"Our audience is expanding," says Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore in The Year Punk Broke. "My mind is turning into a fine gelatinous ball of pepper."

It's a wonder it didn't. Filmed during a two-week European tour, Dave Markey's scratch-and-dent documentary catches Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr., and Babes in Toyland all at the precise moment before the alternative rock scene exploded. Nirvana, amazingly enough, are still just the opening act, only months away from their massive mainstream breakthrough. But as much as the film might portend a major turning point in rock history, its tone is overwhelmingly light. None of the artists take themselves too seriously, and backstage hi-jinks are showcased as often as the performances. Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon even re-enact their favorite scene from Madonna's Truth or Dare in a jokey send-up of rock-star narcissism.

The sound may be murky at times, the camera work shaky, and the editing a little slipshod, but The Year Punk Broke remains an important document in the alterna-rock canon. One need only look at Thurston attacking his guitar with a screwdriver, or Kurt flinging himself into a drum kit, to understand the energy behind the music and why it ultimately took off.