One of the more enduring bits from The Young Ones—the 1980s BBC satire of punk roomies and a token hippie—is “Nozin’ Aroun’“, a show within the show styled as the only program “by and for young adults.” And earlier this month, Ben Fordree cribbed the title for the first episode of his video zine centered on contemporary London punk.
Shot in fisheye on what appears to be a camcorder, Nozin’ Aroun’ depicts The Lowest Form, whose Negative Ecstasy LP from last year features savagery cut by subtly inventive flourishes; demo-toting newcomers Efialtis; a particularly feral clip of No Form, whose guitarist’s wily, spasmodic approach to the instrument evokes Greg Ginn’s former prowess; and Good Throb, whose Fuck Off LP remains one of the finest full-length punk statements in recent memory.
The sound quality leaves something to be desired, but the document conveys more than enough to direct viewers straight to each of the groups’ formidable recordings. And though Nozin’ Aroun’ withholds commentary or much of anything else in the way of journalistic context, there’s some humanizing audience snippets: Observe, the London punk cabal grins at the altar of selfie-stick. There’s also a commercial break advertising a screen-printing business—”WWW.OUTSIDEWORLDPRINT.COM“—set to footage of a tee-shirt suspended in air, which comes off as rather poetic.
Readers keen to suss out more details of London punk should mind the recent scene report in Maximum Rocknroll #386.
