Review #206: Flex Your Head (1982)

FLEX YOUR HEAD

Year: 1982
Genre: Hardcore Punk
Label: Dischord Records
Tracks: 32
Length: 41 Minutes
My Rating: 6/8

By 1982, the Washington D.C. hardcore scene had expanded to include many bands, and aside from Bad Brains, the oldest band of the type in the area, most of these bands had come to be apart of the Dischord Records roster. The Dischord Records rooster. You see, the Dischord Records rooster was in fact Ian MacKaye, and he sat on all of these eggs (because there were no hens around to do it for him) because he wanted to keep them warm so that they would hatch into more chickens, and these eggs hatched into the Untouchables, State Of Alert, Government Issue, Youth Brigade, Red C, Void, Iron Cross, Artificial Peace, and Deadline. So this is a very essential compilation of many of the early D.C. hardcore bands... many of these bands were apart of or supported the Straight Edge movement, which you've probably heard of but if you haven't it's about not drinking, doing drugs, smoking, or having a promiscuous sex life. Minor Threat and the Teen Idles are on this album also. Anyways, there's not much else I can think of to say right now except that there are about four different alternate covers for it, one with a piano and flowers, another with a wheat field, another with a picture of Ian's head, and another with three X's and two stripes on it.

1. The Teen Idles - "I Drink Milk"
I can't drink milk becuz I'm allergic to milk. In case ya didn't know that. The Teen Idles was the second (after the Slinkees) band that Ian MacKaye was in, but he only played bass guitar here. This song is fast, has a cool riff and it's about having a love for the art of milk-drinking.

2. The Teen Idles - "Commie Song"
Slower. The lyrics seem to be pro-communism and talk about a disgust at the capitalism and superficiality of American society. Nice riffs.

3. The Teen Idles - "No Fun"
Yes! A Stooges cover! This version is a lot faster... actually, I like the Stooges version better, but it's still pretty good. For those who don't know, the song is about staying at home with nothing to do and being really bored. A hardcore spin on a great song. Then there's a bunch of crazy animal noizes at the end.

4. Untouchables - "Rat Patrol"
The Untouchables were the band of Alec MacKaye, Ian MacKaye's younger brother, but his voice sounds just as close to Henry Rollins as it does to Ian MacKaye. And the guitars sound real sludgy and distorted. Makes for another wild song!

5. Untouchables - "Nic Fit"
I first heard this song years ago in the form of a cover of it by my favorite band Sonic Youth from their album "Dirty". This version is just as good if not better since it IS the original! I have no idea what a nic fit is, but my guess is that it's something really cool. You'd just have to had been there or something. Which I wasn't. NICFITNICFITNICFITNICFIT. Ever try saying "nic fit" over and over again really fast? Not easy.

6. Untouchables - "I Hate You"
Fast but not quite as fast. The riff is cool. The drumming at the chorus part sounds like something like what Void would later do... but don't worry, I'll get to that later. I HATE YOU (just kidding)

7. State Of Alert - "I Hate the Kids"
For those who don't know, S.O.A. is Henry Rollins from Black Flag's first band that he sang for! So you'll hear his familiar voice in the next few songs. The guitar sounds real mean and fuzzed-out. The beat is fast and it's about feeling alienated from your peers.

8. State Of Alert - "Disease"
Good guitar riff. It's about hating a person so much that you get a "disease" from being around them. Then Henry yells "THANKS MOM!" -- maybe he wrote it about his mom?

9. State Of Alert - "Stepping Stone Party"
Just like Minor Threat covered Stepping Stone by the Monkees, so did S.O.A.! Includes a bunch of inbetween-sung-lines spoken dialogue and that stuff. Even faster than the Minor Threat version and has a slightly different feel to it. Everybody sounds like they're going crazy on this juan.

10. Minor Threat - "Stand Up"
That's right, now it's time for good ol' Miner Threadt. The guitar riff rules, it's fast, Ian sings well, and the lyrics are about coming to a show to have some fun but then some asshole picks a fight with you and your friends and you use your friendship and courage to pull through.

11. Minor Threat - "12XU"
This is a cover of a song by the English punk band Wire. I have not heard the original version, but I'm sure it's not this fast and the song's about Ian (in this version) seeing a guy kissing another man in a magazine and outing him for it. Then at the end of the song he yells out FLEX YOUR HEAD... heyyyy... just like the TITLE OF THE ALBUM. WOW, IMMAGENIUS, MAYAN!

12. Government Issue - "Hey, Ronnie"
Starts out kinda slow, but it gets faster. The song accuses a guy named Ronnie of not being fun. The beat is neat because sometimes it alternates between being not so fast and being pretty fast. Hahah.

13. Government Issue - "Lie, Cheat, and Steal"
The bass riff here is awesome, and it goes perfect with the riff and the beat and the whole energy of the song! BUTT-FUCKED!!!!!!!!

14. Youth Brigade - "Moral Majority"
This is NOT the more well-known band called Youth Brigade that released albums like "Sink With Califjornia". This is a more angry, less melodic hardcore band. The guy has a angry-sounding voice. This song lashes out against the "moral majority" of 1980s America that was biased towards the values and opinions of rich white male Christian Americans.

15. Youth Brigade - "Waste of Time"
The guitar sounds awesome and real fucked-up.

16. Youth Brigade - "Last Word"
The verse riff kicks ass! Full of energy and fury. End of Side A.

17. Red C - "Jimi 45"
Starts out with a cool beat and bass guitar riff. The guitar slowly fades in. Soon you realize that you're listening to a semi-cover of Jimi Hendrix's cover of Hey Joe. Perhaps this is based off of hearing that song played at 45 RPM. It fades out after not long, though.

