The Decline of Western Civilization 1981 (VHS)

The Decline of Western Civilization
[Media Home Entertainment, Nu Image Films, 1981]
Documantary Movie about punk, hardcore

The Decline of Western Civilization is an American documentary film filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie was directed by Penelope Spheeris about the Los Angeles punk rock scene. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a letter demanding the film not be shown again in L.A. Over the years the film has gained cult status.
The film’s title is possibly a reference to famous music critic Lester Bangs’ 1970 two-part review of The Stooges’ Fun House for Creem magazine, where Bangs quotes a friend who had said the popularity of The Stooges signaled “the decline of Western civilization.” Another possibility is that the title refers to Darby Crash’s reading of Oswald Spengler’s Der Untergang des Abendlandes (The Decline of the West).
The film is the opening act of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points. The second film covers the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1986-1988. The third film chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers in the late 1990s.



LIVE Performances
The Bags - “Gluttony” “Prowlers in the Night”
Black Flag - “Depression” “Revenge”“White Minority”
Circle Jerks - “Back Against the Wall” “Beverly Hills” “I Just Want Some Skank” “Red Tape” “Wasted”
Catholic Discipline - “Barbee Doll Lust” “Underground Babylon”
Fear - “Beef Bologna” “I Don’t Care About You” “I Love Living in the City” “Let’s Have a War” “Fear Anthem”
The Germs - “Manimal” “Shutdown”
X - “Beyond and Back” “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene”“Nausea” “Unheard Music” “We’re Desperate”

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The Decline of Western Civilization
[Slash, 1981]
genre: punk, rock, hardcore

The soundtrack was released in January 1981 by Slash Records on LP. The soundtrack was released in the late 1990s on CD as well. It is out of print. Germs singer Darby Crash appears on the soundtrack album cover. He died shortly before the film was released, though the promotional images for the film and album release had been designed before his death.



Track listing

1”White Minority” – Black Flag
2”Depression” – Black Flag
3”Revenge” – Black Flag
4”Manimal” – The Germs
5”Underground Babylon” – Catholic Discipline
6”Beyond And Back” – X
7”Johnny Hit And Run Paulene” – X
8”We’re Desperate” – X
9”Red Tape” – Circle Jerks
10”Back Against The Wall” – Circle Jerks
11”I Just Want Some Skank” – Circle Jerks
12”Beverly Hills” – Circle Jerks
13”Gluttony” – The Bags
14”I Don’t Care About You” – Fear
15”I Love Livin’ In The City” – Fear
16”Fear Anthem” – Fear