The Decline Of Western Civilization
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The Decline Of Western Civilization
''The Decline of Western Civilization'' is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a letter demanding the film not be shown again in the city. The film's title is possibly a reference to music critic Lester Bangs' 1970 two-part review of the Stooges' album ''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''). In '' We Got the Neutron Bomb'', an oral history of the L.A. punk rock scene collected by Marc Spitz, Claude Bessy aka: Kickboy, claims that he came up with the title. The film is the opening act of a trilogy by Spheeris, depicting music scenes in Los Angeles ...
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Germs (band)
The Germs were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1976 to 1980. The band's "classic" lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom and drummer Don Bolles. They released only one album, 1979's ''(GI)'', produced by Joan Jett, and were featured in Penelope Spheeris' seminal documentary film ''The Decline of Western Civilization'', which chronicled the Los Angeles punk movement. The Germs disbanded following Crash's suicide in 1980. Their music was influential to many later rock acts, and Smear went on to achieve greater fame performing with Nirvana and Foo Fighters. In 2005, actor Shane West was cast to play Crash in the biographical film '' What We Do Is Secret''. He performed with Smear, Doom, and Bolles at the film's wrap party, and afterwards, the Germs reunited with West as their new frontman. This lineup of the band toured worldwide, which included performances at the 2006 and 2008 Warped Tours. ...
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The Decline Of The West
''The Decline of the West'' (german: Der Untergang des Abendlandes; more literally, ''The Downfall of the Occident''), is a two-volume work by Oswald Spengler. The first volume, subtitled ''Form and Actuality'', was published in the summer of 1918. The second volume, subtitled ''Perspectives of World History'', was published in 1922. The definitive edition of both volumes was published in 1923. Spengler introduced his book as a " Copernican overturning"—a specific metaphor of societal collapse—involving the rejection of the Eurocentric view of history, especially the division of history into the linear "ancient-medieval- modern" rubric. According to Spengler, the meaningful units for history are not epochs but whole cultures which evolve as organisms. In his framework, the terms "culture" and "civilization" were given non-standard definitions and cultures are described as having lifespans of about a thousand years of flourishing, and a thousand years of decline. To Spen ...
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Supine Position
The supine position ( or ) means lying horizontally with the face and torso facing up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down. When used in surgical procedures, it grants access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardial regions; as well as the head, neck and extremities. Using anatomical terms of location, the dorsal side is down, and the ventral side is up, when supine. Semi-supine In scientific literature "semi-supine" commonly refers to positions where the upper body is tilted (at 45° or variations) and not completely horizontal. Relation to sudden infant death syndrome The decline in death due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is said to be attributable to having babies sleep in the supine position. The realization that infants sleeping face down, or in a prone position, had an increased mortality rate re-emerged into medical awareness at the end of the 1980s when two researchers, Susan Beal in Australia and Gus De Jonge in the Netherlands, indep ...
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Subculture
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, political, and sexual matters. Subcultures are part of society while keeping their specific characteristics intact. Examples of subcultures include BDSM, hippies, goths, bikers, punks, skinheads, hip-hoppers, metalheads, and cosplayers. The concept of subcultures was developed in sociology and cultural studies. Subcultures differ from countercultures. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines subculture, in regards to sociological and cultural anthropology, as "an identifiable subgroup within a society or group of people, esp. one characterized by beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger group; the distinctive ideas, practices, or way of life of such a subgroup." As early as 1950, David Riesman distinguished b ...
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Fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and first popularized within science fiction fandom, and from there the term was adopted by other communities. Typically, publishers, editors, writers and other contributors of Article (publishing), articles or illustrations to fanzines are not paid. Fanzines are traditionally circulated free of charge, or for a nominal cost to defray postage or production expenses. Copies are often offered in exchange for similar publications, or for contributions of art, articles, or letters of comment (LoCs), which are then published. Some fanzines are typed and photocopied by amateurs using standard home office equipme ...
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Slash (fanzine)
''Slash'' was a punk rock-related fanzine published by Steve Samiof and Melanie Nissen in the United States from 1977 to 1980. The magazine was a large-format tabloid focused on the Los Angeles punk scene. The fanzine also gave birth to Slash Records, an important punk record label. Description ''Slash'' regularly covered such L.A. bands as the Screamers, the Skulls, Nervous Gender, and X. It did not restrict itself to local acts; its first cover featured Dave Vanian of the Damned. It also featured articles and reviews on reggae, blues, and rockabilly, in doing so, introduced punk audiences to a wide range of then-unfamiliar musical genres. Writers Claude "Kickboy Face" Bessy, Craig Lee, Richard Meltzer, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Chris D., Allan MacDonell and Pleasant Gehman, and cartoonist Gary Panter were among the major contributors. Photo contributors included David Arnoff, Susan Carson, Kerry Colonna, Ed Colver, Diane Gamboa, Frank Gargani, Jenny Lens, Melanie Nissen, ...
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National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception in 1988. History Through the 1980s, several prominent filmmakers and industry personalities in the United States, such as Frank Capra and Martin Scorsese, advocated for Congress to enact a film preservation bill in order to avoid commercial modifications (such as pan and scan and editing for TV) of classic films, which they saw as negative. In response to the controversy over the colorization of originally black and white films in the decade specifically, Representatives Robert J. Mrazek and Sidney R. Yates introduced the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, which established the National Film Registry, its purpose, and the criteria for selecting films for preservation. The Act was passed and the NFR's mission was subsequently reau ...
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Library Of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains a conservation center in Culpeper, Virginia. The library's functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages." Congress moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800 after holding sessions for eleven years in the temporary national capitals in New York City and Philadelphia. In both cities, members of the U.S. Congress had access to the sizable collection ...
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Gutter Punk
A gutter punk is a homeless or transient individual who displays a variety of specific lifestyle traits and characteristics that often, but not always, are associated with the punk subculture. Attributes may include unkempt dreadlocks, nose rings, Mohawk hairstyles, and tattooed faces. Gutter punks are sometimes referred to as "crusties", "crusty punks", or "crust punks"; "traveling" or "traveler kids"; "traveling" or "traveler punks", or simply "travelers"; and "punk hobos" or "hobo-punks", among other terms. Some self-identified gutter punks may distinguish themselves from "crusties" or "crust punks" and " travellers", and vice versa; however, there is considerable overlap between the groups, and the terms are often used interchangeably. Nomenclature In addition to the term "gutter punk", members of the gutter punk subculture may also be described as "crusties", "crusty punks", "crust kids", or "crust punks". Other terms used to describe gutter punks include "travelers", ana ...
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The Decline Of Western Civilization III
''The Decline of Western Civilization III'' is a 1998 documentary film, directed by Penelope Spheeris, that chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers. It is the third film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points in time. The first film, ''The Decline of Western Civilization'' (1981), dealt with the punk rock scene during 1980–1981. The second film, '' The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years'' (1988), covers the Los Angeles heavy metal movement of 1986–1988. Spheeris later credited the 1998 film with having a profound effect on her. She began a relationship with a man she met while filming the movie, signed up to be a foster parent, and eventually fostered five children. Synopsis The film involves gutter punks who take the anti-establishment message with extreme seriousness and tune out society completely. Spheeris talks to homeless teenagers living on the street or squatting in abandoned buildings in Lo ...
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Heavy Metal Music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, monumental sound characterized by distortion (music), distorted guitars, extended guitar solos, emphatic Beat (music), beats and loudness. In 1968, three of the genre's most famous pioneers – Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple – were founded. Though they came to attract wide audiences, they were often derided by critics. Several American bands modified heavy metal into more accessible forms during the 1970s: the raw, sleazy sound and shock rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss (band), Kiss; the blues-rooted rock of Aerosmith; and the flashy guitar leads and party rock of Van Halen. During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence,Walser (1993), p. 6 while Motörhea ...
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The Metal Years
The Metal Years may refer to: *'' The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years'', 1988 documentary film *'' Career of Evil: The Metal Years'', 1990 album by Blue Öyster Cult * ''The Metal Years'' (album), 2008 album by band London, live recorded session that took place in 1989 right after their appearance in ''The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Metal Years, The ...
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