Minor Threat | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | June 1981 | |||
Recorded | April 1981 at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. | |||
Genre | Hardcore punk | |||
Length | Minor Threat: 9:20 In My Eyes: 7:38 Total: 16:58 First Two Seven Inches: 19:12 | |||
Label | Dischord | |||
Producer | Skip Groff and Minor Threat | |||
Minor Threat chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | (Minor Threat EP) [2] (In My Eyes EP) [2] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 [3] |
Minor Threat (also referred to as First Two Seven Inches) is a compilation album by American hardcore punk band Minor Threat, released in March 1984 through Dischord Records. The compilation consisted of the group's first and second extended plays, Minor Threat (originally released June 1981) and In My Eyes (originally released December 1981). The 1984 Minor Threat LP featured the same cover as the 1981 Minor Threat EP, depicting vocalist Ian MacKaye's younger brother Alec (Untouchables, The Faith). The image has been imitated by punk bands such as Rancid on their album ...And Out Come the Wolves and in the Major Threat ad campaign by Nike.
All the tracks from the Minor Threat and In My Eyes EPs are available on CD on Minor Threat's 1989 compilation album Complete Discography and also on Dischord 1981: The Year in 7"s.
"Straight Edge", a song from the Minor Threat EP, inadvertently inspired the straight edge movement. The song, while written merely as an account of MacKaye's personal views and lifestyle, was seen to be a call for abstinence from drugs and alcohol, a then-unusual concept for punk rock and rock music in general.
"Out of Step," from the follow-up In My Eyes EP, further demonstrates the aesthetic: "Don't smoke/ Don't drink/ Don't fuck/ At least I can fucking think/ I can't keep up/ Can't keep up/ Can't keep up/ I'm out of step with the world." Some in Minor Threat, particularly drummer Jeff Nelson, took exception to what they saw as MacKaye's imperious attitude on the song. This spurred the band to re-record the track as the title song of their 1983 Out of Step album, on which MacKaye clearly sang "I don't drink/smoke/fuck" (as was the intent of his words all along), and an argument between him and Nelson in which he states that "this is no set of rules, I'm not telling you what to do" was surreptitiously recorded by producer Don Zientara to be dubbed onto the track right before the final chorus. According to Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins' Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital, this argument was over exactly what would be said in the message that Nelson wanted MacKaye to record stating essentially what he said without knowing it was being recorded.
"In My Eyes" is an anti-drug song which has been covered by rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, among others. Along with "Straight Edge" and "Out of Step," "In My Eyes" helped to solidify views of Minor Threat as a band with an anti-drug platform. Unlike the original "Straight Edge," a relatively standard hardcore composition, each verse of "In My Eyes" seethes with anger and contempt, building up to the cathartic release of the chorus.
"Guilty of Being White" led to accusations of racial prejudice, due to perceived similarities between the song's lyrics and that of white power rhetoric which often frames the majority race as victims at the hands of a minority group. However, MacKaye has strongly denied such intentions and said that some listeners misinterpreted his words. According to him, the song was written about his experiences growing up in Washington, D.C. at a time of high racial tension, where the majority race in his school was African-American and many black students were hostile towards whites. Slayer later covered the song, though they changed the lyric "guilty of being white" to "guilty of being right" at the song's climax. This infuriated MacKaye, since they we're turning his lyrics into having a rasistic message.
"Minor Threat" is a youth anthem which has been covered by bands as diverse as Sublime, Silverchair, Rise Against, Title Fight, and Pennywise.
"Steppin' Stone" is a cover, written by the team of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart in the mid-1960s, and first recorded by Paul Revere & the Raiders and later the Monkees. "Steppin' Stone" has been covered by many punk acts including the Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders, Untouchables, State of Alert, and Government Issue.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Filler" | Minor Threat | 1:32 |
2. | "I Don't Wanna Hear It" | Ian MacKaye | 1:13 |
3. | "Seeing Red" | Jeff Nelson, MacKaye | 1:03 |
4. | "Straight Edge" | MacKaye | 0:46 |
5. | "Small Man, Big Mouth" | MacKaye | 0:55 |
6. | "Screaming at a Wall" | MacKaye | 1:32 |
7. | "Bottled Violence" | MacKaye, Brian Baker | 0:54 |
8. | "Minor Threat" | MacKaye, Lyle Preslar | 1:27 |
Total length: | 9:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
9. | "In My Eyes" | Minor Threat | 2:49 |
10. | "Out of Step" | Minor Threat | 1:20 |
11. | "Guilty of Being White" | MacKaye | 1:17 |
12. | "Steppin' Stone" | Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart | 2:12 |
Total length: | 7:38 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Filler" | Minor Threat | 1:32 |
2. | "I Don't Wanna Hear It" | Ian MacKaye | 1:13 |
3. | "Seeing Red" | Jeff Nelson, MacKaye | 1:03 |
4. | "Straight Edge" | MacKaye | 0:46 |
5. | "Small Man, Big Mouth" | MacKaye | 0:55 |
6. | "Screaming at a Wall" | MacKaye | 1:32 |
7. | "Bottled Violence" | MacKaye, Brian Baker | 0:54 |
8. | "Minor Threat" | MacKaye, Lyle Preslar | 1:27 |
9. | "Stand Up" | MacKaye | 0:52 |
10. | "12XU" | Bruce Gilbert, Graham Lewis | 1:04 |
11. | "In My Eyes" | Minor Threat | 2:49 |
12. | "Out of Step" | Minor Threat | 1:20 |
13. | "Guilty of Being White" | MacKaye | 1:17 |
14. | "Steppin' Stone" | Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart | 2:12 |
Total length: | 19:12 |
Additional performers
Production
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitarist Lyle Preslar to form Minor Threat. They added a fifth member, Steve Hansgen, in 1982, playing bass, while Baker switched to second guitar.
