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Decline IV: The lost Penelope Spheeris documentary on Ozzfest ’99


 
Sharon Osbourne came up with the idea for Ozzfest after her Prince of Darkness husband got snubbed from playing Lollapalooza in ’96. The most reputable touring festival of its kind, Ozzfest would reach peak popularity in the new millennium, with break-out artists of the hard rock and heavy metal persuasion. It’s safe to say that bands like Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Disturbed, and Rob Zombie wouldn’t have achieved the same mainstream success if Ozzfest hadn’t riled up the head-banging degenerates of every American suburbia it blared through.
 
You are probably familiar with the work of Penelope Spheeris, most recognized for directing such films as Wayne’s World, Suburbia, The Little Rascals, and the groundbreaking underground music documentary series, The Decline of Western Civilization I-III. Spheeris is also regarded for the infamous films she declined to direct, This is Spinal Tap and Legally Blonde among them. Her refusal was due to other commitments, and in 1999, it was because of Ozzfest.
 
After releasing the third (and final) installment of The Decline, with its focus on Los Angeles gutter punks of the late-nineties, Spheeris was soon onto a new cultural phenomena, heavy metal in middle America. During the summer of 1999, the Ozzfest roadshow appeared in 26 cities throughout North America, headlined by the original lineup of Black Sabbath—their final “farewell” tour of the nineties reunion (before the next one). On the bill were soon-to-be household names of the burgeoning hard rock and nu-metal scene, including Rob Zombie, Slayer, System of a Down, Primus, Godsmack, and Static-X. And joining them to document the journey was Penelope Spheeris, directing a picture later unknown to many titled: We Sold Our Souls for Rock ’n Roll.
 

 
Envisioned with the same anthropological eye and creative brilliance that executed The Decline, Spheeris left no rock (or roll) unturned on her quest for the cultural core and essence of such a bizarre evolution within the early-internet age. Throughout the film, reckless and inebriated fans are pulled aside, musicians are questioned of their long-term relevance, and anti-satanist picketers are given the opportunity to sound even more insane. Not to mention, there are glimpses of Sabbath jamming backstage, a groupie’s tour of the Slayer tour bus, grotesque sideshow demonstrations, topless bull riding, bonfires, fights with security, and… Buckethead. Remember that scene in The Decline II when Ozzy cooks eggs? Well, in this one, we witness him pissing in the bushes of his Beverly Hills mansion. In just two years, the Osbourne family antics would gain mainstream notoriety, all thanks to MTV.
 
If the documentary had seen a wide release, I imagine it would have been as important as the other Decline films, due to like-minded outsider examination of such a raw subculture. Spheeris’ honest depiction of such a puzzling, yet beautiful, societal abnormality is truly mind-blowing and worth the attention, regardless of your take on the music. Licensing issues prevented the film from making it anywhere else besides YouTube, so I recommend that you watch ASAP before it gets pulled down.
 
Relive the glory (and madness) of Ozzfest ’99 below:
 

 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
‘I Just Want Some Skank’: They made a punk porno based on Penelope Spheeris’ cult film ‘Suburbia’
‘Turbulence 3’: The (pre-9/11) stinker of an airplane hijack film starring a fake Marilyn Manson!
“Rap Sabbath?”: Black Sabbath’s bizarre collaboration with Ice-T in 1995

Posted by Bennett Kogon
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07.02.2019
10:47 am
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‘Decline of Western Civilization’ director Penelope Spheeris: ‘I sold out, let’s face it’


 
In a wonderfully frank interview with Irish broadcaster Tom Dunne, flimmaker Penelope Spheeris, whose triumphant Decline Of Western Civilization documentary trilogy was FINALLY released on DVD this year after decades spent as a prohibitively costly VHS rarity, spoke edifyingly about the schizoid nature of her career, and its trajectory from documentaries about low-life music scenes to Wayne’s World:

I can’t regret doing a goofy movie about heavy metal - and I have to admit it is - but for the most part I have to thank the Lord that I was actually able to make a living after that. I was 45 years old and I was borrowing money from my sister trying to pay the rent. Then I got Wayne’s World and I was a millionaire overnight.

It was totally dramatic. I didn’t know how to handle it. I was some white chick from a trailer park and I was like uh I don’t know what to do with all this money, I still don’t ‘cause in my brain I’m still poor.

I didn’t want to do them, but they started offering me more and more money. They don’t do that now. They get some kid s out of school and pay them nothing. But they were offering me all this money to do The Beverly Hillbillies and The Little Rascals and I thought if I can’t do what I want to do, I might as well make some money. So I did. I sold out. Let’s face it.

