Died Young, Stayed Pretty Review

Never trust a band with a logo, wrote rock journalism's poet laureate Lester Bangs, but the relationship between music and design is so complex and deep-rooted that it can be hard to figure out whether the image is there to promote the event or the other way round. Eileen Yaghoubian's film about America's underground rock poster designers is evidently a labour of love and if half the story is missing - there's not a word from any of the bands themselves - it's still a fascinating little insight into the undercurrents and ambitions, dilemmas and contradictions confronting a culture which prides itself on maintaining an authentic opposition to the mainstream.
Filmmaker Yaghoubian tracks down the artists responsible for posters promoting the music which, to paraphrase The Velvet Underground's Nico, they don't play on the radio. From sludge rock pioneers The Melvins to super-obscure scenesters Teengenerate via Dead Kennedys and Queens Of The Stone Age, Yaghoubian's film is grounded in punk rock's grimy, DIY aesthetic. It is also, perhaps unavoidably, super fanboy-centric. Artists Art Chantry, Mike King and Tom Hazelmyer are among those describing poster art's significance within 'rock culture' (a notion of which these post-punk dissidents are healthily disdainful) and its awkward relationship with commerce: these surreal, politically engaged A5 artefacts are, after all, essentially advertisements for a blitzed night out.