ian mackaye Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Minor Threat “Salad Days”

sfilzen — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 17:27:56 +0000

Minor Threat “Salad Days” 1985. Dischord Records. Today, April 16th, is Minor Threat’s Ian MacKaye’s birthday (b. 1962). Salad Days is probably one of the 80’s most iconic punk release (and certainly its most lampooned cover). The three-song EP (their third EP and the final release by Minor Threat) was released after the band’s breakup in ’83; it charted on the UK indie chart at #2o. The tracks are slightly slower (but still tough-as-nails) than Minor Threat’s previous recordings – there’s even acoustic guitar on the title track “Salad Days” before ripping into a bass-forward punk frenzy. “Stumped” is super lo-fi and messy, but with a great ear-wormy beat. The final track, “Good Guys” is a cover of The Standells 1966 garage rock classic “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White” (#43 US charts). Minor Threat’s version is just as catchy as the original, if a bit snottier. Our version still has the 7″x28″ folded one-sided insert with photos and lyrics which is kind of a miracle.

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Fugazi “Repeater”

sfilzen — Sat, 16 Apr 2022 18:48:54 +0000

Fugazi “Repeater” 1990. Dischord Records. Today, April 16th, is Fugazi frontman/founder Ian MacKaye’s 60th birthday (b. 1962). Repeater is Fugazi’s debut LP, released almost exactly 32 years ago on April 19th, 1990. While not a traditional commercial success, it is considered one of the most influential alternative rock records ever and listed as one of the top albums of the 90’s (Spin, Pitchfork, Alternative Press). It’s angry and loud, angular and precise making it “post-hardcore” and stridently anti-“the man” (I find this commentary from Allmusic hilarious: “It’s not too difficult to see why the band was allegedly lacking a sense of humor at this stage. They could have been yelling about filing their taxes; the yelling begins to fade into a din after a while”). But it’s great melodic punk music; my top songs are the title track “Repeater,” the hard funked instrumental “Brendan #1,” the anti-capitalist “Blueprint” with the classic refrain “Never mind what’s been selling/It’s what you’re buying/And receiving undefiled,” “Styrofoam,” and the epic “Shut the Door.”

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Fugazi “3 Songs”

sfilzen — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 22:44:33 +0000

Fugazi “3 Songs” 1989. Dischord Records. 3-song EP on 7″ vinyl. Originally a limited release on Sub Pop as part of their singles club in ’89, our Dischord version (which is much more common) came out in ’90. Three short post-hardcore tracks that are heavy on the punk-funk bass and melody that Dischord re-released later in ’90 as part of Repeater LP package (Repeater + 3 Songs). Best is “Song Number One” followed closely by the instrumental “Joe Number One.” The last track, “Break-In” is pretty good, too, though a bit more harsh and punk-screamy and more traditionally hardcore in its sound.

Check out Guy Picciotto’s moves on this live video of “Song Number One”

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Pailhead “Trait”

sfilzen — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 17:47:10 +0000

Pailhead “Trait” 1988. Wax Trax! Records. 4-song industrial EP by the supergroup featuring Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) on vocals and guitar, Al Jourgensen (Ministry) on guitar plus Paul Barker on bass and Bill Rieflin on drums (both also from Ministry). The EP is a comp of two singles released in ‘88 – “Man Should Surrender” b/w “Anthem” and “Don’t Stand in Line” b/w “Ballad.” Trait is definitely more Ministry than Minor Threat or Fugazi: very hard industrial but a bit of the Fugazi punk sound seeps in on “Ballad” and the lyrical delivery on “Anthem.”

Trait’s singles were the only releases by Pailhead besides another single: “I Will Refuse” backed by “No Bunny” from 1987 which features Eric Spicer (Naked Raygun) on drums. Those two tracks were included with the CD release of Trait in the 90′s. From Allmusic: “Pailhead was clearly a fun project to work on for two musicians who were allowed to make some music outside of their respective genres, and though their actual output was rather minimal, the record still stands as a bizarre time capsule of aggressive musical fringes from the 1980s.”

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Rollins Band “Do It”

sfilzen — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 00:26:04 +0000

Rollins Band “Do It” 1987. Texas Hotel Records, produced by Ian MacKaye. Do It is technically an EP, but it doesn’t feel like one; it’s the same length of many of its contemporary punk LP’s (probably longer – Rollins is not generally known for his brevity). It has three cover songs on Side A: the title track “Do It” originally by Pink Fairies, an almost unrecognizable “Move Right In” by Velvet Underground and a punk-blues version of “Next Time” by Louis Prima. Quite an eclectic mix, though I guess not surprising because, well, Rollins. Side B is all live tracks from a show in Deventer, Holland on October 22nd, 1987. Do It was released after the Rollins Band first LP Life Time, also in ‘87, after Black Flag broke up in ‘86. A couple of the live tracks from Holland also appear on Life Time, including “Lonely,” “Wreckage” and “Hot Animal Machine I” (well, on Life Time it’s “Hot Animal Machine II” recorded live at a show in Belgium).

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Fugazi “Fugazi”

sfilzen — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 20:08:20 +0000

Fugazi “Fugazi” (aka “7 Songs”) 1988. EP. Dischord Records. Post-hardcore punk, Fugazi’s first release after Ian MacKaye got the band together in ‘86 after Minor Threat’s and Embrace’s breakups. It’s got Fugazi’s best and best-known song “Waiting Room,” a ridiculously catchy and infectious track with a groove that is definitely not hardcore punk. I really never get tired of this one, though I’m sure the band did. I recall a friend telling me about a Fugazi concert in Milwaukee a long time ago. MacKaye had an audience member come up onstage to pick songs written on slips of paper out of a bag to determine the setlist. First pick? “Waiting Room.” MacKaye’s response was, “you’ve got to be kidding.” Also good on Fugazi: the similar-reggae-going-grunge bass-heavy “Waiting Room” groove of on both “Bad Mouth” and “Suggestion” plus I like “Give Me the Cure” which has a great almost jangle guitar hook over a mellow groove; the track reminds me of Sonic Youth’s stuff from around the same time.

