Slog Movie (2003)

We Got Power Films presents David Markey's 1981-82 raw and homespun documentation of the Los Angeles/Orange County hardcore punk scene. Like a fanzine on film, The Slog Movie has an intimate backstage/on stage feel. Interviews, humoroous interludes, and

Why?, Why?, Why? First E.T. Now This!!!

There are several movies one could look at from the early days of hardcore. You could fill a garage with old official and unofficial tapes. You can go dig up some great Flipside or Target stuff and throw a great film festival in your living room or you could sit back and get a good quick fix all in one convenient package. I saw the Slog Movie on VHS probably around the time it was made available on VHS. I had a friend who had purchased a copy and that tape made rotation after rotation in our VCR's. The film was made with both humour, heart and gritty realism hidden within the confines of its own medium. I've often wondered if Dave Markey ever realized how appreciated this film would remain within the punk scene for years to come. Seeing this film for the first time held a magnitude of power within it's small time frame capsule of 1981-1982. I think it means more to me now to see it than it did then as so many people are either gone, absent or missed. Circle One (John Macias-R.I.P.), Sin 34 (the complete "Trip to San Francisco" clip), The Chiefs (very underrated), Redd Kross (shortly after the name change from Red Cross I think), Wasted Youth, T.S.O.L., Circle Jerks, Fear and Black Flag were the bands originally included on the VHS release with a short film "The Boost II" which was perhaps the greatest short film of all time! It even beats out Jeff Lieberman's "The Ringer" I won't tell you any more than that you just have to find the VHS.

The DVD release does have all the bands listed above plus an extra bonus of a Symbol 6 set. The downside and the missing star is due to the fact that Greg Ginn from Black Flag for some mysterious reason decided when the DVD reissue was slated for re-release that neither Black Flag music nor his image were permitted to be shown. This is somewhat confusing irritating and infuriating to me personally for several reasons. The altering of past documentation within the realm of a public form is quite indecent and unorthodox. This film is a part of history (our history) and it should have never been altered. I only hope that public opinion will drive Mr. Ginn one day to come to his senses and realize that all things considered and aside that this was part of his history as well as our experience and it should never have been altered for any reason.

If the DVD is all you can find get it anyways its worth the ride for what's in the box! The DVD footage is clearer than the first day we popped our old VHS in the player. There are some extras but it has no "Boost" but it's still worth your money to see it even if you only like one of these bands.

Cheers,

D.E. September 22, 2007

Slam, spit, cut your hair, kill your mom!

In the early 1980's Dave Markey put out a fanzine called We Got Power, which documented the punk/early hardcore scene. We Got Power also produced compilations of Southern California bands, and eventually put out films like The Slog Movie and the punk/cult B-movie Desperate Teenage Lovedolls. Markey would later put out the documentary 1991: The Year Punk Broke which basically covered the rise of the "grunge" movement and how it brought more mainstream acceptance to punk rock music and its offshoots. The Slog Movie is a very low-budget, unpretentious look at the West L.A. hardcore punk scene circa 1981-82. Anyone who is into early punk music and history would be advised to check it out.

There is nothing commercial or Hollywood about this movie other than the fact that some scenes were shot near Hollywood, and the Hollywood band the Cheifs, ha ha... It's about as homemade and authentic as it gets, starting out with two kids spray-painting the title and the names of the bands on an abandoned Santa Monica building and its surroundings. You really get a feel for the L.A. streets and the locations shot here, the cinematic style is simply "grab the camera and start filming." These were not spoiled kids going to big arenas to see bands; these were kids who actually lived in L.A. who were in bands and involved in the scene. Markey was the drummer for Sin 34, who are featured prominently in the film.

There's some scenes shot at the infamous Oki-Dogs hangout, where you get a glimpse of L.A. fixtures Pat (Germs, later Nirvana) Smear and Randy Rampage. You get kids arguing with bouncers, and lots of kids making comments about punk to the camera, most of them being pretty amusing. This movie was not about making a profound statement, it was just an entertaining way to document a thriving scene, and it does it with lots of humor. There are a few so-dumb-they're-funny skits included, like the Ted Nugent scene (the meaning is explained in the commentary) and the photo essay "A Day in the Life of a Punk." A nice nugget of the era included is the skateboard commercial which advertises Pettibon-designed Black Flag decks; this was one of the many scenes which brought me back to this era (yeah, OK, I'm old). Markey even films the TV, which was a big part of being a bored punk (and still is). At one point it shows the Adam-12 police show, with the song "I Hate Cops" by the Authorities playing in the background. Aaaahhh....no budget movie making at its finest!

Of course, the most important part of The Slog Movie is the music. In addition to the bands featured live, there are great songs played on the soundtrack. As far as the live bands, don't expect to be blown away by the sound quality. I thought it was pretty decent though: having seen all kinds of crappy live bootleg-type old punk videos, the sound in this movie was good by comparison. Probably the worst sound is the Sin 34 clip, where you can barely hear the female vocals. But seeing as it was filmed outside at the Santa Monica pier, what do you expect? Sin 34 also makes the big road trip to San Francisco to play at the Mabuhay, which is documented in amusing fashion. Unfortunately it was too dark to film inside the club, so you just get shots of the band messing around outside. The other band who is shown at the Santa Monica pier is the great Red Cross, a group which had a thrift-store hippie image that really pissed off the hardcore punks of the time.

Other bands shown live are Circle One, Symbol 6, Wasted Youth, TSOL, the Cheifs, Fear, and the Circle Jerks. Anybody can start a punk band, and this DIY ethic comes across in the often loose, garagey performances and also the interview footage. Symbol 6 and Wasted Youth come off as a bunch of goof-offs but hey, we are talking about teens and young adults here who were out to have fun with their friends. Isn't that what punk is all about? There's only a song or two from each band, all were pretty good but the highlights for me were the Circle Jerks ("World Up My A**," "Trapped") and TSOL ("Silent Scream.") I was a little disappointed in the Fear song, it wasn't on any of their albums and had the guitarist singing mostly, rather than Lee Ving. You do get to see them being obnoxious to the audience, though. Probably the most interesting band shown here is the gang-affiliated Circle One, whose musclebound singer Mike Macias (R.I.P.) had an intense and downright scary stage presence. Then you've got the performance from "Rollins, Dukowski, Robo & Dez." Hey, sounds like Black Flag without Greg Ginn! Guess what? Greg Ginn (AKA the SST record label) decided he didn't want his name, or the Black Flag song, to be used. Therefore we are "treated" to footage of Black Flag performing...without sound! Argh! The audio commentary is substituted for the music, which looked like a pretty intense performance. I didn't feel like reading Henry's lips to figure out what song it was.

Extras include the ability to skip directly to the song of your choice and a gallery of show flyers. The flyers are really enjoyable; they show the creativity involved and lots of influential and forgotten bands. Finally, there's an audio commentary with Markey, Keith (Circle Jerks, Black Flag) Morris, Mike (Minutemen, fIREHOSE) Watt, and Jordan Schwartz (We Got Power guy, is shown a couple times in the movie). Lots of extra info obviously from those guys, sounds to me like they may have had a couple of beers while recording it, ha ha ha....alright by me!

So if you're into early punk, you should get this. It'll make you want to shave your head and beat the crap out of a guitar while yelling about society. Thanks for reading my extremely long, tedious review.

P.S. Does anybody know anything about the Desperate Teenage Lovedolls sequel Lovedoll Superstar? I can't remember if Markey also directed it, or whether it is available on DVD or VHS. If you know anything, please include your information in a review either of this movie, or Desperate Teenage Lovedolls. Thanks! April 29, 2004

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