18. Red C - "Pressure's On"
The shouted lines are punctuated by segments of the guitar riff in the verse part. In the chorus it all flows more and the guitar sounds really really good here. Nice guitar-solo-age, too. For the final third of the song you're just hearing some lead guitar noodling around.

19. Red C - "6 O'Clock News"
The verse part is calm and kind of sad-feeling and the verse is fast and furious. I really like how well the guitarist in this band plays. This song criticizes how the news always places emphasis on sex and violence and tries to sensationalize it all for mass-consumption.

20. Red C - "Assassin"
ls,flksdfdsfsiksfps' f; s'fds

21. Void - "Dehumanized"
Yes! Void! Well, they don't sound quite as crazy here as they would later on, but this was their second official recorded appearance. The verse parts are really noisy and chaotic-sounding and the choruses are a little more linear. The drumming is a little sloppy, but it makes it sound all the more awesome.

22. Void - "Authority"
This song's about how the rightful place of the youth of today is to revolt against the cynical and greedy desires of the authority figures -- however, eventually each wave of revolution replaces the previous authority as authority itself and then "I'll wish I was young and I had the envy". Maybe it iz better to never grow up. As great as this song is, the alternate versions on "20 Years of Dischord" is a jillion times better.

23. Void - "My Rules"
Starts off with a rolling-type of beat and lead guitar tune... then it gets really really fast and angry about being mad that we're all being used as the cogs and gears of the machine. The chorus is slower. However, the version on the split album that came out a few months after this album is once again way better. So check that out also.

24. Iron Cross - "Wargames"
The guitar riff is amazing. The beat is cool also. The song is about war propaganda perpetrated by the United States government, making us believe that the purpose of war is to keep our country free when there are really usually other motives. The singer of his band has kind of a deep voice.

25. Iron Cross - "New Breed"
A song about punk revolution. WE ARE THE NEW BREED, AND WE WILL HAVE OUR DAY, WE ARE THE NEW KIDS, AND WE WON'T GO AWAY... FUCK YEAH!!!! The riff in both the verse and chorus are real cool. I like the sound of the guitar.

26. Iron Cross - "Live for Now"
This song reminds us to "live for now" and not place too much emphasis on the future but enjoy the moment because "kids today aren't kids tomorrow". I guess that's a pretty good message, though I look forward to the future because I'd rather not be living in this shithole where hardly anyone is any fun. There's only one guitar riff during the entire song. But it's a good one, at least.

27. Artificial Peace - "Artificial Peace"
A little faster than the Iron Cross songs were. In the intro, that is. Then it gets real fast. This song sings about how the hippie generation has created a false sense of peace with unneeded government programs to try to fix the problems of war when it's just a hollow facade to ignore the true causes of war. In the end of the song there's a slow psychedelic-metal type of section.

28. Artificial Peace - "Outside Looking In"
Fast. It's about feeling alienated from both the expectations of mainstream society and the punk scene as well. Feeling "caught between" and people who feel like they need to please everyone to be happy.

29. Artificial Peace - "Wasteland"
I like the guitar riff for this song's verse part. The song describes the suburbs as a wasteland where everybody tries to live the same and get a job/get a wife/stay at home all the time and it really is boring as shit. That lifestyle is bullshit. 'Cuz if I said "baloney" that would be a COMPLIMENT! Nice chugging guitar sound in the chorus. The guitar will chug all of your milk, just like singer from the Teen Idles.

30. Deadline - "Stolen Youth"
A slower song with a really heavy cool sounding guitar riff. I'm not sure what the lyrics are supposed to be about... some kid spends "two years on the run" because "he didn't believe" someone and now whoever somebody else was "stole his youth" and he "missed all the fun". But I don't know who that is. Confusing. But the does sound really cool.

31. Deadline - "Hear the Cry"
A bit faster. Once again, it has a cool guitar riff. I like the chorus guitar riff. It sounds cool. Can't find the lyrics for this one.

32. Deadline - "Aftermath"
Here we are, now... the last song. The intro is pretty mellow. The verse part is kind of slow and bass-centric. The chorus is fast and has a great guitar riff. "We're never free until we die". The guitar sounds cool.

That's a lotta punk! You'll hear almost all of the important bands from the early '80s D.C. punk scene here. Actually, it's kind of funny because some bands like S.O.A. and Youth Brigade (DC) only lasted for less than a year. But obviously after S.O.A. Henry Rollins got a place in Black Flag, thus making him even more notable. I rate this album 6/8 because almost all of the songs are good but a lot of the bands do sound pretty alike as you'd expect in a hardcore compilation. But don't pass over bands like Void and Red C and Deadline and Minor Threat who are better than average. Even the "average" bands sound really cool. But expect a lot of fast, hard, thrashing music for this compilation. Well, I'm going to get going to get going, now! Bye!

Top 3 Favorites:
1. My Rules (Void)
2. New Breed (Iron Cross)
3. Hear the Cry (Deadline)

Review #146: The Faith/Void Split (1982)

THE FAITH/VOID SPLIT ALBUM

Year: 1982

Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: Dischord Records
Tracks: 24
Length: 27 Minutes
Style: Angry/Emotional/Weird
My Rating: 7/8

The Faith and Void were two hardcore punk bands from Washington D.C. in the early '80s. The Faith was fronted by Ian MacKaye's younger brother, Alec MacKaye, and this was their debut release. Void had already released a 7" EP before this, and they are considered an influential band in starting the crossover-thrash genre (combining heavy metal and hardcore punk). Despite having many songs, the songs are often a minute or less in length, so the record totals up to just under a half-hour of music. And I dunno any crazy backstories for this one, so let's just get to it.

1. The Faith - "It's Time"
Pretty cool surf-y sounding beat and a great riff. The vocals have the classic D.C. snarl and it's a pretty damn solid track. Very angry-sounding. The chorus is a little more up-beat. The song is about wanting to get revenge on a judgemental society.

2. The Faith - "Face to Face"
Much faster! More melodic backing vocals are sung in the mid-section before the end of the song.

3. The Faith - "Trapped"
The song starts out sounding like the song before it, but the riff is much better. Then it changes up a lot in the chorus, with the ascending razor-sharp chorus riff.

4. The Faith - "In Control"
Starts with a slow section with a near-perfect guitar riff that just sounds really fucking awesome. Then that part ends and the song speeds up and the riff changes. After that part, the song repeats a little bit of the slow part one more time before ending.

5. The Faith - "Another Victim"
Fast. Sucks I don't know the lyrics. Not easy to figure out when Alec sings so damn fast.

6. The Faith - "What's Wrong With Me"
I love the little drum roll that intervals in the beginning of the song in the verse section. The chorus part is fucking awesome, with a little bit of extra guitar over-dubbed to harmonize with the main rhythm guitar, and adds to the flavor of the melody in that part.

7. The Faith - "What You Think"
Yep. Fast song yet again. This one's about the singer not caring what society thinks about him because they don't understand where he's coming from or his views on life anyways.

8. The Faith - "Confusion"
Slow, heavy intro. Eerie little lead guitar bits in that part. Alec's voice sounds all echo-y as he sings of his inner delusion and confusion that torments him. Then the song gets fast in the chorus part. The next section repeats the first part except the vocals are angrier and more intense this time around. Then another fast part. The song ends with some wisps of feedback.

9. The Faith - "You're X'd"
A song about posers in the Straight Edge scene who only claim it as their lifestyle as a fashion trend and secretly partake in drugs and alcohol anyways.

10. The Faith - "Nightmare"
This song's fast but not quite as much as the other ones. The tempo is sort of like "Circle One" by the Germs. The chorus riff is pretty cool.

11. The Faith - "Don't Tell Me"
Awesome verse riff! I love it. The song is pretty simple -- about people complaining about problems and pointless shit when we've already got our own problems to deal with. Great solo at the end.

12. The Faith - "In the Black"
Starts off with a weird backwards part. Then after a bit of jumbled bass, the song 'really' starts, and it's more mid-tempo. It's the longest song on the Faith's side. The melody here is more depressing and downbeat than the other songs. The song ends very abruptly! And that's the end of the Faith's side. Time for some Void...

13. Void - "Who Are You"
Starts out kind of weird, with some fucking around with the speeds, and then a false-start, and then the song just fucking blasts off like a rocket! John Weiffenbach sounds like an even angrier version of Ian MacKaye, and the synchronization between the vocals and the instruments with eachother sounds so shaky and strategically erratic that it just sounds like a big fucking blast of musical violence! Almost a response to the Faith's "Don't Tell Me" from the other side of the LP where this time the song's protagonist is mad because nobody ever listens to his problems! The song's chorus goes "WHO ARE YOU AND WHY AM I HERE??".

14. Void - "Time to Die"
Extremely aggressive and abrasive song! Kind of like a freakish cross between Minor Threat, Black Flag, and the Germs. The first riff is very cool, and the verse riff sounds real catchy, and then just sort of dark in the third riff. Seriously, this guy sounds like he's about to fucking lose it! I love it.

15. Void - "Condensed Flesh"
Very fast, with lots of tempo pauses and some parts feel like pure noise rumbling beneath your ears! An early version of this song can be found on the "Charred Remains" compilation tape.

16. Void - "Ignorant People"
Slow, heavy metal-style intro. The verse is full-speed-ahead fast, and the chorus is just like the intro riff and speed. A really fucked-up guitar solo can be heard near the end of the song before the song goes for an extended version of the verse section. The song attacks ignorant conformist people who "think they're individuals" when they only conform at every turn.

17. Void - "Change Places"
Slow, ominous intro. This song is pretty interesting in the sense that the tempo is constantly shifting between kinda fast and very fast, often when you don't expect it coming.

18. Void - "Ask Them Why"
The intro's slow and heavy. The verse and chorus are very fast, and John still sounds like he can barely keep up with the rest of the band. I like the riff that plays at the very end of the song.

19. Void - "Organized Sports"
My guess is that, well, this one iz about sports at school. Slow chorus with a shouted chorus that goes, well... uhh... see the title. Dude. There's some pretty fucking funny-sounding sped-up vocals in the background in the chorus section.

20. Void - "My Rules"
The first Void song I ever heard. There was another version of it on the "Flex Your Head" compilation. Awesome fast verse section, and a memorable-as-hell slow chorus part. I love it.

21. Void - "Self-Defense"
Don't know the words to this one. It's fast. It has a shouted chorus. Yeah.

22. Void - "War Hero"
Echo-y, spacey intro. Very fast. John's vocals are a little more muffled here. Gotta love the awkward tempo-shifts that happen in the chorus. The song ends in some clashing and bashing of noize at the end.

23. Void - "Think"
Second Void song I listened to. The vocals here are just about as loud and screamy as you can get without just sounding ridiculous. First half iz fast. Second half is slower and has a cool riff that goes perfect with the singing in that part. Neat backwards solo. And then MORE FAST MUSIC! HOLY SHIT!!

24. Void - "Explode"
The song begins with an ominous noodling about of the guitar and a one-note weird guitar noise. This is repeated, gradually faster and faster as Johnny just laughs n' laughs until the song segues into an extremely fast section that quickly does 'explode' into pure noise and musical chaos. And then, my friend... you die. YOU DIE! YOU DIE! YOU DIE! AAAGGGHHH!

