Urgh! A Music War

Strictly speaking, film isn't a punk or New Wave docu. Musical content ranges from the hardcore California punk of the Cramps and Dead Kennedys to the Bowiesque Klaus Nomi and Gary Numan, from the new psychedelics of Echo and the Bunnymen to the reggae of Steel Pulse, and from the corrosive politics of Gang of Four and Au Pairs to the cabaret moderne of Jools Holland. In other words, if you don't like one act, an entirely different one will be along in about three minutes to take its place. Stacking one unrelated group on top of another doesn't exactly make for coherent anthologizing, but on the other hand, it does provide the opportunity to see many bands one may have heard on record but not in person or on film.