“Powerful movements stem from a petri dish of great ideas and with four to five hundred people living in a city where the industry is government the counter culture is sure to grow rapidly.”
This documentary really pushes the point home that a lot of very interesting things were coming out of the D.C. scene already at this point, which only helped bring this movement on so aggressively. “Isolation breeds individuality” that could not be more true as a reflection in general for most of our lives, let alone just in the punk community. This was no more prevalent than rather the rule of the punk scene at this time and will be the shared sentiment of everyone involved for many years to come.
I really enjoyed the story Ian Mackaye regaled us about the time The Cramps played at the Hall of Nations and vomited everywhere then left the stage very soon then to come back and play some more. I’m sure that reminds us all of the early days of our introduction to punk rock whether it’s purely visually or even on a more visceral level as maybe the regurgitator of that situation itself.
Many of those they chose to interview for this documentary just had a wealth of knowledge to share or would spew glorious nuggets of pontificated gold that I wanted to write everything down to share. That D.C. was an “Island of Misfit Toys” was one of my favorite analogies and was obviously a tribute to Rudolph the red nosed reindeer of all things. This part of the country really was just a pocket surrounded by the restrains of the many and only let the few escape its lustrous grip.
The Faith/Void split was always one those records that everybody into hardcore talked about and used as a reflection of what the movement was and will be. I listened to it again today just to see if that sentiment still rang true and it most definitely still does. The idea of “All Ages” and holding yourself to self-responsibility was what I always enjoyed about the straight edge revolution but I myself always avoided because of the turned and twisted view that most of the militant crews view to this day.
“The Straightedge movement started out with good intentions but only ended up as a way to divide people.” The sheer power and force behind bands in the D.C. area always left me wanting to fight another day and for that I thank them all, no matter what side of the “Edge” we are on. What “Can I Say” throw on some Dag Nasty and enjoy LIFE.
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, D.C. / https://www.facebook.com/saladdaysdoc/
Review by David Kirkwood