Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies
(Stranger Than Fiction)
by Scott Hefflon
Film Threat‘s Todd Phillips’ ’93 classic about the destructive life and destructive music of a true punk rock asshole, GG Allin. If you somehow never saw this documentary about, by a long shot, the most self-destructive frontman in music history (dude, the guy punched fans in the face, did jail time, wound up in jail or the hospital or unconscious after most shows, not to mention shoving bottles up his ass, shitting on the stage and smearing it on himself – did I mention that he performed naked a lot of the time, his little winky bouncing comically around as he bled and threw chairs at people? – and countless other stuff I can’t fit in this run-on), get this.
Serial killer John Wayne Gacy said “That GG, man, great kid. I like that guy a lot. Love him like a brother, but man, if he doesn’t stink like the worst pissy-assed wino I’ve ever met in my life.” Now, that’s a quote…
This DVD separates the film into chapters (funny, it looks almost linear when mapped out this way, like the VH-1 Behind the Music special they’d never do, and now don’t have to), including highlights like individual interviews with various members, past and present (at the time), appearances on Geraldo Rivera, newscasts about him and the trouble he got himself in, hometown remembrances, and “spoken word” and live show footage. There’s also a song index so you can avoid most of the long interviews (there’re still plenty of interruptions and mid-song attacks, so ya don’t have to worry about being bored), plus a splicing of the various interviews with GG throughout the film so his “message” almost seems cohesive. The theatrical trailer for the film is included, as is a 50-minute show (including a lot of wandering and yelling and trying to score dope) at The Gas Station the day before GG overdosed, 6/28/93. He wears a Nazi biker helmet, a ratty jean jacket with no shirt, a skirt, and boots. Soon he’s down to bikini briefs, sniffing girls’ cunts, then naked, pacing the stage like a dangerous animal, rolling on the dirty floor as fans slam into him and punch him in the face. They tackle the drumset a half dozen times, and still the band plays on… GG tears open someone’s yellow Tower Records bag, smashes CDs on his head until blood is down his fat belly and he threatens the audience and smashes windows and decks people left and right, pouring beer on himself and screaming “Cowards!” at everyone until the show’s shut down (basically, there was no one left to hit). So GG wanders the streets of New York with a crowd egging him on and a video camera trying to capture as much on film as possible. Bottles smash, windows are broken, the cops show up, people scatter, and GG escapes arrest with a group of friends and camera crew until they get into a taxi that refuses to take them anywhere, the cops converge again, GG strolls away once again, you get the point… 20-some-odd minutes of running from the cops and punk small talk… Recorded for posterity, for better or worse.
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