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label, and the frontman of hardcore punk band Minor Threat and post-hardcore band Fugazi. MacKaye was also the bassist for the short-lived band the Teen Idles, and frontman for Embrace, and Pailhead, a collaboration with the band Ministry. MacKaye is a member of The Evens, a two-piece indie rock group he formed with his wife Amy Farina in 2001 and in 2018 formed the band Coriky with Farina and his Fugazi band mate Joe Lally.
Out of Step is the third EP by American hardcore punk band Minor Threat. It was released on vinyl in April 1983 through Dischord Records. Although Out of Step has only been released on CD in limited quantities, it has been repressed on vinyl as recently as 2010. All tracks from the album are available on Minor Threat's 1989 compilation album Complete Discography.
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by their band the Teen Idles. With other independent American labels such as Twin/Tone, Touch and Go Records, and SST Records, Dischord helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the 1980s indie rock scene. These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.
Lyle Preslar is an American musician best known for being the guitar player and songwriter for the hardcore punk band Minor Threat.
Embrace is the debut studio album by American post-hardcore band Embrace.
The Teen Idles were an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in September 1979. Consisting of teenagers Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, they recorded two demo sessions and the 1980 Minor Disturbance EP before breaking up in November 1980. The influential independent record label Dischord Records was originally created with the sole purpose of releasing The Teen Idles Minor Disturbance 7" record. They were an early landmark in the D.C. hardcore movement, and MacKaye and Nelson would later form the seminal punk rock outfit Minor Threat.
State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C., in October 1980, and active until July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield.
Jeff Nelson is an American musician, graphic designer, and record-label owner. He is best known as the drummer for the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk band Minor Threat.
Pailhead was a short-lived side project of Al Jourgensen of Ministry that featured Dischord Records founder and former Minor Threat frontman Ian MacKaye on vocals. The band's sound was a combination of industrial beats and hardcore punk, presaging what Ministry would later do with Jello Biafra in another side project, Lard.
Washington, D.C., hardcore, commonly referred to as D.C. hardcore, sometimes styled in writing as harDCore, is the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. Emerging in late 1979, it is considered one of the first and most influential punk scenes in the United States.
Skewbald/Grand Union, also known as 2 Songs, is the eponymous archival EP featuring the only studio recordings by American hardcore punk band Skewbald/Grand Union.
Complete Discography is a compilation album by American hardcore punk band Minor Threat, released in 1989 through the band's own Dischord Records. As the name implies, it contains the band's entire discography at the time, including their three EPs, the Out of Step album and Flex Your Head compilation tracks. Some tracks were unreleased at the time and didn't appear on this compilation, but were later released. This includes the songs "Understand" and "Asshole Dub" from 20 Years of Dischord.
No Policy is the debut studio EP by the American hardcore punk band State of Alert, the first band to be fronted by Henry Rollins. Consisting of ten tracks, it was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, produced by Skip Groff and engineered by Inner Ear owner Don Zientara. No Policy was released on Dischord Records in March 1981, as the label's second release. No Policy was financed by Rollins, as Dischord was tied up in releasing Minor Threat's debut EP.
Salad Days is the final EP by American hardcore punk band Minor Threat, released in July 1985 through Dischord Records, with the catalog number DIS 015. The EP differs somewhat from the band's previous material. All songs are slower, making a slight departure from the group's hardcore punk style. Tracks "Good Guys" and "Salad Days" both feature an acoustic guitar, and "Salad Days" also has chimes. Like many of Minor Threat's recordings, Salad Days has never been released on CD, but all the songs are available on their 1989 compilation album Complete Discography.
Flex Your Head is a sampler album featuring early hardcore punk bands from the Washington, D.C., area. It was originally released in January 1982 on Dischord Records, with a pressing of 4,000 copies on vinyl record that sold out within one week; an additional 3,000 copies were released shortly after. In 1982, a third pressing of 2,000 copies was released under license in the United Kingdom by Alternative Tentacles. Each of the first three pressings featured a different front cover.
"Straight Edge" is a track from Minor Threat's 1981 eponymous debut 7-inch EP, later reissued both as part of the 1984 collection Minor Threat, then as part of 1989's Complete Discography. The song was the inspiration for a movement in the punk subculture known as straight edge.
The Faith was an early American hardcore punk band, from Washington D.C., with strong connections to the scene centered on the Dischord label. Along with Minor Threat, the Faith were key players in the early development of hardcore, with a (later) melodic approach that would influence not just associated acts like Rites of Spring, Embrace and Fugazi, but also a subsequent generation of bands such as Nirvana, whose Kurt Cobain was a vocal fan.
The Untouchables were an American hardcore punk band that arose from the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The band existed from October 1979 until January 1981 and released four tracks.
Minor Disturbance is the debut EP by the American hardcore punk band the Teen Idles, released in December 1980. It was the first release by Dischord Records. Comprising eight songs, Minor Disturbance referenced a number of issues pertinent to the band, from being turned away at local concerts due to their age to what they felt was the increasing complacency of many first wave punk bands. Upon its release, Minor Disturbance received positive reviews from local fanzines and gained airplay on local radio stations.