Punk’s Not Dead

Never mind the Sex Pistols-here's the Next Big Thing in take-no-prisoners music. In a raucous trip down memory lane, Susan Dynner glues together chops from vintage footage of the Sex Pistols, mentions The Clash and The Ramones, gets a sound bite from Iggy Pop, and then leaves this “old, old school punk” to chronicle the sweaty underground clubs, backyard parties, recording studios, and yes, garages, of second and third generation punks. Punk is 30 years old, respectable enough to have its own archivists and historians. But does it still maintain its nonconformist ideals? Or has the concept of punk been so successfully co-opted by advertising that it has no meaning any longer? And did the cross-over “pop” punks, who found commercial success, mess things up for the real punks? As one punk says, “120,000 records was a good thing, until Nirvana sold six million records.” This documentary includes appearances by everyone! –A.S.