Hardcore Threats

I learned a lot about music from my father and my brother. But, the first two words I remember from my personal musical journey are: Minor Threat. As a kid in St. Louis I was pretty heavy into skateboarding. The guys I skated with were a couple years older than me and were big fans of hardcore. So much so that they would only let me roll with them if I got into their tunes. So, suddenly bands like Bad Brains, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat were spilling out of boom boxes all around me. 

Prior to this, I was listening to R.E.M., U2, Cure and Smiths records I'd swiped from my brother's room and Zeppelin, Cream, CCR and Jethro Tull records I'd swiped from my dad's collection. I also had a few tapes of my own - Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Guns n' Roses, etc. This was all great music, but none of it prepared me for what Minor Threat would do to me...

Minor Threat was easily the edgiest and scariest (I was ten!) music I had EVER listened to! It talked about the bible, which I had been thinking about for a while and didn't quite trust. It talked about the consequences of drug use and alcohol abuse. It talked about not feeling any pressure to have sex. It talked about not feeling pressure to smoke cigarettes. It talked about the benefit of being learned. It talked about not being afraid to beat the living shit out of someone who didn't like you for who you were! It was exactly what I was looking for!

The lyrics were definitely challenging and upfront, but no music I had ever heard before was as abrasive and angry as the wild, thrashing, sludgy, surging, cacophony of angst that was Minor Threat! It shattered all my sensibilities and completely rearranged my budding musical appreciation. I am not kidding when I say that Minor Threat completely changed my life. Beginning at age ten, I was determined to seek out the underground music that, like Minor Threat, goes unnoticed by the bulk of the population.

This band was the brainchild of Ian MacKaye. A disaffected DC youth who grew up in the same neighborhood as Henry Rollins, MacKaye was disgusted by the poverty, violence and drugs which were ubiquitous in the DC area in the early 80s. Though Minor Threat only lasted about three years their music is widely regarded as the birthplace of American hardcore. In an effort to maintain control over his music, MacKaye started his own label called Dischord Records. In the years following the demise of Minor Threat, MacKaye's label would record dozens of bands in the DC area and slowly start reaching beyond the DC scene to record upwards of 50 bands.

In 1987, MacKaye's next musical contribution was the band Fugazi. They lasted for nearly fifteen years and were the epitome of the DIY ethic. Hundreds of bands around the country looked to them for inspiration and information. They always played all ages shows and charged next to nothing. They sold their records for pennies and, despite becoming a huge underground success, NEVER signed to a major. The spirit that MacKaye brought to Minor Threat echoed through the music of Fugazi and is evident in the efforts of countless other bands to this day.

Yesterday was his birthday. He is 48 years old.