Obituaries for punk rock have been written many times before. So often, in fact, that “punk’s not dead” is common rallying cry for fans and chroniclers of the movement.
Further proof of the music’s ongoing vitality can be found in the 1983 documentary film called Another State of Mind, which chronicles a summer tour by So-Cal hardcore bands Social Distortion and Youth Brigade and the D.C. straight-edge Gods knowns as Minor Threat. (We were reminded of the film, which borrows its title from this super rad Social Distortion song, by this post today on the site Please Kill Me.)
The doc is so good and so loud and so inspiring to anyone who has every wanted to do it themselves that we are kicking off a new Daily Delight feature that highlights movies, albums, and shows that can be found on YouTube in their entirety. We realize there may be copyright issues with some of these productions being available for free on the channel, so get ’em while you can! And after you’ve watched the doc, go out there and start your own band. You won’t ever regret trying.
I should know. I’ve been in a couple bands in my life, and in one case you could say we were punk rock in the sense that when we started not one of us really knew how to play our instruments and believed more in the expression than perfection. We just went for it. In college and totally obsessed with the band Jawbreaker, we named ourselves Sea Foam Green after one of the band’s lesser-known songs.
I was the “singer, songwriter” of Sea Foam Green, my friend Aaron played guitar, and another friend, Kim, played bass. I can’t recall the drummer’s name, but remember her as a good-natured hippie who rarely wore shoes during gigs. About gigs: they were essentially house parties where we, SFG, would set up and try not to kill the joy. Being in that band made my two last years of college among the most fun years I’ve ever had.
So, yeah. Punk rock. It has saved me more than once, and it could save you, too, one day. For the uninitiated and for hardcore fans, alike, Another State of Mind is a compelling reminder why the music and the movement remains so vital and important.
Posted By: Maccabee Montandon
