Self-Titled Summer | Minor Threat (1984, US)
Our next Self-Titled Summer spotlight is on number 609 on The List, submitted by @markwyner. I was meaning to get back to keeping these STS posts brief, but a Fedizen specifically noted they’d like to read more about this rather iconic band so *takes deepest breath possible*:
- Point of origin(s): Minor Threat was formed in Washington D.C. in 1980 by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, following the demise of their high school hardcore punk band the Teen Idles (originally called The Slinkees, formed in 1979). MacKaye had been the bassist and main lyricist, Nelson the drummer; in their new band, Nelson continued as the drummer and MacKaye continued as lyricist but switched from bass to vocals, and Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar rounded out the original lineup on bass and guitar, respectively. The first Minor Threat show would be one month after Teen Idles broke up, in December 1980, to all of 50 people (you were there, right?), opening for local bands Bad Brains and S.O.A. (State Of Alert), i.e., the band of former Teen Idles’ roadie (and lifetime bff of MacKaye) Henry Garfield aka Henry Rollins.
At about the same time as their band change, together MacKaye and Nelson started Dischord Records with the $600 that Teen Idles had earned in its existence, initially just in order to put out that band’s only release, the Minor Disturbance EP (1980).[1] The EP made enough for the label to continue, and so next they put out the sole release from S.O.A., No Policy EP (1981), followed by Minor Threat’s debut s/t EP (also referred to as 1st 7″) and soon after their second EP, In My Eyes (both 1981). The album we look at here is a compilation of those 7″s (hence also referred to as First Two 7″s), released after the band broke up. - Tasting notes: Hardcore punk, none of your bullshit
- Standout track: My favourites are “I Don’t Want to Hear It”, “Minor Threat”, and “In My Eyes”. And then, for its historical importance, “Straight Edge”. Keen eyes may have noted the X-marked hands on the cover of the Teen Idles’ EP that would come to be a symbol used in the locally-grown straight edge scene/movement/subculture. However, at the time of that band, those drawn-on Xs initially simply indicated that those hands belonged to concert attendees who were underage, and was a way to allow younger fans into venues that weren’t all-ages. The link between Minor Threat’s song “Straight Edge” and the scene though was absolutely direct, as the scene’s name and manifesto was taken straight out of MacKaye’s lyrics. “Out of Step” also provides another version of the lifestyle guidelines that at least some who considered themselves straight edge followed, including MacKaye himself.
- Where are they now?: Following the release of their 2nd EP, Minor Threat briefly split up and then reformed a few months later (thanks to H.R. of Bad Brains) with Steve Hansgen (briefly) joining as bassist and Baker switching to second guitar. The group then put out (via Dischord Records, of course) a 12″ EP in 1983, Out of Step (with a new version of the title track)…and then (partially due to the existence of U2, lol) broke up. Each of the band members would go on to do tons of cool shit, e.g., Fugazi (and a handful of other awesome bands) was founded by MacKaye, Baker has been a member of Bad Religion since 1994, Hansgren co-produced Tool’s Opiate EP, and Dischord Records – still co-owned by MacKaye and Nelson – remains one of the best record labels on the planet.
- Websites: Bandcamp, Wikipedia, Band profile on Dischord Records’ website
Happy listening!
The tracks had been recorded earlier that year with Don Zientara at his Inner Ear studio at the request of Skip Groff (record producer, radio DJ, and owner of the Yesterday & Today record store in Rockville, Maryland), but then shelved. ↩︎#1980s #DischordRecords #hardcore #hardcorePunk #IanMacKaye #JeffNelson #MinorThreat #music #musicDiscovery #selftitled #straightEdge #TeenIdles #WashingtonDC
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