by Sean Narborough
If there’s one thing I love as much as films, it’s music. I listen to anything that sounds good, but I am more partial to rock and indie music. Over the years, I have listened to a wide range of rock music including punk music, so when it came up that the East End Film Festival was showing a documentary about punk music, I knew this was something I was going to enjoyed… right?
Salad Days is a documentary surrounding the DC punk scene during the 80s and how the genre changed throughout the years but not always for the better. Music documentaries are difficult to make because you want to get across all the information you’ve gathered without being too boring. Salad Days treads this line but at times struggles to keep balance. The interviews are fantastic; they are informative and entertaining thanks to people like Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins but there are some people who are a bit dull and bring the energy down.
If there’s one thing I love as much as films, it’s music. I listen to anything that sounds good, but I am more partial to rock and indie music. Over the years, I have listened to a wide range of rock music including punk music, so when it came up that the East End Film Festival was showing a documentary about punk music, I knew this was something I was going to enjoyed… right?
Salad Days is a documentary surrounding the DC punk scene during the 80s and how the genre changed throughout the years but not always for the better. Music documentaries are difficult to make because you want to get across all the information you’ve gathered without being too boring. Salad Days treads this line but at times struggles to keep balance. The interviews are fantastic; they are informative and entertaining thanks to people like Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins but there are some people who are a bit dull and bring the energy down.
The charge of the film is one of the film’s biggest problems. This is a documentary on the DC punk scene, a loud and energetic chapter of the political center of the US, but it struggles to maintain the pace. The atmosphere jumps up and down, using the footage of performances during the era to wake the audience up at numerous times during the film. But these performances are incredible to watch, they do a great job of showing the chaos of the punk scene and does a wonderful job of showing how the scene changed.
Before seeing Salad Days, I knew a fair bit about punk music but after seeing it; it has taught me more about the scene and what happened in DC during that time. The film charts the history of the scene from early beginnings with bands like Bad Brains and Minor Threat, to people using the scene to get away with mindless violence, to ‘Revolution Summer’ of 1985, to how the scene helped the shape the music of the 90s. One part of the punk scene I did know about was straight edge. Straight edge is when someone doesn’t drink alcohol, smokes cigarettes or do drugs, which started when under aged kids would have their hands marked with an ‘X’ at shows so that the bar knew not to serve them.
Before seeing Salad Days, I knew a fair bit about punk music but after seeing it; it has taught me more about the scene and what happened in DC during that time. The film charts the history of the scene from early beginnings with bands like Bad Brains and Minor Threat, to people using the scene to get away with mindless violence, to ‘Revolution Summer’ of 1985, to how the scene helped the shape the music of the 90s. One part of the punk scene I did know about was straight edge. Straight edge is when someone doesn’t drink alcohol, smokes cigarettes or do drugs, which started when under aged kids would have their hands marked with an ‘X’ at shows so that the bar knew not to serve them.
What I didn’t know was how much trouble this caused for the scene, as people started to into two directions, straight edge or bent edge. This is one of the most entertaining parts of the documentary as lead singer of Minor Threat and Fugazi, Ian MacKaye says despite being in his 50s, he still to this day has kids prank call him, drunk, asking “Are you upset that I’m drinking?” and simply replies “No.” In fact, the most entertaining parts of Salad Days come from MacKaye, not only he is informative, he is hysterical. The documentary’s best moments do come from the wealth of punk royalty including people like Henry Rollins of Black Flag, Amy Pickering of Fire Party and even Dave Grohl, who did start out in DC punk band, Scream, before joining Nirvana.
While the overall energy of Salad Days rise and falls, it’s still an entertaining and interesting documentary. It’s a fascinating look at the DC punk scene with great interviews and very cool visuals that best suit the music. Director Scott Crawford has done a great job of using the money he raised via Kickstarter. You can see that this is something very personal to him and creates a wonderful film. If you love your punk music, you’ll love Salad Days, but if not, it’s still an enjoyable and loud rollercoaster of energy worth catching.
While the overall energy of Salad Days rise and falls, it’s still an entertaining and interesting documentary. It’s a fascinating look at the DC punk scene with great interviews and very cool visuals that best suit the music. Director Scott Crawford has done a great job of using the money he raised via Kickstarter. You can see that this is something very personal to him and creates a wonderful film. If you love your punk music, you’ll love Salad Days, but if not, it’s still an enjoyable and loud rollercoaster of energy worth catching.
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