DN:SERIES Punk
Back when the punk rock movement fully ignited, right around the time that the '60s were declared dead, cultural observers predicted punk would follow its predecessor’s path, that it would flame out too, extinguished by its too-nihilistic, too-violent, too-offensive nature.
And yet: Fifty-something years and multiple incarnations later, punk’s core is still red-hot. And while quite a few documentaries attempted to capture early, local punk scenes in real time (relying on concert footage and interviews with band members and fans) to make sense of what punk was unleashing on the world, there wasn’t really a grand overview. Now, with many of punk’s progenitors having either exited life’s great stage or entered their twilit years, the time seems ripe for punk to receive the Ken Burns-style treatment. Enter Epix TV, with producers Iggy Pop and John Varvatos (more on that later), to capture these voices in a four-part series, PUNK.
The riotous ride is split into the four epochs of the punk canon, beginning with its Detroit and New York origins, advancing to stops including London, D.C. and L.A. and winding all the way through to the SoundCloud-streaming present. What you get is: A huge industrial loft populated by punk's forefathers—and a few foremothers—including Marky Ramone, John Lydon, Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, Donita Sparks and loads of other luminaries. They sit on really nice couches (somehow a reminder that Varvatos’ flagship store now resides in the hallowed punk-temple grounds that used to house CBGB) and regale us with stories of how punk came to be and the accompanying analysis of the impact its feral energy created. If the series rarely delves beyond these anecdotes, it’s a killer jam session performed by those who lay claim to the voluminous racket of the story.
One great touch: The turntable. We’re treated to phantom drum rolls, lots of air guitar, and vocalizing as fave after fave vinyl punk record is played, lest anyone forget this is, after all, a music documentary. The needle drops, the camera pans out and a rush of youth reinvigorates the old souls, the power of punk on display. It’s enough to warm the heart of the meanest of us.
Amongst all the talk about what it was; and who influenced whom; and what the variants meant—New York punk was fun, London punk was political, hardcore punk was violent, Seattle punk was depressing—it’s "Decline and Fall of Western Civilization" director Penelope Spheeris who sums it up best in the series: “Here’s the thing with punk, either you get it or you don’t,” she says. “It’s really simple. You get it and you are it, or you don’t get it and you’re not it. It’s just so simple to me.”
Bonus Material: