Starring Mike Watt, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Raymond Pettibon, Davo Claassen, Dave Markey, Janet Hausden, Joe Cole, Joey 8 Halsman, Mark Hecht, Rich Costigan, Abby Travis, Hank Vincent, and Master Nelson Tarpenny
Originally realised as a trashy home video shot by Raymond Pettibon and enacted by a host of friends and musicians around Mike Watt, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. The text written by Pettibon for the video makes up more than 50 pages of dialogues, slogans, song lyrics and monolithic text blocks.
The project originates from a work phase in the late 80s when Raymond Pettibon dealt mainly with the American subculture of the 60s and 70s. The text is inspired by a radical splinter group of the Students for a Democratic Society, Weatherman, who from 1969 to 1975 fought a proxy war for the rights of the nationally and internationally oppressed. Coming from the white middle-class university milieu, the members of Weatherman used terrorist acts as well as propagandistic and mass media weapons for their fight against American imperialism and racism.
Creating a cast of more than 20 half fictitious, half historic characters the text draws a collage-like image of the resistance group living in the underground. Sketches of historic events and encounters with pop celebrities like Jane Fonda and John Lennon appear along with a portrait of the daily lunacy of the subcultural existence and the longings of politicised middle-class kids.
