Pump up the Volume is a thought-provoking film from 1990. Premised as teenage angst channeled through pirate radio and ever rising stakes, this film explores the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and a right to education. It effortless melds a love story, political commentary and a killer soundtrack full of late 80s (real) alternative and punk music, including Concrete Blonde, the Pixies, Bad Brains, Above the Law, Sound Garden, Sonic Youth, and Cowboy Junkies.

The chemistry between the two lead actors, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis, burns up the celluloid. Their first kiss actually looks like a first kiss. Some of the dialogue of the rest of the cast is a bit corny, but more due to acting ability rather than only poor writing.

This movie particularly resonates today with the impeding sale of large swaths of the broadcast spectrum from the government to private industry. These bands are ours. We should not be selling them to private bidders who then will exploit them and wring every drop of capital out of them. Some of the spectrum will be for first responders, and that’s a good thing. But, not all of it. And why should the government continue to auction off what belongs to the people not to the board rooms. As Harry says, talk hard!