1991: The Year Punk Broke

Dave Markey

Overview

In 1991, pioneering noise rockers Sonic Youth were about as big as a punk rock band was supposed to get; they'd become one of the most acclaimed bands on the American rock underground, they were signed to a prestigious major label, Geffen, and seemed poised to edge into the commercial mainstream. As it happened, punk rock was about to invade radio and MTV in a big way, but Sonic Youth weren't the ones to lead the charge. In the summer of 1991, Sonic Youth spent two weeks playing large clubs and music festivals, with an up-and-coming band called Nirvana on hand as their opening act. Both bands found themselves playing to some of the biggest and most enthusiastic audiences they'd experienced thus far, and it was a preview of what Nirvana was to experience when their album Nevermind was released a few months later. Musician and filmmaker Dave Markey tagged along to chronicle the tour with a Super 8 sound movie camera, and 1991: The Year Punk Broke was assembled from the footage he shot that summer, as a handful of alternative bands were enjoying a working holiday in Europe, unaware that they'd all be a lot closer to the spotlight in six months. Along with performances from Sonic Youth and Nirvana, 1991: The Year Punk Broke includes appearances by Dinosaur Jr., Babes in Toyland, Gumball and The Ramones.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/13/2011
UPC:	0602527786940
Original Release:	1993
Source:	Geffen Records
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	2:40:00
Sales rank:	29,425

Special Features

(This Is Known As) The Blues Scale - 40 minute bonus film ; Inhman / Sonic Youth ; White Kross / Sonic Youth ; Orange Rolls, Angels Spit Sonic Youth ; In Bloom / Nirvana; Eric's Trip / Sonic Youth ; Chapel Hill / Sonci Youth ; Broken Punk - 12 Years After Q&A ; Mote / Sonic Youth ; Flower / Sonic Youth ; Trailer ; Teenage Riot (alt edit)

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sonic Youth	Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Sonic Youth	Performer
Nirvana	Performer,Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Babes in Toyland	Primary Artist,Performer,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Dinosaur Jr.	Performer,Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Gumball	Primary Artist,Performer,Guest Artist
Ramones	Primary Artist,Guest Artist
The Ramones	Performer
Jiri Svobada	Composer

Technical Credits

Dave Markey	Director,Director
Nirvana	Composer
Bob Bert	Composer
Dave Grohl	Composer
Krist Novoselic	Composer
Kurt Cobain	Composer
Kim Gordon	Composer
Steve Shelley	Composer
Lee Ranaldo	Composer
Thurston Moore	Composer

Editorial Reviews

A hallmark of alternative rock's uprising, 1991: The Year Punk Broke documents bits of Sonic Youth's 1991 European tour, which also included such alt-rock luminaries as Dinosaur Jr., Babes in Toyland, and a pre-Nevermind Nirvana. The performances are generally excellent, including a lot of classic Sonic Youth songs ("Brother James," "Teenage Riot," "I Love Her All the Time," "Expressway to Yr Skull," and "Schizophrenia") and a song or two from the other bands. Perhaps the most engaging aspect of this video, however, are the between-song segments. Director David Markey captures the various bandmembers goofing around backstage, and quite amusingly at that. Thurston Moore and Dave Grohl are perhaps the goofiest of the bunch, though Kim Gordon, J Mascis, and Kurt Cobain are awfully curious to observe. Moreover, there are a lot of guest cameos, most notably the Ramones, Mark Arm, and Courtney Love. By no means a traditional concert video, 1991: The Year Punk Broke is a fun-filled video that was filmed just before Nevermind changed the entire alt-rock landscape. A lovely moment in time 1991 was, as this very worthwhile video documents with flair. [A DVD version was released in 2011.] ~ Jason Birchmeier