Well, I strongly recommend this. I hadn't listened to the whole thing aside from a few songs prior to this review, but it definitely feels like one of the better hardcore albums I've heard. The Faith songs are fun as hell and very well-written, and the Void songs are overflowing with energy and hit you with un-expected twists at all the right times. Most of the songs here are great. So, definitely check this one out. Basically a step or two higher evolved than Minor Threat.

Top 3 Favorites:
1. Don't Tell Me (The Faith)
2. Time to Die (Void)
3. In Control (The Faith)

Review #139: Scream - This Side Up (1985)

THIS SIDE UP

Year: 1985

Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Hardcore, Post-Punk
Label: Dischord Records
Tracks: 11
Length: 37 Minutes
Style: Wild/Political/Emotional/
My Rating: 7/8

Scream was a punk rock band from Washington D.C., formed in 1981 by Peter Stahl, Franz Stahl, Skeeter Thompson, and Kent Stax. In 1983, the group released their first album called "Still Screaming", which was released on Ian MacKaye's Dischord Records label. That album earned the band success and the style was very politically-oriented, fast, loud hardcore punk. Well, this was their second album, and they added another member to the lineup; Robert Lee Davidson, to play the guitar, and here their musical style began to change and become more melodic.

1. Bet You Never Thought
Some of the guitars here seem a little cleaner than some of the more fuzzed-up sounds the band had offered before. Many nice guitar leads here. The song has a rather 'large' feel to it, but it's still quite energetic. There's a lot of backing harmonized vocals as well from the other band members. In the second half of the song, the beat becomes faster. There are a few parts where everything stops and it sounds like the song is going to end, but then the music all returns just before it all gets a little too off-course.

2. Things To Do Today
A very fast song similar to their earlier stuff, but even better! I love the guitar riff, here. There's a really fucking great funky little guitar solo midway through the song. Peter's vocals can be beautiful at some times. Ooh! Another great metal-ish solo at the end.

3. This Side Up
This one's a bit more dark-edged. The tempo is speedy like the two songs before it, but the riff in many parts seems more bleak. However, there are little shimmering streaks of optimism in the song, with the chorus and it's pretty good. You can hear the sounds of breaking glass at the end of the song.

4. Gluesniff
An anti-drug song about a man who sniffs glue. Begins with a beautiful acoustic intro, with Peter singing in a more monster-ish sounding voice as the glue-sniffer, and after that part, the song explodes into a noisy foray into the user's mind. This one's kinda fast, but not nearly as fast as the other songs before it. However, the complete chaos and energy to this one makes up for it. The vocals are excellent! Around the end, there's some nice group chorus vocals.

5. Still Screaming
Yeah, I'm guessing that the first album was named after this song. Funny that it didn't even get on that album! Well, it's a pretty long song, so BRAAACE YOURRRSELLLVEEEEZ (say those last two words in the voice that Peter uses in the intro of "Gluesniff"). But yeah, this song doesn't sound like anything else by the band I've heard. This song has elements of ska, with a post-punk sort of feel and even a saxophone! Feels like walking through the rain in a city or something in the evening time. Hey, in one part, we even get to hear a SCREAM! Who woulda thunk? Anyways, it's a very unique song. And, it's the end... of Side 1.

6. No Money Down
Yup, feel those chainsaw-sounding guitars. Some parts feel almost like early emo, and other parts of the song more just straightforward hardcore. Also, nice lead solos, which the band apparently had plenty of. There's a twist here, and the song ends in an acoustic section with the band singing "got no money -- no money down...", as the song fades out.

7. Show And Tell Me Baby
Some parts are angry-sounding, and others are more melodic sounding.

8. The Zoo Closes At Dark
Begins with a clippet of a person sayin' "that kid's makin' too much noise!". This is a very fast, rage-filled song. Excellent riff and drum beat. It actually kind of reminds me of a song I wrote myself, riff-wise (that song will be featured on a split album with Diehatzu Hijets very soon).

9. I Look When You Talk
Starts with only an acoustic guitar and the drums. Then it explodes into a piece that combines both the electric guitar and the acoustic guitar -- something that's always sounded real cool to me. It's a nice song, with a good riff, and a more upbeat style. Lots of variety and different sections to the song, adding to the mix.

10. Iron Curtain
This song sort of reminds me of crossover thrash (a mix between thrash metal and hardcore punk), mainly because of the song's riff and of course, the large usage of lead guitar. The beat is pretty cool in the chorus section. Nice vocals, nice everything. The second half of the song uses a different beat and tempo and echoey vocals, feeling more like later Black Flag.

11. Walking Song Dub
The first part of this song has a very wispy, aquatic feel to it, and the guitar here sounds much more gentle and mysterious. No lyrics in this part, just some humming to the music. This is interrupted by the sounds of street traffic, and then the song goes into a reggae/hip-hop-sounding song, with some heavy usage of samples and lots of whistling as well. The guitar melody is nice in parts of the song. Once again, very long (almost seven minutes), like the song "Still Screaming". And that's the end, the end. The end, the end -- that's the end!

With this being the first time I've ever listened to this album, I must say that I'm extremely impressed -- a huge improvement over the album before it! It retains the fury and style of hardcore punk, but it's for the most part a very experimental album and I like it. After this album, they released "Banging the Drum" in 1986... that one's pretty good also. But yes, check this out for sure if you can. It's pretty awesome.

