Monday, January 14, 2013

DVD Review. Circle Jerks - My Career As A Jerk



The Circle Jerks debut album ‘Group Sex’ is considered a reference point of substantial significance in the progression of the punk movement in LA. Ploughing through the 14 tracks of their debut in just over fifteen minutes of tight trashy guitar, pounding drums and distinct vocal appealed to the rowdy belligerence of America’s youth culture who embraced not only the sound of the Circle Jerks but their volleying quick-fire politically drenched bursts of sarcastic lyrical hyperbole - matched to perfection by the hyper-energetic, whirling dervish and chaotic majesty of their live performances. Celebrating the life and times of the influential band who - although made a big enough name for themselves - always seemed to be deserving of a bit more than what they had, filmmaker David Markey’s latest documentary ‘Circle Jerks: My Life As A Jerk’ due to be released on DVD this month, is a fascinating in-depth examination of the band from their early beginnings and groundbreaking debut album, the tours, fights, addictions, successes and break-ups. Markey’s incredible gift for creating these particular music/film documentaries is well known - he was the man behind ‘1991: The Year Punk Broke’, the collected music video and short films showcase ‘Cut Short’ from 2006 and ‘The Slog Movie’ from 1982 as well as his work with bands that include Sonic Youth, Nirvana, The Ramones and Black Flag. It is that same sharp edged, comprehensive style found on his past projects that breath life into this illuminative statement. And though the dramatic unfolding of scandal might be fun to hear it’s usually not all there is to a band and thankfully David Markey is experienced and aware enough to know that facts that fans already know wont be enough to make this interesting so he gets the core band members to recount their version of being a Circle Jerk from start to finish. It’s a flawless historical perspective of the influential seminal punks and possibly one of the most insightful bouts of audio/visual scrutinising I’ve ever seen.

Thanks to Claire at Weinerworld DVD Distributors


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