1991: The Year Punk Broke

1991: The Year Punk Broke, released theatrically in 1992, is a documentary directed by Dave Markey,[1] featuring American alternative rock band Sonic Youth on tour in Europe in 1991. While Sonic Youth is the focus of the documentary, the film also gives attention to Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., Babes in Toyland, Gumball and The Ramones.[2] Also featured in the film are Mark Arm, Dan Peters and Matt Lukin of Mudhoney and roadie Joe Cole, who was murdered in a robbery three months after the tour ended. The film is dedicated to him.[3]

Several scenes in the film involve re-enactments and references to scenes from the contemporaneous Madonna tour documentary, Truth or Dare, such as Gordon complaining about "industry people" in the front row, or Cobain, introduced as "Costner" telling Sonic Youth that their show was "neat". At a screening of the film at the 2008 All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Monticello, New York, Markey mentioned that the working title for the film was Tooth or Hair, as a further play on this connection. A home video VHS was released by the David Geffen Company on April 13, 1993. The film was again re-released on DVD on September 13, 2011 by the Universal Music Group.[4][3]

Cast[edit]

 * Sonic Youth


 * Kim Gordon
 * Thurston Moore
 * Lee Ranaldo
 * Steve Shelley


 * Babes in Toyland


 * Lori Barbero
 * Kat Bjelland
 * Michelle Leon


 * Dinosaur Jr.


 * Mike Johnson
 * J Mascis
 * Murph


 * Gumball


 * Don Fleming
 * Jay Spiegel
 * Eric Vermillion


 * Mudhoney


 * Mark Arm
 * Matt Lukin
 * Dan Peters


 * Nirvana


 * Kurt Cobain
 * Dave Grohl
 * Krist Novoselic


 * Ramones


 * C. J. Ramone
 * Joey Ramone
 * Johnny Ramone
 * Marky Ramone


 * Others


 * Nic Close
 * Joe Cole
 * Dave Kendall
 * Courtney Love
 * Dave Markey
 * Craig Montgomery
 * Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü
 * Susanne Sasic
 * Peter Van Der Velde - tour manager
 * Dave Evans - driver

Songs included in the film[edit]
The songs included in the film are:[5][6]


 * 1) Sonic Youth - “Schizophrenia”
 * 2) Nirvana - “Negative Creep”
 * 3) Sonic Youth - “Brother James”
 * 4) Nirvana - “School”
 * 5) Sonic Youth - “Teen Age Riot”
 * 6) Dinosaur Jr. - “Freak Scene”
 * 7) Babes In Toyland - “Dust Cake Boy”
 * 8) Sonic Youth - “Dirty Boots”
 * 9) Nirvana - “Endless, Nameless”
 * 10) Sonic Youth - “I Love Her All The Time”
 * 11) Gumball - “Pre”
 * 12) Dinosaur Jr. - “The Wagon”
 * 13) Sonic Youth - “Mote”
 * 14) Nirvana - “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
 * 15) The Ramones - “Commando”
 * 16) Sonic Youth - “Kool Thing”
 * 17) Nirvana - “Polly”
 * 18) Sonic Youth - “Expressway To Yr. Skull”

Tour dates[edit]
The film takes place over the course of Sonic Youth and Nirvana's 1991 European tour. The European dates, given at the beginning of the film, are as follows: