1991: The Year Punk Broke

1991: The Year Punk Broke
VHS box cover of 1991: The Year Punk Broke
Directed byDave Markey
Produced byWe Got Power Productions
Sonic Life
Music bySonic Youth
Nirvana
Dinosaur Jr
Babes in Toyland
Gumball
The Ramones
Distributed byTara Films
Release date
  • December 24, 1992 (1992-12-24)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

1991: The Year Punk Broke, released theatrically in 1992, is a documentary directed by Dave Markey,[1][2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

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.

  1. ^ Gaar, Gillian (September 21, 2023). "11 Reasons Why 1993 Was Nirvana's Big Year". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  2. ^ O'Driscoll, Des (2021). "Nirvana in Cork: The legendary 1991 gig in Sir Henrys". Irish Examiner. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  3. ^ Pearis, Bill (August 6, 2021). "1991: The Year Punk Broke,' '24 Hour Party People & more showing at "Screen Slate" @ Roxy Cinema 10th anniversary". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Spitz, Marc (September 23, 2011). "Generation X In a Time Capsule". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2021.