Musical Globe

Based on Steven Blush’s ‘American Hardcore: A Tribal History’, the film expertly chronicles the brief history of hardcore punk rock in America, from 1980 - 1986, weaving rare concert footage with interviews and other archival and current-day material. ‘American Hardcore... is not a music documentary but rather a piece of American subcultural history,’ Rachman told once. This was a kids’ movement that spread throughout the suburbs of America at a time when Ronald Reagan was sweeping the country with conservatism. Film speaks about how kids back then raged their anger through music that not only was punk rock but was a message about their frustration to how America was changing. Rachman draws on amazing footage of scene leaders such as Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and Black Flag to tell the story, and splices them with interview clips from band members, scenesters, fanzine writers, label bosses, and plenty of the freaks and misfits who were drawn to the pummeling sounds of hardcore.