Tag Archives: movies

The Boston Years Continued: Slacker Central, Part XXVIII

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By this time I was spending a lot of down time at work — that is, staying after my shift to watch the new films coming out. D was finishing up her own semester as Emerson and making plans to head back home for the summer, so we hung out when and where we could, whether it was at her dorm room (the last time I’d visit Charlesgate at that) or at my apartment. We talked a lot about what we wanted True Faith to be — sometimes argued about it as well — and worked on it when and where we could. The clock was ticking down and once again I’d be on my own.

This time, I wasn’t about to spiral into yet another one of my moods if I could help it.

Guided By Voices, Alien Lanes, released 4 April 1995. This was a band I’d always hear about but rarely ever hear on the radio except for the occasional rare play of a single or a deep cut. “Motor Away” caught on here and there, however, and this album ended up on many critics’ best-of lists.

KMFDM, Nihil, released 4 April 1995. This was one of the first bands I’d heard that revived that industrial techno sound that did so well in Europe, turned up the volume and the speed, and made it the soundtrack to several movies based on video games. “Juke Joint Jezebel” was featured on the wonderfully terrible Mortal Kombat.

The Dandy Warhols, Dandys Rule OK, released 6 April 1995. The first Dandys album is definitely grittier than their follow-up albums that would get more attention and airplay. Their pop sensibilities are already to the fore here, however.

White Zombie, Astro Creep: 2000, released 11 April 1995. Whenever “More Human Than Human” came on WFNX, I’d turn it up loud because it demands it. It’s such a badass song and its constant play helped give singer Rob Zombie the attention to go solo soon after.

Hum, You’d Prefer an Astronaut, released 11 April 1995. Another track worth turning up loud, “Stars” was such a great tune for the summer. This band took the sound of grunge and turned it into something palatable to cross-genre radio, and the album ended up a cult favorite of many. Well worth checking out.

Oasis, “Some Might Say” single, released 24 April 1995. A teaser single for the new album, this one sounded heavier and less glam than their previous singles. There was a buzz going on that this next album would be one of their best, and I couldn’t wait.

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Next up: Alone again and finding inspiration…and looking back

You see us as you want to see us…

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…in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions.

Every time I hear some blowhard talk about how these children are too young to understand — be it gender, race, sexuality, or any other bugbear that scares the bejeezus out of conservatives these days — it always reminds me just how many movies out there have been made about those same children understanding just fine and it’s the closed-minded adults who aren’t listening or paying attention.

It makes me think of Over the Edge, that 1979 film with a super young Matt Dillon, about a small nowhere town where there’s nothing to do, the cops don’t trust the kids, and the parents refuse to understand why they’re acting the way they are.

https://youtu.be/_cMYUJhChO0

It makes me think of Times Square, a 1980 film about two teenage runaways from opposite sides of NYC and how they’re both cast off, ignored and expected to conform.

It reminds me of Pump Up the Volume — a 1990 film with a whole lot of parallels to Over the Edge about, you guessed it, bored teens in a small town full of adults who won’t listen to them.

It reminds me of Permanent Record, a 1988 film about a teen’s suicide, his friends’ reactions, and the adults’ reticence about talking with them about it.

And of course, it reminds me of The Breakfast Club, the classic teen flick about kids figuring themselves out because the adults in charge are certainly doing a shit-ass job helping them.

They all have a similar theme: the kids might not be totally alright, but they’re trying as hard as they fucking can to make it through with minimal damage…all while dealing with Adults With The Best Of Intentions who obviously aren’t listening or paying attention.

I always think of those films (and soundtracks) when I see state leaders threatening to shut down any mention of the word ‘gay’, or passing laws essentially outlawing treatment for trans teens, or any other bullshit they’re on this week. It reminds me of being a teen and discovering nonconformity for the first time. It reminds me of not being able to truly be myself for fear of reprisal from adults or other teens.

And it reminds me of growing up as a teen, looking for answers but also knowing that the adults are going to give me what they think I need to hear, which might hurt more than help.