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7 Seconds “New Wind”

sfilzen — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 00:14:15 +0000

7 Seconds “New Wind” 1987. BYO Records (Better Youth Organization) (and produced by Ian MacKaye). This past weekend we were up in the Fox Valley to see a show and were chatting with the band about concert venues and the dearth of good all-ages options. It got me thinking back to the mid-to-late 80′s in the Green Bay/Appleton WI area and how many awesome all-ages punk shows we had available to us. Like 7 Seconds, a band I saw about a zillion times, including the one on the flyer pictured, probably around the time New Wind came out.

I forgot how much I like New Wind! I’ve always listened to their more hardcore 1986 Walk Together, Rock Together a lot more (their cover of “99 Red Balloons” on that album is absolutely killer), but so many tracks on New Wind remind me of those 80′s shows, full of melodic punk and moshing (well, I’d stand at the edge of the pit, hoping not to get stomped while elbowing the more obnoxious slammers back into the melee). Particularly awesome are “New Wind,” “Somebody Help Me Scream,” “The Inside,” “The Calendar” and “Still Believe.” It’s definitely not hardcore (though at times hard-edged) but rather infused with earnest youthful positivity (i.e. “Expect to Change”) and signature “whoa-whoa’s” sprinkled liberally throughout. So I guess I wasn’t that surprised to see in the liner notes the band’s thank-you to U2 “for inspiration” – certainly not musically but absolutely for tone and message.

Lyrics to “Expect to Change”

I keep thinking each and every day
Have I really made a difference, have I made things change?
In all these years of “growing up,” and “standing strong,”
Has it made a single dent with all that is so wrong?
[Chorus:] But if I haven’t done a thing for world affairs
At least I know I try and I’ll show that I care
‘Cause it’s me that has to make an effort
Or what can I expect to change
That’s where it starts, in myself
Not just shifting all the blame

And as I’m growin’ older, I can see the changes
Yet history ain’t history at all it seems
I try to keep my head held high, eyes open wide
And growing keeps me learning, yeah it keeps me free
[Chorus:] What have you got to think that time will stop for you?

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Fugazi “Noize-Bleed!”

sfilzen — Tue, 03 May 2016 19:54:16 +0000

Fugazi “Noize-Bleed!” 1991. 7″ bootleg. “Kyeo (Silence is a Dangerous Sound)” and “Waiting Room,” recorded live. “Kyeo” appears on Fugazi’s 1991 LP Steady Diet of Nothing and on it Ian MacKaye “urges the listener to always remain aware, whether awaiting the enemy’s next battle move or remaining blissfully unaware of how people can be taken advantage of by others.” “Waiting Room,” probably Fugazi’s most well-known song, originally appeared on their 1988 debut EP Seven Songs and then again on Thirteen Songs, a combo of Seven Songs and the 1989 EP Margin Walker. “Waiting Room” is ridiculously infectious. As the bass grooves along, the listener is invited into the chant (“I wait I wait I wait I wait”) and gives us all an anthem for the doctor’s office or the dentist’s office which is something that, up until the song’s recording, was sorely missing from this world.

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The Teen Idles/S.O.A/Government Issue/Youth Brigade

sfilzen — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 15:49:53 +0000

The Teen Idles/S.O.A/Government Issue/Youth Brigade. 1980, 1981/2007. Dischord Records. 4 7″ EP’s originally released in ‘80 and ‘81 on one 12″ clear vinyl LP. 35 noisy punk songs jammed together, showcasing the DC punk scene of the early 80′s. (You can listen to samples of all tracks here). This Youth Brigade is not to be confused with (probably) better known Youth Brigade band from L.A. via Canada (featured in the film Another State of Mind along with Social Distortion). D.C.’s Youth Brigade was around from ‘80 to ‘81, vocalist Nathan Strejcek (also in Teen Idles) and drummer Danny Ingram attended high school with Ian MacKaye (in Teen Idles on bass, as well as of course Minor Threat, Fugazi and founder/owner of Dischord Records). This Possible E.P. was Youth Brigade’s sole release. The Teen Idles had one official release as well, the Minor Disturbance E.P. which pictures the black X emblem that became the symbol of the punk straightedge movement. S.O.A. (State of Alert) has the distinction of being fronted by Henry Rollins (going by his birth name Henry Garfield), S.O.A. being his first (and short-lived) band; they were active for about 10 months between the fall of ‘80 and the summer of ‘81, playing just 9 shows and recording the No Policy EP. Government Issue was the only band of the four featured to survive more than a year or so. After recording this first EP, Legless Bull, they would continue on with fluctuating lineups, breakups and reunions up to present day.

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Minor Threat “Minor Threat”

sfilzen — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:48:33 +0000

Minor Threat “Minor Threat” 1984. Dischord Records, originally released as two EP’s in 1981: “Minor Threat” and “In My Eyes.” Today, April 16th, is Ian MacKaye’s birthday (1962), so happy birthday to him.

Active from 1980-1983, Minor Threat were pivotal in establishing the sound of east-coast hardcore (along with other DC bands like Bad Brains), creating the punk straight-edge scene (”Straight Edge,” “Out of Step”) and proving the viability of DIY record production and distribution with MacKaye’s indie label, Dischord Records, still active today.

Run-off groove: Side A “Down and out, up and over” Side B “Over and over, over and out”

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