Top 3 Favorites:
1. Things to Do Today
2. Gluesniff
3. Still Screaming

Review #125: Minor Threat - In My Eyes (EP) (1981)

IN MY EYES (EP)

Year: 1981

Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: Dischord Records
Tracks: 4
Length: 7 Minutes
Style: Angry/Rebellious
My Rating: 6/8

Minor Threat is one of the world's most famous hardcore punk bands and in the early '80s was considered the flagship band of the D.C. punk scene. After releasing their famous debut EP, "Minor Threat", later that year in 1981, they released a second EP with four songs entitled "In My Eyes".

1. In My Eyes
The tempo starts slow and then shifts to a speedier beat which collapses into noise. Then the first verse begins. The beat is pretty slow. The chorus is very fast, in typical Minor Threat fashion. The song puts down kids who do nothing but drink, get high, and have promiscuous sex. I for one don't think those things are ALWAYS bad, but Ian dislikes them, so I'll let him, heheh. However, I do agree that these things shouldn't be used as an excuse to be lazy, which is another point the song conveys.

2. Out of Step (With the World)
This is an earlier, dirtier version of the song that would later be on the band's "Out of Step" LP from 1983. It's a hyper-fast song that never takes breaks, with complete ferocity. Once again, it sings about Ian's reasons for living his Straight-Edge lifestyle. End of Side 1.

3. Guilt of Being White
This song's about how when Ian was in high school that he was often bullied by many of the black students for being white "for something I didn't do." Some early listeners mistook the song for being a racist song (similar to "White Minority" by Black Flag before it), but really it's just a song that shows that racism from all sides is always wrong.

4. Steppin' Stone
This iz a Monkees cover. And it's extremely catchy, at that. The song starts out in very low quality, almost as if it was being played on a radio, but then the bassier elements of the song come in and fill its consistency out. This song's about a guy who dates a poor girl who uses him as a "stepping stone", and before he knows it, she's become a glammed-up arrogant prick who's been "walking around like she's front page news". This one's just more of a fun song.

So, that's "In My Eyes". The second EP released in the same year. After this, the band recorded two songs for the "Flex Your Head" compilation in 1982 which featured Minor Threat and the Teen Idles among other various D.C. punk bands. In early 1983, they released their main LP, "Out of Step", which I have already reviewed (and the first EP). The band broke up later on that year, but they released another 3-song 7" in 1985. Eventually all of the Minor Threat songs were released together on one CD/LP in 1989. So yes, more good punk rock. You should listen to it, be it on the original 7" or on the CD with all of the Minor Threat you need. sdfjdsgfdgdfhghgfhfgl;f BYE BYE

Review #97: Bad Brains - Pay to Cum! (Single) (1980)

PAY TO CUM! (Single)

Year: 1980

Genre: Punk Rock, Reggae
Sub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: Bad Brains Records
Tracks: 2
Length: 3 Minutes (Very Short)
Style: Angry/Love
My Rating: 6/8

Bad Brains is considered to be one of the earliest hardcore punk bands ever, and also one of the most famous. They were also one of the earliest bands in the Washington D.C. scene. The group formed in 1977, originally called "Mind Power". They started out playing jazz-fusion, but quickly became interested in punk rock and started playing hard, fast music like no other at the time. Early on in their existence, the members of the band were introduced to punk bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and the Dickies. The band renamed itself "Bad Brains" after the Ramones song "Bad Brain", and H.R. (Human Rights), originally a guitarist, became the band's vocalist. This was the first release by Bad Brains, and also likely the first hardcore-punk record to come out of the D.C. scene, which would later also be the source of bands like Minor Threat.

1. Pay to Cum
One of the most famous Bad Brains songs, it's very fast. A lot of cowbell used, also. H.R. sings a mile a minute (more like a few seconds, actually), as his lines accumulate into an explosion of a group-shout of a single syllable. The lyrics sing about how humanity has lost sight of what matters in life, and if they don't rethink things, we will all die as a result of our ignorance. This song was later included on their debut album, and an alternate, slower version can be found on a 7" EP called "Cum to Pay". I actually like that version the best.

2. Stay Close to Me
A slower, slightly more mellow song. More on the reggae side of Bad Brains' musical style. Still, some of the drumming is pretty punk-influenced. The lyrics are pretty much what to expect from a love-song -- the protagonist tries to get his girl away from another man who ultimately isn't for her.

Well, that's all of "Pay to Cum". In 1982, the band released their debut album, simply titled "Bad Brains". The band would further delve into the Reggae style of music, as well as the Rastafarian religion, which the members were/are devout followers of. At one point, they had almost exclusively been playing reggae. They are practically one of the only notable all-black punk bands, and they are also one of the few original hardcore punk bands that still exists today -- they still perform shows and record new records! I must admit that I have only recently started listening to Bad Brains, but from the sounds of this and their first LP, I like what I hear so far.

Review #71: Teen Idles - Minor Disturbance (EP) (1980)

MINOR DISTURBANCE (EP)

Year: 1980
Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: Dischord Records
Tracks: 8
Length: 9 Minutes (Short)
Style: Rebellious
My Rating: 7/8

Ian MacKaye didn't invent the D.C. punk scene, but he certainly did revolutionize it. Before he made it big (in the underground, at least) with Minor Threat, he played in a band called the Teen Idles. And before that, he was in a band called the Slinkees. The Slinkees played one performance. At this time, Ian was just a bass-guitarist. However, most of the songs they wrote at that time were still used when the Teen Idles formed. So, this was Ian's first recorded band. Once again, Ian played bass, Nathan sang, Geordie played guitar, and Jeff drummed. Their mission was to return to what they believed punk rock was really about. Around the time that the Teen Idles formed, New Wave music was creeping into the punk rock scene, and was famous for its flashiness, use of synthesizers, and all-around glitz and glam. They wore mohawks, shaven heads, leather jackets, and stuck thumbtacks into the bottom of their shoes to make their appearance more intimidating and rugged than the pretentious New Wave style. The music was hard, fast, and short. For this reason, they were pretty influential in the early hardcore scene, even though they lasted for a total of less than a year! In that short lifespan, though, they did manage to squeeze out one 7" EP. Let's hear what it sounds like...

