Sonic Youth Finally Release ‘1991: The Year Punk Broke’ on DVD
Reissue will include previously unseen Nirvana footage
Sonic Youth will mark the 20th anniversary of their seminal tour documentary 1991: The Year Punk Broke by finally releasing the movie on DVD on September 6th. The film, which was directed by Dave Markey while the New York art punks toured European festivals with a pre-fame Nirvana, the Ramones, Dinosaur Jr. and Babes in Toyland in 1991, has been out of print for years.
All of the footage in The Year Punk Broke has been restored and remastered, and the disc will come along with 65 minutes of previously unreleased bonus material shot during the tour. The new footage will include Nirvana performing “In Bloom” and Sonic Youth tearing through “White Cross,” “Eric’s Trip” and “Inhuman.”
1991: The Year Punk Broke is as notable for its live performances as for its candid backstage footage of Sonic Youth and Nirvana as they goof off and attempt to transition gracefully from punk obscurity to mainstream success. You can watch the documentary’s opening scene, in which Kim Gordon and Kurt Cobain perform interpretive dances near train tracks while Thurston Moore recites a goofy, Beat-inspired poem, in the clip below.
