Steven Hanseter: Im forty-nine years old, never been a smoker, never been drunk. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. Brought up in her fathers travelling carnival, Penelope Spheeris was the ideal person to turn the camera on the three-ring circus that was the 80s/90s Sunset Strip scene. Another measure of increasing complexity is called Energy Return on Investment (EROI). So then I had an amazing time hangin out with Ronnie and the boys. Studying the demise of historic civilisations can tell us how much risk we face today, says collapse expert Luke Kemp. Hair metal was rife in the late 1980s on LAs Sunset Strip, and Spheeris was there to capture it all. I play with [former Angel singer] Frank DiMino when Im not touring with Armored Saint and have made a living as a musician all these years, which is all I ever wanted ever since I was little. We already had our deal with Elektra Records, and wed just finished doing the first album, but it hadnt been released yet when we did the interview. Every once in a while well play a Seduce gig, a couple of thousand people show up and its like playing a school reunion. However, their self-destruction is usually assisted. I still have it its at my mums. COMPLEXITY:Collapse expert and historian Joseph Tainter has proposed that societies eventually collapse under the weight of their own accumulated complexity and bureaucracy. The documentary was equally entertaining, even if the focus was less on the music and more on musicians' lust for sex, drugs and stardom. As far as how we were and what we did, how we lived, it was pretty accurate party all the time. Sometimes disasters combined, as was the case with the Spanish introducing salmonella to the Americas. Environmental degradation and climate change I worked for the Rolling Stones for three years doing the CD-ROM for the Voodoo Lounge tour. I was just a dumb kid back then. The Decline Of Western Civilization series ends with its weakest instalment, but it's still a monumental achievement in filmmaking and pop-culture sociology. London were interviewed in the IRS Records offices on Sunset Boulevard, which was next to a modelling agency, so it was fucking amazing. He has interviewed three of the four Beatles, all of Abba and been nursed through a bad attack of food poisoning on a tour bus in South America by Robert Smith of The Cure. I certainly dont wanna do it unless its the full original band, and Randy O doesnt seem interested. Are the lessons of agrarian empires applicable to our post-18th Century period of industrial capitalism? With Eugene Tatu, Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline. Non-replacement birth rates. Since much of the west had already fallen by the middle of the 5th century CE, when a writer speaks . Statistical analysis of previous societies suggests that this happens in cycles. So I quit my job and bought a one-way ticket for a hundred and nine dollars from Chicago to LA-X. Ive got long hair, but Im a businessman.. But the conflict between civilizations during the 2020 US election has revealed some problems that are emerging in the West. In the film I talked about the size of my dick. Since its first publication in two volumes between 1918-1923, The Decline of the West has ranked as one of the most widely read and most talked about books of our time. Stay up to date with in depth music reviews, exclusive interviews and widespread coverage of whats happening from your favourite music genre. It was Penelopes idea to film us in the hot tub, at her house, says guitarist Jeff Duncan. South Central were big for backyard shows when I was around and even now still living in the area, they're still around. "What can oppose the decline of the west is not a resurrected culture but the utopia that is silently contained in the image of its decline.". Featuring rough-ready footage shot at gigs and candid interviews with future punk stars, this film is a slim time capsule of a nascent music scene not yet exploited through commerce or destroyed by day jobs. Worse, he predicts that the end of the next 50-year cycle, in around 2020, will coincide with the turbulent part of the longer cycle, causing a period of political unrest that is at least on a par . So I came up with this idea for a website called Metal Sludge, where we would make fun of the eighties, a very affectionate piss-take. After a few weeks the club was packed. And in the letter I said: Mom, Im sure youve always wondered in the back of your mind if you brought us kids up right. Then I just wrote: After getting to fifty-five, Ive realised I had the best upbringing of anybody I know. The theory of normal accidents suggests that complex technological systems regularly give way to failure. How Western civilisation could collapse. We are only doomed if we are unwilling to listen to the past. Were all still friends, none of us are destitute Seduce in the 80s. I love you, Chris.. More skilled populations may have a greater capacity to respond to crises as they arise. These days, the mythology of that era now revolves largely around Guns N Roses, Aerosmith and Alice Cooper, all of whom feature prominently in the film, but its most memorable moments and unforgettable utterances came from the eras young hopefuls who never quite scaled the heights they dreamed of. 10 Have a source of food production if you can. A stable climate ensures crops grow year after year, and a reliable source of food frees people to settle down . INEQUALITY AND OLIGARCHY: Wealth and political inequality can be central drivers of social disintegration, as can oligarchy and centralisation of power among leaders. And while our scale may now be global, collapse appears to happen to both sprawling empires and fledgling kingdoms alike. The concentration of humans and cattle in walled settlements with poor hygiene made disease outbreaks unavoidable and catastrophic. But The Decline of Western Civilization is the first and best film of what would become a loosely linked trilogy exploring different LA subcultures over three decades. They were looking for a David Lee Roth, Vince Neil type, which I was. I was filmed trying to burn the flag onstage for our song Russian Winter. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was d. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google c. 7000 BCE - c. 600 BCE. She discovered clusters of teenage runaways, dubbed gutter punks partly due to an anti-establishment stance and a shared aesthetic, but mainly because they often lived in the street. Western Civilization has been going to the dogs for so long that it's tempting to pipe up, like an aggravating child from the back seat during a long road trip, and ask if we're there yet. Then, in the early nineties, I got this job, via my friend Bruce Kirkland who had a multimedia company called Second Vision. But not everybodys rocknroll dreams came true. . Nations are, on average, less reliant on single types of exports than they once were. While watching the movie, I kept thinking about Penelope Spheeris' series of anthropological documentaries about the LA rock sceneThe Decline of Western Civilization, Parts I-IIIwhich were finally re-released last month after being frustratingly very unavailable for years in any web format. These are their stories, in their own words. Avoiding the creation of dangerous and widely-accessible technologies is also critical. Including performances by X, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Germs and Alice . That was the emergence of the Los Angeles Punk scene in 1979-80. As part of my research at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, I am attempting to find out why collapse occurs through a historical autopsy. London had been on the LA metal scene for some time, with earlier members leaving to form Mtley Cre and Guns N Roses. As well as Armored Saint I also have my own band, DC4. The period between the catastrophic end of the Mycenaean civilization and about 900 bce . Four years ago I told my daughter Anna that I wanted her to come and work for me. You end up wanting to scream. The films (released in 1981, 1988, and 1998) take a look at a range of . The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. My life was about drugs, vodka and girls Nadir DPriest, 2013. can oligarchy and centralisation of power, although it is increasing within countries, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter. I realised that Id been 22 years old, when LA was a crazy stream of riffs, hairspray, excess and debauchery. Her experiences on The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II would bear fruit when she went on to direct blockbuster comedy Waynes World. Penelope was out on the Strip with her camera crew, and she walked up to us and started interviewing us and then got our contact information. New instruments of violence, such as lethal autonomous weapons, may be available in the near future. It was too late to change the movie poster: a shot of Crash lying with his eyes closed, almost lifeless, on a stage floor.The second and third films in this series are great too, but for different, lesser reasons. But The Decline of Western Civilization is the first and best film of what would become a loosely linked trilogy exploring different LA subcultures over three decades. He'll be dressed and groomed just like the White . I got the bands first record deal when those guys couldnt get a hand-job from the industry, but they were long gone by the time we did the film. We already had this thread, lemme see if I can find it and give it to you. I went on an aversion therapy program to quit drinkin. The film was ostensibly a followup to her first documentary, 1981's The Decline of Western Civilization, which focused on an earlier Los Angeles scene, the punk of the late 70s and early 80s. long-buried World War Two tanks back to life, The perils of short-termism: Civilisations greatest threat. The data is drawn from two studies on the growth and decline of empires (for 3000-600BC and 600BC-600), and an informal, crowd-sourced survey of ancient civilisations (which I have amended). I remember hanging out with Penelope at the Cat Club in New York for the release party. Yet the world is worsening in areas that have contributed to the collapse of previous societies. I carried London on even after Lizzie left. The Roman Empire, for example, was the victim of many ills including overexpansion, climatic change, environmental degradation and poor leadership. October 8, 2003 By James Kurth. Weve done a couple of reunion shows but Randy doesnt really sing any more at all. Hes dangerous, hes terrifying, hes an extra in, How to Watch the 2023 Oscars Celebrate All 23 Categories Live Again. Im not sure if the film helped or hindered us, but its been 27 years and Im talking to you from beside the pool. Public services crumble and disorder ensues as government loses control of its monopoly on violence. Life is messier. Similarly, innovation as measured by per capita patent applications is also rising. The young hopefuls scenes in a hot tub, surrounded by female fans, are among the most infamous in the film, not least for singer Randy Os supersized bravado: I want to be as big as Zeppelin or the Beatles go down in history like Jim Morrison or Robert Plant its gonna happen. It didnt. Elektra kept us on the road. The resultant film was so bleak it was passed over for general release in the late 90s. Unfortunately, most renewable replacements, such as solar, have a markedly lower EROI, largely due to their energy density and the rare earth metals and manufacturing required to produce them. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital, and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Can Anyone Predict Whos Going to Win Best Supporting Actress? The director . Johnny is a music journalist, author and archivist of forty years experience. Droughts have also been linked to the fall of the Maya around 900 AD and the demise of the spectacular Cambodian city of Angkor in the early 1400s. Turn on a local television news program in just about any large city in this country, and the chances are nearly 100% that you'll hear and see at least one Black announcer telling you what's happening. I guarantee you that. The Aztec Empire, for example, was brought to an end by Spanish invaders. In other cases, such as the Mayan ruins, they are left abandoned as a mausoleum for future tourists. Hamburger died in 1999 or 2000, I believe. While his band, Tuff, never made it to the very top of the Sunset Strip food chain, Rachelles can-do attitude helped him weather the hard times of the 90s. Now we tour at least three months out of every year. I was never happy in W.A.S.P. The Decline of Western Civilization, with Darby Crash at the centre. The Decline of Western Civilization. It was a period of political, philosophical, artistic, and scientific achievements that formed a legacy with unparalleled influence on Western civilization. Toxic culture thanks to cultural Marxism and feminism. ancient Greek civilization, the period following Mycenaean civilization, which ended about 1200 bce, to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 bce. Keith [Richards] was under the impression that Id remixed them. They are global, human-driven, quicker, and more severe. The rich are getting richer, which in past civilisations has created additional stress on societies (Credit: Getty Images). Within a couple of days I auditioned, and got the job. Director Penelope Spheeris began filming The Decline of Western Civilization, a documentary about LA's raucous punk community, in 1979. It was a fun comment that I didnt expect to be taken seriously. When I saw my previous band on screen, I was embarrassed. Guitarist Lizzie Grey (born Stephen Perry) was the bands linchpin, while Nadir DPriest, aka Nadir Munoz, was their frontman during the Decline period. With the proliferation of nuclear weapons, we may have already reached this point of civilisational terminal velocity. Unfortunately it was the best promotion Odin ever had but we were no longer a band. Technological unemployment and wealth inequality. Oswald Spengler's 1918-22 best-seller The Decline of the West mourned the engulfing of Kultur by the cosmopolitan anthill of Zivilisation and argued that only a dictatorship could arrest the decline. In retrospect, everybody talks about it real fondly, but at the time bands were fightin like cats and dogs, steppin on one another. So collapse may be a normal phenomenon for civilisations, regardless of their size and stage. Search Results. By Annalee Newitz. Many acts in it were huge; others became so. I just knew I had to make another film, about these people. BA1 1UA. I remember driving down Sunset Strip in my car, seeing all these strangely dressed people spilling out on to the sidewalk. Her experiences on The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II would bear fruit when she went on to direct blockbuster comedy Wayne's World. I bumped into the president of Capitol in the elevator once and he said: Your song, Me Against the World, should have been No1. I thought: Well, you distributed it! It felt like we were running a race that we couldnt win. Difference #3: Unlike past societies, industrial civilization isn't Roman, Chinese, Egyptian, Aztec, or Mayan. Were all still friends, none of us are destitute and weve all carved a niche for ourselves without having to answer to anybody. Collapse is often quick and greatness provides no immunity. Today, museums 2023 Vox Media, LLC. Eventually, once you reach a sufficient height, any drop from the ladder is fatal. I did a solo album, but I couldnt even get it reviewed. I dont know what I was thinkin. Click/pinch to enlarge. Nikki Sixxs email address was in there. (Credit: Nigel Hawtin). He believes that history has been corrupted by political correctness. But I noticed that Metal Edge was listing contact details for artists by email. The record companies dropped all of our shit; crazy hair and make-up kind of went away. They treated us really good, but Id been shoved into the industry for the first eight years of my adult life. There are already well-developed ideas for improving the ability of food and knowledge systems to be recuperated after catastrophe. So just as we were beginning to make an impact, they came along and we had no chance. I would argue that they are. Decline of Western Civilization captured an important moment in music history. While being interviewed, O was convinced he would be a millionaire and his band bigger than Zeppelin. fascinating. "You can't equivocate on the stuation.". Like complexity, EROI appears to have a point of diminishing returns. So we were driving round like stars in cars we didnt own. I havent been drinkin since 1996. The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: the Metal Years is a tragicomic look at the late-80s hair metal scene. Taime Downe: When Faster Pussycat started, Mtley and Ratt had already taken off, and newer bands like Poison were playing the Strip. The Decline of Western Civilization is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. By the time The Decline Of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years came out in mid-1988, the L.A. glam scene was under siege by grittier hard rock bands on the right and the thrash metal uprising .