It irks me pretty much bottomlessly anymore to see an artist have to be self-deprecating about taking a good gig—is there any other way to sell besides “out?” That tedious ‘90s bullshit Fugzai conversation about remaining indie at all costs seems to have cost a fair few great bands potential paydays, and frankly, I think the hip-hop GET PAID AT ALL COSTS ethos reflects the reality of the artist much more accurately than the whole commie puritan Maximum Rock ‘N’ Roll it’s-unethical-to-make-money-from-your-art trip. Look at Steven Soderbergh—with the fat cash he made from the Ocean’s series of high-budget caper flicks, he has the time, resources, and flexibility to make interesting and provocative work like The Girlfriend Experience and The Knick. Spheeris used her fame to complete her punk doc trilogy, and since nobody actually put a gun to my head and made me watch The Little Rascals, why should I care that someone who made work I respect got a payday for something to which I’m indifferent? Money doesn’t get thrown at an artist every day, and if you’re not hurting anybody, I say when it comes, TAKE IT.

The NewsTalk interview, and more, after the jump…

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Posted by Ron Kretsch
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08.26.2015
11:45 am
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‘The Decline of Western Civilization’ trilogy gets a DVD/Blu-ray release - WITH LOADS OF EXTRAS!


 
Penelope Spheeris’ brilliant Decline of Western Civilization is an infamous document of the early ‘80s LA punk scene featuring interviews and mind-blowing performance footage of The Germs, X, Fear, Circle Jerks, and Black Flag, among others. Her follow-up, Decline of Western Civilization Part II - The Metal Years, follows the mid-‘80s LA glam metal scene and features Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Mustaine and Paul Stanley along with some amusing lesser-known hair-bands. It also famously features one of the most depressing interviews ever caught on film - a brutally pathetic poolside chat with alcoholic WASP guitarist, Chris Holmes. The third film in Spheeris’ trilogy, The Decline of Western Civilization III, is lesser known, but a fascinating look at the crusty squatter-punk scene of the mid-‘90s featuring musical performances by Final Conflict, Litmus Green, Naked Aggression and The Resistance.

Spheeris’ Decline of Western Civilization trilogy has been at the top of countless fans most-wanted DVD lists forever. I’ve personally been trying to replace my well-worn VHS copy since the dawn of the DVD format. Over the years there have been many hints that the films would get a proper digital video release. As far back as the late 90’s there was a website promising an “upcoming” release of the trilogy. As these films, particularly the first installment, have been at the tip-top of my must-have-list, I’ve followed the progress with an eagle eye. Spheeris has dropped hints on her Facebook page for years—at times promising a deluxe set loaded with extras. There were rumors that Black Flag’s notoriously difficult Greg Ginn was holding up the process. Though those rumors are unconfirmed and were never actually put forward by the Spheeris camp, it’s well known that Ginn has prevented film maker Dave Markey from releasing the Black Flag documentary Reality 86’d, as well as forcing him to remove the Black Flag footage from Markey’s other film The Slog Movie—which is itself sort of a low-rent version of the first Decline movie.
 

 
A lot of punk and metalhead DVD prayers got answered when, without fanfare or a press-release, a box set of the trilogy showed up for preorder on Amazon.

Continues after the jump…

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Posted by Christopher Bickel
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03.24.2015
09:20 am
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Punk rock is coming for your children! Arrogant talk show host blows an easy one


 
The alarmist punk-rock-is-coming-for-your-children episode of everywhere’s local talk show was practically a genre unto itself around 1980. They typically followed a template: a safe, comfortable, grinning suburbanite moderator projects his or her values onto a movement s/he doesn’t understand at all, and expects a handful of alienated, hobo-looking kids that the producer dug up somewhere to represent punk as a whole, as though a couple of random petulant runaways should shoulder the responsibility of justifying the existence of a broad international musical and cultural movement. On better shows, they found bright kids, and the hosts at least made an effort at understanding the new weirdness, instead of just hectoring their guests about their negativity, as though all art was invalid unless it existed solely to entertain them personally.

This is not one of the better shows.
 

 
Stanley Siegel was an interviewer of some repute, who fancied himself audacious and uncompromising, but was often really just kind of a showboating dick. In one infamous episode, Siegel physically restrained Timothy Leary before sandbagging him with a surprise phone call from Art Linkletter, who blamed LSD, and by extension, Leary, for his daughter’s suicide. So yeah, THAT kind of showboating dick. On his obligatory punk rock scold show (IS IT A DEATH TRIP OR A RITE OF PASSAGE?), he managed to book credible guests and proceeded to treat them with amazing condescension. In addition to the usual few aimless kids, Siegel landed Penelope Spheeris, director of the canonical L.A. punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, and artist Gary Panter, whose logo for the band Screamers is such an elemental piece of punk art that it’s probably much better-remembered than the band itself. He’d become even better known as a cartoonist for RAW and as the set designer for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.

