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 #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 #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)