1991: The Year Punk Broke (DVD)
UMe

Nobody really knew it at the time but when this footage from Sonic Youth's 1991 tour of Europe was filmed a sea change was about to occur in popular music. Nirvana was also along on the tour, about a month away from releasing their breakthrough Nevermind album and setting the tone for the musical direction of the ensuing decade. There is no narration to this documentary; instead a well-thought out series of vignettes, sprung from the fertile mind of Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, capture the times. There is performance footage; Sonic Youth is caught on film ripping through "Kool Thing," "Teenage Riot," "Dirty Boots" and "Schizophrenia" but it is perhaps the Nirvana footage that is more telling as the trio plays nascent versions of "Polly," "Negative Creep" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Moore's off stage posturing is mostly interesting but he comes off as obtuse in a couple of places; in one segment he's trying to get opinions out of a few men-on-the-street but his rambling highbrow method of posing his question leaves the respondents speechless. There's typical backstage nonsense and a particularly goofy segment finds Dave Grohl trashing the day's food spread. Very good editing though keeps 1991 from bogging down and there's an excellent performance-to-off stage footage ratio that keeps the film riveting. The film doesn't attempt to draw any conclusions or make any point other than that indicated in its title; it merely present a time capsule and lets the viewer get what they want out of it. Dinosaur Jr., Gumball and Babes in Toyland also appear in performance footage as do, very briefly, the Ramones.

Hits Are for Squares (CD)
Geffen