V/A--Dope Gun's And Fucking Up Your Video Deck
MVD/Atavistic 2004
Serving as a kind of varnish-huffing redneck stepcousin to Sub Pop, Amphetamine Reptile Records were responsible for putting out some of the grunge era's most abrasive music. While Am Rep's roster was as diverse as their northwestern counterpart's, they too had their label primarily associated with a single genre--the difference being that, with Amphetamine Reptile, the record label was the genre. What came to be known as the Am Rep sound was much more brutal than anything the average grunge band was pumping out, though it all often got lumped together. Extremely grating guitar sounds, angular song structure, and an industrial feel in execution are all benchmarks of this sound. Needless to say, when all this first came out, there was no video channel that would touch the clips on this DVD with a ten foot pole. Dope Gun's And Fucking Up Your Video Deck serves as a visual documenting of Am Rep's roster, as well as the growth of the movement they helped spawn.
The earliest clips on Dope Gun's And Fucking Up Your Video Deck capture what was going on within this scene at the time perfectly. These early clips are very roughly shot and edited, with a huge Richard Kern influence coming through in the way the videos were put together. Two years later, on volume two, everything looks a little more professional and it is clear a distinct style is starting to take shape visually. By the time of volume three and beyond, Helmet had broken the Am Rep sound into the mainstream and the clips from these periods reflect that--the videos have much more gloss to them than before but without sacrificing the quirks which seperated Am Rep stuff from the rest of the pack. On aesthetics alone, Dope Gun's And Fucking Up Your Video Deck clearly maps out Amphetamine Reptile's ascent from the underground to MTV.
At around 240 minutes and with a good deal of the Amphetamine Reptile roster being represented, this DVD is pure gold. Not only do you get Helmet's breakthrough videos, you also get clips from some of the label's lesser known bands such as Vertigo. It's highlight after highlight--multiple clips from the Cosmic Psychos, Melvins, and Unsane are particularly welcome. However, the grand treat of it all would have to be the pair of commercials for Boss Hog's Action Box 7", as well as their video for "Hustler" off the Girl+ EP. Single videos from the Crows, Servotron, and Mog Stunt Team rate high as well.
Dope Gun's And Fucking Up Your Video Deck is an exhaustive look at one of the most important underground record labels ever. Looking back on these clips, it is not only amazing that any of this music ever broke through into widespread consiousness but that so much of it has had a profound influence on the popular music of today--if not for the Am Rep sound, most nu metal bands would've never had a reference point in finding their guitar sound. For what this music meant then and for its sustaining influence to this day, Dope Gun's And Fucking Up Your Video Deck is a fitting and deserved time capsule worth viewing.
Score this DVD directly from MVD
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