1. Teen Idles
A fast, short song. Describes feelings of teenage boredom, hating school, going to concerts, and being a bored teenager (wait, I just said that).

2. Sneakers
This one's about kids who act like they want to grow up too fast. The first line refers to a sixteen-year-old girl "going on thirty two", smoking a cigarette, wearing lipstick, and dating an older man -- even neglecting the song's protagonist when he tried to say hello her. The song encourages kids to "let their teenage ignorance last" and just have fun being a kid 'cause it doesn't last forever. This song has a really cool riff. There's a solo, too.

3. Get Up and Go
This is the kind of song I want to play for my parents. It sings about the fact that you don't HAVE to learn 'music theory' and learn all of this complex stuff to play in a band -- the band sings that while some kids would rather do that, they'll just "get up and go".

4. Deadhead
This one's very fast with a slow section in the middle. It's a song about a hippie kid who does drugs and listens to the Grateful Dead, while the band sings about how the 'deadhead' will soon be dead and goes on to call out his musical tastes as being "really lousy". End of Side 1.

5. Fleeting Fury
Starts out with a happy, slow intro, but it ends in a few seconds and makes way for a FLEETING FURY of fast punk rock! The first verse of the song sings about the old days of punk rock and the "cries of freedom in the United Kingdom". The rest of the song is based around how punk rock has become for many little more than an image that has "lost its sting" and how a lot of punks want to be seen in the public eye acting mean and tough.

6. Fiorucci Nightmare
A song singing about "an asshole's dream", and snobby rich people who spend their money on expensive fancy clothes and "learn their fashion from a magazine". My favorite line of the song is "do you really think you're in our dreams?" -- who WOULD want to be like THAT? Shortest song on the EP.

7. Getting In My Way
This one's about a person trying to find his way home at night when he gets beaten up by a mugger.

8. Too Young to Rock
This track's taken from a live performance. You can hear the crowd cheering at the beginning. It's a song about the anger of kids who are too young to see their favorite bands at concerts ("it's hard to rock when you can't see the band"). The chorus goes "we're too young to rock", a sarcastic jab at how they feel that age is all that matters to the clubowners. Because it's live, the sound quality is significantly worse than the rest of the album, but if you know the lyrics, then this one rocks just as much as the other songs! The record's title, "Minor Disturbance" comes from a line in this song.

If I didn't say it already, another interesting thing the band did as well was the fact that they did a very cool thing and started their own label. This label is called Dischord Records, and it's still around today. This EP was the first Dischord release ever. Maybe in this review I gave Ian a little too much importance -- well, the other band members didn't go on to anything else significant except for Jeff Nelson; he became the drummer for Minor Threat when they formed and helps Ian MacKaye run Dischord Records today. He also played in a short-lived band called "Egg Hunt" with Ian in the mid 1980s. He has played in lots of other bands as well and currently plays in one called "Fast Piece of Furniture". And we all know what sorts of things Ian did next -- A LOT!! At the time that this 7" record came out, along with "Pay to Cum" by Bad Brains, "Nervous Breakdown" and "Jealous Again" by Black Flag, and "(GI)" from the Germs, there was another new sound coming around, more powerful than the sound of punk rock from the mid '70s... this sound still lives.

Review #68: Scream - Still Screaming (1983)

STILL SCREAMING

Year: 1983
Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: Dischord Records
Tracks: 17
Length: 36 Minutes (Long)
Style: Political/Rebellious
My Rating: 6/8

Scream was a hardcore punk band from the Washington D.C. scene. The band was formed with the original lineup of Peter and Franz Stahl, Skeeter Thompson, and and Kent Stax. They are regarded as being influential in the hardcore genre along with other early D.C. bands, and in my opinion, they're pretty good. This iz their first album. I couldn't find the lyrics to any songs on this album, so I'm just going to make up the interpreted meanings based on the titles of the songs, so just bear with my stupid bullshit.

1. Came Without Warning
Sometimes "came" is the past-tense of the verb "cum". Maybe it's a song about somebody cumming and not warning the recipient in advance. Can't find the lyrics so I guess I'm just going to have to come up with the song meanings myself, and you can't even blame me! Huahahaha. The song starts with a laser-beamy blast of feedback. Alternates between fast and slower sections of the song.

2. Bedlam
This song's about the American Summer of 1981 when Peter Stahl woke up with a lamb in his bed (get it??). Heheheheheheh. It's hard to hear, but the bass is pretty entertaining in this song. Fast, but not as fast as the song before it.

3. Soliditary
This song's about when you take a dump and your poop comes out really solid (like concrete, almost!). This one's pretty melodic and fast. A lot of background chorus vocals... It's really good.

4. Your Wars/Killer
This is a medley of two different songs. The first one is "Your Wars"; A song about not wanting to fight someone else's wars. Peter names a bunch of parts of the army such as the Navy and the Marines. The second one is slightly lengthier, called "Killer". I liked it a little better. It's probably about some guy who kills people.

5. Piece of Her Time
Okay, this one's fast but not as fast as the last few. More "oooh-ooooh-ohhh-ohhh" stuff goin' in the chorus section. What iz it about, you might ask? Well friends, it's about this one chick. She had a bunch of time. Like, a lot of hours worth of it. Some dude borrowed it and dropped it on the concrete. It smashed into little tiny pieces. And he has to pick them all up. What a shame.

