Film

Another State of Mind

Name: Another State of Mind
Genre: Documentary, Music
Released: 1984
Cast: Mike Ness, Shawn Stern, Adam Stern, Ian MacKaye, Dennis Danell

Action

A 1984 documentary following Social Distortion and Youth Brigade on their chaotic 1982 cross-country tour. Shot by the bands themselves on a shoestring, it captures punk rock as lived experience—van breakdowns, exhaustion, fractured friendships—rather than mythology. Essential for anyone who wants to understand how DIY punk actually worked, and thrilling even if you don't care about the music.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love hanging around in vans, motel rooms and basement shows while bands argue, joke and scrape by, and you want the raw texture of early punk life rather than polished concert footage.

Skip it if you want a tight narrative or a steady stream of performances, since much of this is loose road chatter and rough handheld footage that can drift when the band is simply waiting around.

What it asks of you: It runs about 78 minutes and moves at the unhurried pace of a tour, so you settle in for conversation and scruffy sights instead of a sharp arc.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Sid and Nancy1986

Alex Cox's savage, poetic portrait of punk's most self-destructive couple. Raw, darkly funny, and genuinely tragic—it captures the romance and rot of the scene with equal force.

But It's relentlessly bleak and the sex scenes are explicit. Not a film that leaves you feeling good, even when it's brilliant.

The Decline of Western Civilization1981

Penelope Spheeris documents the LA punk scene at its peak, with performances and interviews that feel like anthropology. The energy is infectious and the filmmaking is spare and urgent.

But The audio quality is rough and some interviews meander. If you need polished documentary craft, this will frustrate you.

The Decline of Western Civilization poster

American Hardcore2006

Paul Rachman's love letter to '80s hardcore—interviews, rare footage, and a sense of genuine community beneath the aggression. You'll recognize the lineage that made Another State of Mind possible.

But It's long and leans heavily on talking heads. The nostalgia can tip into self-congratulation if you're not already invested in the scene.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Another State of Mind

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Man Bites Dog1992

Both use handheld cameras and amateur aesthetics to ask whether the camera tells the truth or shapes it. Both are about what you lose when you look.

A Belgian mockumentary following a film crew documenting a serial killer. It's a found-footage film that deconstructs the nature of documentation itself—the exact opposite register from Another State of Mind, but asking the same question about what cameras do to reality.

But It's deliberately disturbing and transgressive. The irony wears thin and the violence is genuinely unpleasant, even when you understand the critique.

Cobain: Montage of Heck2015

Brett Morgen assembles home video, animation, and music into something that feels less like a biography than a descent. Captures the cost of authenticity in ways Another State of Mind hints at.

But It's bleak and sometimes exploitative of tragedy. The experimental structure works beautifully or frustrates, depending on your tolerance for it.

Dig!2004

Seven years of indie rock bands chasing success. Like Another State of Mind stretched into full arc—the friendships, the egos, the slow realization that you're growing apart.

But It's almost three hours and the editing is chaotic, occasionally to the point of confusion. You need patience and genuine interest in the personalities involved.

RiP!: A Remix Manifesto2008

Brett Gaylor's documentary about copyright and creativity touches the same nerve Another State of Mind does—how artists survive outside the system. Funny, smart, and genuinely radical.

But The political messaging gets heavy-handed and it assumes you care about copyright law. If you just want punk stories, you might feel lectured.

Hype!1996

Doug Pray documents Seattle grunge as it's happening and then becoming a commodity. The parallel to punk's path from underground to MTV is direct and unsettling.

But It's dated now—the film feels of its moment in ways that matter less. The subjects are often unsympathetic about their own success.

Midnight in Paris2011

A film obsessed with artistic authenticity and the romance of creative struggle. Not about punk, but it asks the same questions about whether the past was better and whether you belong in your own time.

But Woody Allen's whimsy will annoy you if you can't tolerate it. The film is sentimental about nostalgia in ways that feel safe compared to Another State of Mind's messiness.

The Punk Singer2013

Sini Anderson's documentary about Kathleen Hanna and Riot Grrrl. It's about punk as a tool for change and resistance, with real stakes and an uncompromising spirit.

But It's narrower in scope than you might expect—focused on one scene and era. If you want broader punk history, you'll feel the edges of that frame.

Dazed and Confused1993

Both capture a specific time through the lives of real-seeming people. Both understand that the best records of a scene are usually accidental—not trying to be important, just trying to be true.

Richard Linklater's comedy about the last day of school in 1976 Texas. It has the same loose, hangout energy as Another State of Mind—a documentary feel but fictional—and the same sense that you're watching a moment before everything changes.

But Nothing happens. It's meandering and plotless by design. If you need narrative momentum, it will feel like watching paint dry.

Gomorra: La Serie2014

Both trust the audience to find meaning in observation rather than explanation. Both create immersion through style and casting, not plot. Both believe that authenticity—real locations, real people—is more compelling than any story you could invent.

Italian crime series following the Camorra in Naples. It has the same documentary authenticity as Another State of Mind—non-professional actors, real locations, a sense that you're watching something actually happening rather than performed.

But It's subtitled, violent, and relentlessly dark. There's no punk romance here, just the mechanics of power and survival. It's dense and will demand your attention.