Product Description

DON'T LET OUR YOUTH GO TO WASTE is a comprehensive visual document spanning the history of GALAXIE 500, one of indie-rock's most influential and beloved bands. A compendium of all their music videos, a rare TV appearance, and an archive of over 40 songs performed live, this 2-DVD set includes a performance of an unreleased original song "Buzz in My Head" and a live version of Jonathan Richman's "Back in Your Life," both of which were never recorded or released in any other form. From fan footage to professionally-produced segments, the concerts have been compiled from over 20 hours of performances, curated by the band to best represent their brief but illustrious career. The deluxe booklet contains photos and a new interview with all three members, Dean Wareham, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang conducted by Yo La Tengo's James McNew.

DISC 1:
MUSIC VIDEOS - 4 music videos directed by Sergio Huidor
-Tugboat
-When Will You Come Home
-Blue Thunder
-Fourth of July

TAPING FOR UK TELEVISION, London
February 9, 1990
-Tell Me
-Strange
-Here She Comes Now
-Interview with the band

LIVE ARCHIVE - 20 songs from 5 shows
1) Middle East, Cambridge, Massachusetts March 19, 1988
-Oblivious
-I Can't Believe It's Me
-Back in Your Life (unreleased)
-Buzz in My Head (unreleased)

2) Commonwealth School, Boston, Massachusetts April 21, 1989
-Tugboat
-Temperature's Rising
-When Will You Come Home

3) Kennel Club, San Francisco, California March 28, 1990
-Flowers
-Blue Thunder
-Decomposing Trees

4) Club Lingerie, Hollywood, California March 30, 1990
-Snowstorm
-Plastic Bird
-Victory Garden
-Pictures
-Ceremony

5) Kennel Club, San Francisco, California October 15, 1990
-Summertime
-Spook
-Hearing Voices
-Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste
-Melt Away

DISC 2:

BOOTLEGS -

1) The Point, Atlanta, Georgia January 26, 1990
-Decomposing Trees
-Pictures
-Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste
-Blue Thunder
-Plastic Bird
-When Will You Come Home
-Ceremony

2) ULU (University of London), London, England November 15, 1990
-Fourth of July
-Hearing Voices
-Summertime
-Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste
-Spook
-When Will You Come Home
-Sorry
-Melt Away
-Listen the Snow is Falling
-Blue Thunder
-Here She Comes Now

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45779 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-06-29
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Best of, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 235 minutes

Amazon.com
Galaxie 500: Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste 1987-1991 is an ideal collection of materials both for completist fans of Galaxie 500 and anyone who hasn't heard the Boston low-fi band's sometimes powerful legacy. The two discs in this set cover, among other things, the trio's ventures in music videos, each of which is a provocative barrage of found footage suited to Galaxie's searching, psychedelic sound. More focused is a suite of live performances, with plenty of space for Galaxie's introspective jamming, taped for British television in 1990 and including a fine version of "Here She Comes Now," with a floating, Velvet Underground-like feel and imaginative guitar solo by Dean Wareham. Most of what's here, however, is bootleg concert video shot in the U.S. and U.K. Quality varies radically, but the best of these live dates transcends technical limitations, particularly a fierce, October 1990 set played at San Francisco's Kennel Club and a brilliant show, one month later, at the University of London, in which this inspired if sometimes-lugubrious outfit played as if possessed. --Tom Keogh

Melody Maker
Galaxie 500 made some of the starkest, most beautiful, American underground music of the past decade.

The New York Times
Galaxie 500 could be one of the most influential bands to emerge from the late-80's independent rock scene.

Customer Reviews

Not The Last Waltz, but the next best thing.
This is the best collection of Galaxie 500 material ever compiled. The sheer quantity of material makes this a must-have for even the casual fan. But, I'm not one to preach quantity over quality...

All four of Galaxie 500's music videos are included. The videos are (not surprisingly) very low budget, and the visuals reflect this. They are shot with a dream-like aura that almost forces one to focus upon the music, and allows the video to sit on the back burner. The aesthetics of the videos only serve to make the viewer appreciate the music that much more. I'd prefer to watch them with my eyes closed or my back to the TV, but if I am ever so inclined to watch the video, it's certainly nice to have the option...

The live performances, which are compiled from a combination of low-budget professional and fan footage, are great. Most of them appear to have been shot on VHS or Hi-8. The quality of which is lacking, but also lending to a more intimate atmosphere. It puts the viewer at the show. It's not like watching HBOs newest incarnation of a Britney Spears concert (should I say spectacle?), nor should it be. It's kinda like watching your neighbors home movies, only this time it doesn't suck. The settings are so intimate (some looking as though they were shot in a basement), that you can't help but to appreciate what you are watching. At least I couldn't.

This DVD was a pleasant surprise. It is loaded with material, and the material is good. Given the quality of the sources, one couldn't ask for much more, and so I can wholeheartedly recommend this, even to the most casual of fans.

Come Find Your Buried Treasure
A previous reviewer says, first, that these discs are only worthwhile as a historical document, then suggests that they shouldn't have been released at all. Which is it, chum?

The picture and sound quality aren't state-of-the-art-2006. I can't believe that anyone who reflected upon it for even a moment would've expected otherwise (a pleasing irony of the sometimes cavernous sound is that the viewer feels that much more like she is actually in the performance space. Pristine sound would be hard-pressed to rival this effect) . One of the larger swatches of history on display here is a concert bootleg the band members themselves had never watched until putting the DVD together; they'd picked it up overseas, and it was in PAL.

Fantastic!
This wonderful two-disc collection of Galaxie 500's music videos and live bootlegs is perfect for fans of the band who never got a chance to see them live (like me) or for anyone who's curious about what makes G500 so darn special.

While the music videos are great and surprisingly violent (but effective), the live performances are the real treasures here. Ranging from professionally-produced concert footage, to a performance in a high school gym (!), to a rare 3-guitar-attack set on UK TV (featuring drummer Damon Krukowski on acoustic guitar), the live bootlegs are each as charming and unique as the band's music and their occasionally questionable quality only adds to the band's beautifully stark aesthetic.

Another great thing about this DVD is its 28-page color booklet featuring an entertaining interview with the band by James McNew of Yo La Tengo. Topics range from the ever-changing hairstyles of Naomi Yang to the never-changing Spacemen 3 shirt of Dean Wareham.

Anyone interested in Galaxie 500 should pick up this extensive and delightful DVD set.