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This is Our Music

A documentary film about the real alternative music scene in the UK

DVD Reviewed

It’s virtually impossible for a documentary to capture exactly what a counter culture scene is really about. To do so, I think that any preconceptions held of the genre must be left at the door, or the film maker will fail to capture the essence of what it means to the people, and bands that populate the scene he purports to document. In short there has to be a situation where the film maker puts as much trust in the people that are interviewed, as the interviewees do in the film maker. I simply believe that it’s not possible to give a credible account without having this relationship in place. The fact that there are a plethora of documentaries out there that edit the material to show either punks as stupid, skinheads as racist, or whatever is proof alone that the take without giving attitude never truly reflects what is really going on. It’s a misbalanced state of affairs that may bring the film maker plaudits, but rarely shows that participants in a good light. Due to this I’ve grown to expect that anyone dealing with the subject matter is only going to focus on the most sensationalist aspects, and in doing so are doing a disservice to the fans and the bands for whom it is a way of life for. In fact I’ll raise my hands and state for the record that I don’t really have much time for scene documentaries, and have been rather scathing in the past in expressing this view. So it’s fair play to director Mic Dixon who has managed to get me to completely reassess my view. The attitude of THIS IS OUR MUSIC as a statement rather than just the title of a film is prevalent from the opening scenes right through to the closing credits. In the true sense of the documentary we have a film that actually documents events. A refreshing change from those attempting to push a viewpoint. Anything that you want to infer from this is up to you. It’s not setting out to answer any questions. Just to create a record of events. Yet in doing so it has become so much more. This actually is our music. It’s a mess, a mass of contradictions and we love it. It would be difficult to deny that some of the interviewees can come across as a bit dim, but this is easily balanced out by others who eloquently put their views across. A wide demographic is taken with old, young, male, female, punter and band members all getting their say, and this is where the magic is. It’s in the balance. It’s all here. If anything was dropped it would have given a distorted view. The guy being sick over the wall is just as relevant as the woman stating it was full of poseurs. Both are as relevant as anything Capt Sensibles or P Paul Fenech’s say or do. With careful editing Mic Dixon has touched on the fundamental nature of any musical sub culture. In fact it is so well edited that it appears unedited if that makes any sense. It’s managed with aplomb to take the middle man out of the equation and gives the viewer the feeling that they have participated. It’s an overview of who we are, and we now have a record of it that we can cringe and be proud of in equal measure. El Diablo Fanzine

Punk, Psychobilly,  Rockabilly, Oi and Ska

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