Spheeris, right out of the gate, is just not having any of Siegel. At first it seems like she’s trying a little too hard to affect disaffection, but soon enough, what looked at first like brazen posturing (“I’d like to be a hooker?” Really?) becomes more than justified by Siegel’s smug, curt patronization. Real quote: “This woman actually produced and directed a film!” Spheeris would go on to make the cult classic Suburbia and the mainstream classic Wayne’s World, and is still directing. Not sure Siegel’s career was quite so storied, but whatever. It’s all pretty eminently watchable.
 

 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Ron Kretsch
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12.19.2014
01:00 pm
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Masque Founder Brendan Mullen Dies From Stroke

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Sad news as Brendan Mullen, founder of LA’s pioneering punk rock cub The Masque, passed away earlier today from a stroke.  Here’s what Variety had to say about this absolutely essential Angeleno (by way of Scotland):

Mullen emigrated from London to Los Angeles in 1973.  He created the Masque—a dank, soon graffiti-scarred 10,000-foot space at 1655 N. Cherokee, behind and beneath the Pussycat adult theater on Hollywood Boulevard—in June 1977 as a low-rent rehearsal space for local musicians.  (Mullen himself played drums in his own punk lounge act, the Satintones.)

It quickly morphed into the principal performance venue for the city’s then-nascent punk scene, mounting its first show by the Skulls on Aug. 18, 1977.  It served as a stage and a hangout for an honor roll of first-generation punk groups: the Germs, X, the Go-Go’s, the Screamers, the Flesh Eaters, the Weirdos, the Alleycats, the Plugz, the Bags.

The freewheeling Masque, where the charming and oft-acerbic Mullen hosted the proceedings, was a magnet for the antipathy of local merchants and daily scrutiny by police, fire, and licensing officials, and was soon cited by city authorities for various licensing violations.

Closed and reopened more than once, it moved to another space on Santa Monica Boulevard before shuttering permanently in February 1979.

Mullen is seen in the abandoned Cherokee Avenue club in W.T. Morgan’s 1986 documentary about X, “The Unheard Music.”

From 1981-92, Mullen booked shows at the Sunset Boulevard bar Club Lingerie.  His diverse shows included sets by talent ranging from veteran R&B, blues, and rock ‘n’ roll acts to hip-hoppers and avant garde rockers.  He also mounted dates at the downtown Variety Arts Center in the late ‘80s, and stage managed some of the L.A. Weekly’s music awards shows.

In recent years, Mullen prolifically chronicled the history of L.A. punk, and, not incidentally, his own role in the scene.

His books included “We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk” (2001, with Marc Spitz); “Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs” (2002, with Don Bolles and Adam Parfrey); and the photo history “Live at the Masque: Nightmare in Punk Alley” (2007).  He also authored the Jane’s Addiction oral history “Whores” (2005).

Mullen is survived by his longtime companion Kateri Butler.

 
Beyond the above clip from The Decline of Western Civilization, there’s not much of Mullen online, but, as a nod to his significance, there’s probably no better day than today to share as well my second favorite video of all time (after this one).  It’s from The Unheard Music.  In it, X rips through The Doors’ Soul Kitchen with some onstage help from Ray Manzarek

Whatever your thoughts may be on Manzarek and The Doors (and believe me, my own thoughts on the matter have ranged wildly over the years), I return to this “torch-passing” clip over and over again.  Sure, it reminds me that no matter how many times I saw X as a kid, it was still never enough—could never be enough.

But it also tethers me to a moment in LA time I was privileged enough to have witnessed up close (too close, sometimes, depending on the act and the stage).

A moment that felt, in clips like this one, intensely connected to some larger arc of history.  Even on our most receptive days, those moments of connection to a place and time can be a hard thing to muster.  Indirectly or not, Mr. Mullen provided me with some of mine. 

My thoughts are with Kateri Butler and the family of Brendan Mullen.

 
Brendan Mullen In Swindle Magazine

Bonus: The Weirdos do Helium Bar

In Variety: Club Promoter Brendan Mullen Dies

In the LAT: Local Punk Champion, Masque Founder Brendan Mullen Dies

(with thanks to Ian Raikow)

Posted by Bradley Novicoff
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10.12.2009
07:17 pm
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