1991: The Year Punk Broke

1991: The Year Punk Broke, released theatrically in 1992, is a documentary directed by Dave Markey, 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. 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 Cole.

Several scenes in the film involve re-enactments and references to scenes from the 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.

Cast

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

The songs included in the film are:

Sonic Youth – “Schizophrenia”
Nirvana – “Negative Creep”
Sonic Youth – “Brother James”
Nirvana – “School”
Sonic Youth – “Teen Age Riot”
Dinosaur Jr. – “Freak Scene”
Babes In Toyland – “Dust Cake Boy”
Sonic Youth – “Dirty Boots”
Nirvana – “Endless, Nameless”
Sonic Youth – “I Love Her All The Time”
Gumball – “Pre”
Dinosaur Jr. – “The Wagon”
Sonic Youth – “Mote”
Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
The Ramones – “Commando”
Sonic Youth – “Kool Thing”
Nirvana – “Polly”
Sonic Youth – “Expressway To Yr. Skull”

Tour dates

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:

Home Media

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.