'Punk's Not Dead' sheds new light on the genre
REVIEW
by KEN BARTOLOTTA Reporter

Social Distortion is one of the many punk bands featured in Susan Dynner's documentary "Punk's Not Dead."

The story of the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Clash have been told to death: the tattered images of a CBGB's in its infancy, the importance of Manhattan and London as a backdrop during punk's inaugural year - we've heard it all by now.

That's why it's refreshing in the new documentary "Punk's Not Dead" that director Susan Dynner merely touches on this time period, forgoes that already treaded path and instead focuses on the aftermath that followed the demise of the holy trinity of punk.

The film is a strained look into this movement, but its purpose isn't to accurately depict punk's rise and fall, but instead serves as more of celebration of an art form that has endured the very annals of time.

It's more of an hour and a half dialogue on what punk exactly is, not just the definition, which is constantly muddled by self-righteous cries of selling out, but what the music and the varied scenes throughout the years has meant to its participants.

During the film's highest points, its subjects almost glowingly discuss a sort of mentality that the rest of the world is missing out on, something that can at times be life-changing, as if the three-decade existence of punk is a constant inside joke.

During its low points, we get the crusty old curmudgeons swaying on a soap box as they bitterly recall the troubles of yesteryear while simultaneously questioning the credibility of today's acts. It's a tired cliche that gives one very little perspective into the movement.

We all know punk has been pilfered by consumerism. We know that the bands that made all of this possible are most likely barely seeing a cent of this success. But those circumstances shouldn't take away from this music, instead it should fuel the creative fire that churns from within.

The film does touch on the birthings of punk, the ambitious effort tackles the latter part of its rapid growings from its fall in the late 1980s to its rise in the mid-'90s and the fourth wave success of bands like My Chemical Romance and Good Charlotte.

What's interesting about punk has always been the cycles, because the essence of punk and what make it so great is that it's a direct reaction to whatever's going on in the mainstream.

It's that celebration of descent that makes the movement so visceral and also gets at the very heart of rock 'n' roll in general.

It's the reason why in most circles any band that actually achieves even the most moderate success is considered a sellout, but it's also that dark undertone of aimless rebellion and a hopeless tomorrow that has stinted many a creative mind over the years.

Interviews range from Green Day frontman Billy Joe Armstrong, who refreshingly, never once feels a need to defend his success, to the more bitter musings of Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness, a sort of punk forefather whose ego has far surpassed his actual legacy.

There's a number of older punkers who prove that you can grow old and still remain true to yourself, with bands like the U.K. Subs and Addicts bucking the trends and allowing their changing fan base to constantly reinvent themsel ves.

The film also touches on the do-it-yourself philosophies that have existed since the beginning, looking into the squat houses and basement shows that drive the medium even when pop culture turns a blind eye to the genre.

"Punk's Not Dead" conveys that underground continuity that has always fueled punk to near perfection, voicing the thought process that it never really goes away - because outsiders and misfits will always need it. Because there will always be a status quo to reject punk, it will always thrive in some form or another.

e-mail: kenb@beenews.com