6. Human Behavior
Starts with a spoken section which abruptly just EXPLODES IN YOUR FACE into a fast thrasher. Pretty short.

7. Stand
Opens with only bass which sounds real cool alone. It's a song beckoning its listens to 'take a stand' as we're encouraged to "get up". For some reason, just about every other line said in the song has this little ring to it. Gotta love the bass-n'-drum-roll in the middle of the song that just precedes a full letting-it-out which is definitely the best part of the song. The song gets really beautiful at the very end.

8. Fight/American Justice
Another two-in-one track. Fight is just another super-fast song. Not very long, though. The standout here is "American Justice". "American Justice" is a song about law enforcement and police brutality. It's a bit slower, and it a slight ska feel to it. End of Side 1.

9. New Song
This is a new song. It just came out. In 2010. And totally not 1983. And Scream is still around. Totally (actually, they did play a reunion show just a couple months ago!). This song is actually really cool. Starts a little mellow with bass and drums, but it all builds up into something packed with energy and youthful rage. There's even a really cool solo, here!

10. Laissez-Faire
Whether or not they're talking about Laissez-Faire government or the French phrase for "Let it Be", unsure of. Anyways, this is the best song on the album for me. It has an awesome extra clean, happy-sounding guitar added to all the chaos and distortion, really adds a new flavor to it. I love it.

11. Influenced
Begins with the sounds of a dude walking through a hallway and a few various false-starts before the song actually begins. It's fast. The chorus goes "you're influenced... to ignorance!".

12. Hygiene
The intro dialogue almost sounds like they're talking about a guy with a bump on his two-inch wang. Or maybe it's discussing the importants of anal hygiene. Sounds like I'm hearing a lot about some chick in this song. Has a pretty funky feel to it. I think it's the bass... I like it.

13. Cry Wolf
Either about a crying wolf or about the boy who cried wolf. Or about false paranoia-sparking propaganda. Your call. Shortest song on the album.

14. Total Mash
They say the modern term "mosh" (for slam-dancing) comes from the title of this song. Pretty neat intro... doesn't last too long, though... gets pretty fast and intense -- describes the appropriate force of a slam-dance.

15. Who Knows? Who Cares?
The first half is a creepy, sinister intro mostly driven by bass. The second half is another hard-driven punk-rocker. Great vocals, etc. Nothin' to complain about. Another highlight of the album.

16. Amerarockers
I guess this was the second take. Where was the first take? We'll never know. Once again, this song has a blatant ska influence on its sound, which is really cool and probably seemed really fresh n' such at the time. Of course, it's easy to ignore nowadays because the ska-and-punk combo is such a commonly used musical cliche -- not that there's anything wrong with that, but sometimes when a new band does it it just seems more like bandwagon-jumping than anything else. Peter tells us that we are "amerarockers" and so are they.

17. U. Suck A./We're Fed Up
"Umbrellas Suck Ass?". Another two-for-one-er. After a semi-lengthy bridge-piece, "We're Fed Up" starts, and it's a song about the youth of america being fed up with the government and the in-sight future for them. And that's the end-io.

Scream are still more cutting-edge than a lot of bands today. They also lasted pretty long for a hardcore band -- nearly ten years! Pretty cool, huh? As I said before, the band actually performed a reunion show at the Black Cat in D.C. two months ago. I really wanted to go! Oh well... anyways, this a pretty good album, full of top-notch hardcore thrash and some experimentation with other genres as well. So, check it out, friends.

Review #67: Minor Threat - Out of Step (1983)

OUT OF STEP

Year: 1983
Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: Dischord Records
Tracks: 9
Length: 21 Minutes (Medium-Length)
Style: Rebellious/Angry
My Rating: 7/8

Minor Threat was a hardcore-punk band from the early '80s. And while they only lasted about three years, they were really influential. As a result of one of their songs, they unintentionally sparked off a movement known as the Straight Edge Movement, and they were notorious for playing very fast, short songs like no other band at the time. The music was aggressive but good-natured, mixing their brash, uncompromising instrumentation with positive lyrics. Hell, they had their 'Minor Threat' EP's cover ripped-off by Nike and a hot sauce named after them. Minor Threat are a very memorable punk rock band. But it just goes to show, they were only around for several years, they could release two EPs and just one fuckin' full-length album and be as influential and remembered as they were. For a band nowadays that's near-impossible (sadly). But I'm not here to talk about how many people like Minor Threat or the impact they had on the punk rock scene. I'm here to review this album. So let's do that. Right about... now. No, actually, not then. I review this album after THIS sentence.

1. Betray
A song about a friend who "betrays" you by outgrowing a friendship and becoming "too mature". Very fast for most of the song, then at the end there's a slow bridge-section, and after that a fast but not-as-fast-as-the-beginning outro. My favorite song on the album. I really liked that slow section. I could relate to this song and it helped me a bit when I was having a problem with my friend who I felt like was growing apart from me. It's all fixed now, though. But trust me, this song's really good.

2. It Follows
A song about how the ways and silly social patterns of life never really end. It's fast. The chorus sounds a little like the song before this one.

3. Think Again
Slightly less fast. Like the two songs before it, it's really good. While in "Betray", the magic is in the tempo-shifts and rhythm, and in "It Follows", it's in the vocals, here it's just plain in the riff (all of them have amazing riffs, though). This song questions stupid behavior. Second-favorite one on here.

4. Look Back & Laugh
Slow intro, but most of the song is fast. It's about being in a bad situations with friends and the friendship getting ruined by it, when you should've really just looked back and laughed. Longest song on the whole album (over three minutes). End of Side 1.

