The Day The Country Died [2007]
The Day The Country Died [2007]
Customer Review: A DIY account of the DIY era
For a brief period during the early to mid 1980s, an underground movement rose from the ashes of 70s punk. When its first wave imploded thanks to its own nihilism and its cynical exploitation by commercial interests, a new breed of ‘hardcore’ punks emerged, united by a healthy disregard for authority that necessitated a DIY ethic and put bands in charge of their own gigs, labels and distibution networks.
Along with the music came a commitment to radical politics, freedom of expression and non-violence. The fold-out sleeves that accompanied many releases informed and mobilised the dole generation into a serious political force, powerful enough to breathe new life into the moribund CND movement and be considered a threat by the paranoid and authoritarian Thatcher government.
This DVD provides a snapshot of that era that captures its vital energy, reflecting the dole generation’s attempt to turn its back on a government that sold them out and forge a better world for themselves. This DIY ethic was embodied by bands such as Crass who lived and breathed its values and proved a formative influence on later movements such as the Exodus collective and the DIY sound system. The DVD’s content reflects the messiness, the struggle and the internal rivalries inevitable in a movement which celebrates personal freedom and carries within a hidden warning against being too overzealous. Witness the bafflement of Boff from Chumbawamba as he recounts some cheeky crusty turning up on his doorstep with a sleeping bag, then criticising him for drinking instant coffee!
Kids - turn off Kerrang! and put this in your DVD player instead. It will teach you everything the music industry doesn’t wnat you to know, namely that they need you far more than you need them, and even if it doesn’t inspire you to form your own band/zine/label, it will provide a valuable history lesson. If you’re an old punk you will find the nostalgia trip interesting and feel relieved that your old heroes look just as tired and fat as you do with increasing age.
One small quibble - The Stop the City footage is great, right movement right era, but why is there also loads of footage of the Poll Tax riot in Trafalgar Square, which took place much later (1990 IIRC)?
Customer Review: Noble but disappointing
The film starts off with a title declaring that it isn’t the definitive story but more a personal account of what was/is an important chapter of punk/protest music. Despite Dick Subhuman’s superbly candid intro, it bears little resemblance to the excellent book and disappoints. The story structure is very jumbled. The interviews don’t include enough of the
main movers and shakers but do include many minor fish (deliberately anarcho? surely not) The archive live footage was bound to be poor old vhs quality but this also applied to the makers of the recent AMERICAN HARDCORE film. Tons of fast cut interview clips made it an excellent film. Footage of some of the bands still performing like Subhumans, Conflict etc. could have also helped. Nevertheless, it is a unique on screen account and full marks for having a go with presumably limited resources. The definitive story that the subject muchly deserves, remains to be seen.
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