A real treat comes from Washington and I guess you all know this great band. Minor Threat were formed 1980 in Washington by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitarist Lyle Preslar to form Minor Threat. They added a fifth member, Steve Hansgen, in 1982. The band was relatively short-lived, having disbanded after only four years together, but had a strong influence on the punk scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and concert promotion. Minor Threat's song "Straight Edge" became the eventual basis of the straight edge movement, which emphasized a lifestyle without alcohol or other drugs, or promiscuous sex. I remember that I borrowed the Out Of Step slab from a friend and this music shot directly into my veins. The fabulous lyrics, the aggressive fast music and the way the four transports all that is almost unique und alive a fantastic valve to turn anger into positive energy. This release is a real damn blast!
Another good song is "Guilty of Being White", which gets the word out on the blacks. Ian hated blacks, as they used to beat him up when he was in a predominantly black high school.
ReplyDeleteclassic right here
ReplyDeleteHey George Gantz, you can go fuck yourself.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The song is about racism, and than it can go both ways, and Im sure he was bullied or whatever. But racism against a privileged majority is a sporadic, context-conjured artifact and something only racists points to. America is endemic in its institutionalized racism, the slavery, race mysticism and hierarchy is a staple of the nations history. The wealth that keeps the house of cards standing in spite of a rotting system was was built on three things: 1. free labor/slavery 2. constant appropriation of native land and resources 3. wars. in the 2000s its a scam to cyphon tax payer money into the military-industrial complex, which in turn is in bed with all the flag waving fcukers in office.
DeleteAfter the civil war the black men and women were lower than slaves, basically outlaws - free for all to lynch - and had no legislative protection and no equal rights EVEN ON PAPER until 1968 (during slavery they were property and had to be fed at the very least even if the owner could beat them). MFs seem to forget race radical countries like South Africa and Rhodesia used the american segregation system but tweaked it to their context, making it LESS fierce and racist and called it apartheid. The ambitions of american research into and application of eugenics was copied by NSDAP and Hitler held it in high regard. So, whiny kid being beaten by black kids in school? No reason to forget 400 years of displacement, slavery and genocide.