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Poster for Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)

Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)

2015 · 1h 30m · N/A Documentary, Music
Directed by Scott Crawford

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Overview

"Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)" examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation's Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows-without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry's subsequent implosion). Thirty years later, DC's original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
80%
Tomatometer
Fresh

While the movie is best viewed as an examination of a specific place and time, it also can be seen as a celebration of a larger, more generic cultural phenomenon that one might call creative foment.

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Fresh

An enlightening documentary ...

Andy Webster, New York Times
Fresh

Scott Crawford's propulsive, decade-spanning chronicle of hardcore is marked by the same traits that typified the bands themselves: It's brainy, loud and tinged with a hint of insider preciousness

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out
Fresh

Fans will find the documentary's fast-paced but detail-oriented progress satisfying.

Dennis Harvey, Variety

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