The Decline of Western Civilization

“He said I hit him with a chain.  I guess I did.  I was a little bit drunk. I don’t remember.”

Lately I’ve been reading Dave Mustaine’s autobiography, “Mustaine”, and in it he mentions that Megadeth appeared in The Decline of Western Civilization Part II.  That reminded me to watch the first one but of course I had to see the second one now too.  As far as “Mustaine” goes it’s a good read.  I don’t really listen to metal but I knew this book would be cool to check out because of Dave’s inability to let go of his aggression towards Metallica for kicking him out right before they got huge.  He’s got a lot of crazy stories, most of them involving rampant drug use.  How true they are who knows but they sure are fun to read.

Anyway, The Decline of Western Civilization is about punk music in 1979 and 1980 in LA.  The bands showcased like The Germs, The Circle Jerks and X don’t give a fuck about anything.  The music is fast, angry and almost indecipherable.  There’s so much distortion and the singing is yelled so it’s difficult to really process what you’re listening to.  But I guess that’s part of the genre.  Not that all punk is like this but ferocious sloppiness is certainly a mainstay for some enthusiasts.

Signing to a major label seems to be the ultimate dilemma for these groups.  On one hand it would mean potentially more money and fame but on the other it would go against their morals.  But such labels don’t appear to be looking to bring these types of punk bands onto their rosters anyway.  Even the small indie labels have a real hard time putting up with bullshit like band members injuring themselves and putting on shows so rowdy that it becomes increasingly difficult to find venues that will allow the bands to play.  But the hypothetical question of “would you sign to a major label?” makes these folks stop and think for a minute.

The title is pretty genius.  It didn’t take me long to realize what director Penelope Spheeris (Wayne’s World, The Beverly Hillbillies) was getting at.  These bands stand against conventional society.  Like for instance the guys in Black Flag live in a tiny graffiti filled space where one member sleeps in a closet and another in what looks like a cupboard.  They don’t make any money or have any possessions besides their music equipment and that’s the way they want it to be.

This anti-societal sentiment that carries through the film is a bit depressing.  You know, like you really are witnessing the decline of western civilization.  Is this where music and the youth of America were heading?  Into a trash filled pit while railing against anything that most people would consider a normal existence?  It’s anti-art, anti-establishment, anti-everything.  There is no right answer.  Whatever is popular or deemed to be “good” or what’s considered “progress” is bad.  You kind of can’t reason with a mentality like that.

This was a pretty interesting doc.  There’s a lot of punk music in it, like full length performances of songs, which didn’t tickle my fancy that much.  It’s all about the stuff in between.