5. Sob Story
A song dedicated to all depressing crybabies who just can't stop complaining. Maybe more emo kids should listen to this -- oh yeah, nevermind, when they get happy they just turn into even bigger assholes. I forgot. Ends with a "boo-fuckin'-hoo". Heheh.

6. No Reason
A song about pointless grudges.

7. Little Friend
A song about Ian's "little friend", a mixture of intensely negative feelings that rages on inside of him. This song is kinda slow (which I like).

8. Out of Step
A song that further elaborates on Ian's 'straight-edge' philosophy, and how (at the time at least) he is 'out of step with the world'. Ian talks about how he simply does these things because he doesn't find them very important.

9. Cashing In
For some reason the album doesn't credit this track as being on it, but it's there. Ian sings about stealing peoples' money through playing shows and how they just don't care or pretend to pose. A few references to "The Wizard of Oz" such as "I'm taking a walk on the yellow brick road" and the repeated phrase "there's no place like home...", which he ends with -- "So where am I?", in a sung voice rather than screamed or yelled. And, that's the end.

So with all that said, that was Minor Threat's only true LP. Not too long after it was released, the band broke up (and Ian went on to form countless other bands such as Fugazi). And for a full-length of Minor Threat, it's pretty good -- I liked the first half the best, but all of the songs are good in their own right. It's considerably a tad bit more melodic than the two records before it, but not by too much of a stretch. But, if you're a fan of Minor Threat or punk rock and haven't already heard this, go and check it out!

Review #45: Minor Threat - Minor Threat (EP) (1981)

MINOR THREAT (EP)

Year: 1981
Genre: Punk Rock
Sub-Genres: Hardcore
Label: Dischord Records
Tracks: 8
Length: 9 Minutes (Short)
Style: Angry
My Rating: 7/8

Minor Threat was one of the many bands formed by Ian MacKaye, and probably the most influential of them all. They unintentionally set off a movement called the "Straight Edge Movement", in which members pledge to abstain from alcohol, drugs, and sex, which still thrives today, though Ian himself played no role in creating this movement. This EP is considerably more melodic than a lot of hardcore from the time period, so it's no wonder that Ian MacKaye would become a leader in the post-hardcore genre that began in the mid '80s. Nonetheless, this is a really good EP, and anyone who likes punk rock (period) should like this, so give it a shot.

1. Filler
This a fucking song I can relate to! It's about a friend of Ian's who left him to live alone with his girlfriend and religion. The song itself has a good riff, a fast pace. An ode for all of us who lost a friend to "the easy way out".

2. I Don't Wanna Hear It
Starts with a quiet bass, and then EXPLODES into another fast song with a great riff. It's basically about a person who is constantly being told corrosive bullshit and lies who "doesn't wanna hear it" and ultimately tells the person to shut up.

3. Seeing Red
This song is about conformist people who laugh at anyone who's different and judges them by their looks rather than their minds.

4. Straight Edge
Ah, the song that started it all. When this song was first written, punk rock was laden with sex, drugs, and alcohol. And yet, we've gone half-circle: it's no longer being yourself, it's another damned trend. It's "cool" is pick on people who use substances or anything to temporarily make them feel good, and another pillar of how "holier-than-thou" punk rock has gotten today. As for what this song meant in 1981, it probably wasn't very popular. A punk NOT wanting to smoke, drink, or fuck? What the hell? I'm sure Ian took a lot of crap for that, more than today's "Straight-Edgers" do. I'm certainly not 'straight edge', but I can respect Ian for making the decision he did. And it's never good to let sex, drugs, or alcohol control your life. I think that was the point of this song. Shortest song on the album. End of Side 1.

5. Small Man, Big Mouth
A song about an insecure dude who "competes for the boys" in order to prove his worth to society. The riff changes briefly in the middle of the song.

6. Screaming at a Wall
The song that got me into Minor Threat (I heard the Beastie Boys cover of it). It's fast and crazy. Ian barks his vocals like a really intelligent doggy, and the "screaming at a wall" section has a really fitting riff. I'd imagine hearing this song live and being in the middle of a pit or something would have to be one of the most intense moments of one's life. Two-thirds through the song, there's a slow section of the song before the song speeds up one last time. My guess is that the song is about a stuck-up, exclusive, "in-crowd" member of society (or even the punk scene!) who spits upon the song's lowly protagonist, who longs for the day when that social structure either crashes down or kicks out the antagonist, unless the protagonist someday "has to use his hands".

7. Bottled Violence
Another anti-alcohol song. It's about a guy who gets drunk to feel confident with himself and goes out to concerts to get in fights and beat up people. Very short.

8. Minor Threat
The slowest song on the album, and it's pretty good. Starts with the riff, then Ian says "play it faster", as the beat starts, and the message seems to be REAL prominent message of Minor Threat -- "Don't waste your time acting like a grown-up". "I might be an adult, but I'm a minor at heart". Those are words that I hope I stay true to after I'm 18. There are fast sections of the song, but before ya know it, it's over.

Well, it's only under 10 minutes long, but this EP has a fucking lot to say! It asks a lot of questions that people were afraid to ask at the time, and though it condemns what was the prominent rock-n-roll attitude at the time, it's still a very rebellious, edgy record. Minor Threat left a huge legacy when it only lasted for 3 years! That's hard to do nowadays. Ian went on to form the first emocore band, and another successful post-hardcore band called Fugazi that was popular in the indie scene during the '90s. SDSFDSKMKNkdjgdfbngbdf fgjnfkjdgfdg8ruyr8it45tkjng;;fkg dfnsdkjfsdklf jskdakjhfasjkdhsayd8HAUIHDAIHS (translation: I like this record)