanted more.

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I agree it wouldn't do them justice, but I don't think American Hardcore or Our Band... really does Black Flag any justice, and no amount of words or interviews could possibly convey how intense their performances must have been - which, in the 80's, just didn't translate too well onto record.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

at least somebody actually tried to do something on this fascinating topic as opposed to sitting around worrying about whether they could do it justice, thinking about DA PUNX reactions and then not doing it.

(lets face it, punx only seem to moan and "kick off" about stuff as opposed to admitting that something is any good - unless their pals say it is good of course)

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I think you misunderstood what I've said and I accept it was badly worded. I never moaned about it... I wasn't really into American Hardcore that much, but I'm a big fan of Our Band Could Be Your Life, and it got me into a lot of stuff I probably would have missed. Obviously words on paper isn't going to translate a hardcore show in its primitive stage, but I never said that was a bad thing. I was agreeing a Descendents documentary of some format wouldn't do the band full justice but I'd still pay good money to see/read/hear it and it would still be worth it for someone somewhere to put it together, just like Our Band/American Hardcore was. I'm a big fan of biographies of this sort, but it does seem like there is certain ground that criminally doesn't get covered, as i mentioned in my original point - the Descendents.

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aye I wasnt having a go at you and I agree that its pretty hard to get the tone of an internet post sometimes.

I just love it when stuff like this and interviews with people etc etc is documented by someone who wants to spread the message. I love reading about the mindsets/justifications/motivations/knowledge/emotions/stories/lessons learned that formed the way we think today etc etc

I don't think it healthy for these things to be exclusive to the select few who were involved.

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