Thursday, November 19, 2020

Minor Threat: Complete Discography 1989



What's to be said about Minor Threat that hasn't already been said? Although they weren't the first

hardcore punk band, they would become the model for hundreds of bands that came after them would follow. They were fronted by Ian MacKaye, a man who espoused a strict D.I.Y. philosophy free of rock and roll clichés that had sunk many early punk acts. And unlike many others who claimed to have the same ideals, Ian practiced what he preached (and continues to do so today). The band's brief discography is one of the most intense collections of music ever committed to vinyl (or, these days, plastic).
                                                            
                                                                                        
Minor Threat was formed in 1980 by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson, two friends from high school who had made up the rhythm section of the Teen Idles, one of the first hardcore punk bands

from Washington DC. MacKaye, the son of a religious editor for a DC-area newspaper, was a fiercely independent spirit who was dedicated to the idea of a completely underground music scene. He was also fiercely opposed to the consumption of drugs and alcohol, although it was an idea that he lived himself and did not believe in forcing upon others. As part of their dedication to an underground and independent music system, MacKaye and Nelson had started Dischord Records using money the Teen Idles had saved during their existence (the Teen Idles posthumous 7" was the label's first release and former Idles vocalist Nathan Strejeck helped MacKaye and Nelson run the label for a brief period).
                                                      
                                                                                
Nelson and MacKaye first recruited Lyle Preslar to join their band. Lyle had sung for a band called the

Extorts (also known as Vile Lyle and the Extorts) for the group's only show but was better known as a guitar player. Lyle suggested 15 year-old Brian Baker as bassist. There are conflicting stories about Brian's entry into the band. Preslar attended the same high school as Baker but they were not friends, and MacKaye knew of him as a bratty kid who was also a talented musician (as a 12 year-old living in Michigan, Brian had once actually jammed on stage with guitar legend Carlos Santana).
                                              
                                                                              
Baker has said that he believes that he was asked to join the band because he was the only person left in the scene that wasn't in a band and played a string instrument. MacKaye, however, has said that Baker begged to be in the band. Whatever the story, the line up was now set and the group began practicing and playing out. Immediately, the music was impressively tight, much more so than many of their peers, bands like S.O.A., Government Issue, and Youth Brigade, who were starting out around the same time.
                                           
                                                                               
Like many of the early hardcore bands on the east coast, they were influenced by British punk, but they

had also come under the spell of the Bad Brains, who, like Minor Threat, were from DC. The Bad Brains influence not only resulted in tighter musicianship but also a much faster tempo than the early DC punk bands had. MacKaye, the group's lyricist and main songwriter, articulated an anger and aggression that was matched by few in those days. The combination of aggression and impressive musicianship made Minor Threat stand out.
Band History written by Patrick. READ HERE.
                                                  
                                                                          
[ AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine 

Complete Discography compiles Minor Threat's entire body of recordings on a single compact disc. Hardcore, as a rule, wasn't particularly musically diverse, but Minor Threat were one of the genre's groundbreaking acts and their music has held up better than most of their contemporaries.
                                                 

                                                                                   
As the de facto leaders of the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, the band pioneered the straight-edge

mentality by emphasizing impossibly fast tempos, brief songs, political lyrics, and a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle. Besides setting the precedent for several generations of punk rockers with their music and ideals, Minor Threat were simply a better band than most hardcore groups. They had a tight, distinctive sound that wasn't as heavy as their Californian counterparts and, therefore, were often more bracing and effective.
                                             
                                                                                
Although some of the music on Complete Discography, like much of hardcore in general, hasn't aged particularly well -- with its cheap production, rigid song structures, and political concerns, it is very much a piece of the early '80s -- the sound remains invigorating; the band possessed a visceral energy matched by only a handful of their peers. Complete Discography, in fact, is not only one of the cornerstones of any hardcore collection, it's not a bad way to become acquainted with hardcore.]
                                      
                                                                            
This group of songs is some of the strongest, loudest, most emotional, guitar-driven rock'n'roll ever

recorded. It equals the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Iggy and the Stooges combined. But even more than that, it ushered in an entire genre of rock and roll, hardcore (which never improved upon this imprint). It is a blueprint for early Replacements, Husker Du, and yes even REM who followed.
Minor Threat could be considered the definitive Hardcore Punk group. Fast tempos, Heavy Metal guitar riffs floating from all directions and the shocking out-of-tune inane vocals of Ian MacKaye were all the elements lots of band used to make their records.
                                                
                                                                                
The label "Dischord" compiled all of Minor Threat's records onto one CD, which is not only one of

Dischord's best sellers to date, but also is one of the few hardcore CDs that can truly be considered essential to any collection. Complete Discography is a 1989 compilation album released by the American hardcore punk band Minor Threat on 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.
                                               
                                                                                
The cover is very similar to that of Minor Threat, featuring the same photo of singer Ian MacKaye's younger brother, Alec MacKaye. The album was released with the cover in multiple colors, including red and green and a 2003 remastered version in blue and yellow.
                                               
                                                                                 
In 2018, Pitchfork ranked it the 23rd best album of the 1980s.

DISCOGRAPHY


1. Minor Threat (EP, 1981)
2. In My Eyes (EP, 1981)
3. Out of Step (studio album, 1983)
4. Salad Days (EP, 1985)



TRAXS & ALBUMS

 

 

01. Filler  (Minor Threat EP)  1:32
02. I Don't Wanna Hear It  (Minor Threat EP)  1:13
03. Seeing Red    (Minor Threat EP)    1:02
04. Straight Edge  (Minor Threat EP)    0:45
05. Small Man, Big Mouth  (Minor Threat EP)    0:55
06. Screaming at a Wall    (Minor Threat EP)    1:31
07. Bottled Violence  (Minor Threat EP)    0:53
08. Minor Threat  (Minor Threat EP)    1:27
09. Stand Up  (Flex Your Head - Collection)    0:53
10. 12XU (originally performed by Wire)    (Flex Your Head - Collection)  1:03
11. In My Eyes    (In My Eyes EP)    2:49
12. Out of Step     (In My Eyes EP)    1:16
13. Guilty of Bein White  (In My Eyes EP)    1:18
14. Steppin' Stone (originally performed by Paul Revere and the Raiders)   (In My Eyes EP)    2:12
15. Betray  (Out of Step LP)    3:02
16. It Follows    (Out of Step LP)    1:50
17.
Think Again     (Out of Step LP)    2:18
18. Look Back and Laugh     (Out of Step LP)    3:16
19. Sob Story    (Out of Step LP)    1:50
20. No Reason    (Out of Step LP )    1:57
21. Little Friend  (Out of Step LP )  2:18
22. Out of Step     (Out of Step LP )    1:20
23. Cashing In    (Out of Step LP )    3:44
24. Stumped    (Salad Days EP)    1:55
25. Good Guys (Don't Wear White) (originally performed by The Standells)    (Salad Days EP )  2:14
26. Salad Days    (Salad Days EP)    2:46



Total length:    47:10

Personnel

Ian MacKaye – vocals
Lyle Preslar – guitar
Brian Baker – bass guitar on tracks 1–14 and 24–26, guitar on tracks 15–23
Steve Hansgen – bass guitar on tracks 15–23
Jeff Nelson – drums
Cynthia Connolly – Drawing
Glen E. Friedman – Photography
Skip Groff – Mixing
Susie Josephson – Photography
Minor Threat – Producer, Mixing
Tomas Squip – Photography
Don Zientara – Engineer

FILLER LYRICS

 

 

What happened to you?
You're not the same
There's something in your head
Made a violent change

It's in your head, it's in your head, it's in your head
Don't look!
You call it religion, you're full of shit
Filler

Was she really worth it?
She cost you your life
You'll never leave her side
She's gonna be your wife

It's in your head, it's in your head, it's in your head
Don't look!
You call it romance, you're full of shit
Filler

Your brain is clay
What's going on?
You picked up a Bible
And now you're gone

It's in your head, it's in your head, it's in your head
Don't look!
You call it religion, you're full of shit
Filler

You never knew, you never will
Don't look!
You're not the same, fucking full of shit, man
Filler
What is going on?
Filler, filler, filler, filler in your head

BOTTLED VIOLENCE LYRICS

Get your bravery from a six pack
Get your bravery from a half-pint
Drink your whiskey, drink your grain
Bottoms up, and you don't feel pain
Drink your whiskey, drink your grain
Bottoms up, and you don't feel pain

Go out and fight, fight!
Go out and fight!
Bottled violence!

Lose control of your body
Beat the shit out of somebody
Half-shut eyes don't see who you hit
You don't take any shit!
Half-shut eyes don't see who you hit
You don't take any shit!

Go out and fight, fight!
Go out and fight, fight!
Bottled violence!
Go out and fight, fight!
Go out and fight!
Bottled violence!


MP3 @ 320 Size: 116 MB
Flac  Size: 328 MB


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