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Minor Threat

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For the self-titled album, see Minor Threat (album).

Minor Threat
Minor Threat performing at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., in 1981
Minor Threat performing at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., in 1981
Background information
OriginWashington, D.C., U.S.
GenresHardcore punk
Years active1980–1983
LabelsDischord
Past members
Websitewww.dischord.com/band/minor-threat

Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., 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, playing bass, while Baker switched to second guitar.

The band was relatively short-lived, disbanding after only three years together, but had a strong influence in the emerging American hardcore punk scene, both stylistically and in helping to further establish the "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and concert promotion. Minor Threat's song "Straight Edge" was the basis of the straight edge movement, which emphasized a lifestyle without alcohol or other drugs, or promiscuous sex.[1] AllMusic described Minor Threat's music as "iconic"[2] and noted that their groundbreaking music "has held up better than [that of] most of their contemporaries."[3]

Along with the fellow Washington, D.C. hardcore band Bad Brains and California band Black Flag, Minor Threat set the standard for many hardcore punk bands in the 1980s and 1990s. All of Minor Threat's recordings were released on MacKaye's and Nelson's own label, Dischord Records. The Minor Threat EP and their only full-length studio album Out of Step have received a number of accolades and are cited as landmarks of the hardcore punk genre.[citation needed]

History

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Formation and early years

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The band logo

Prior to forming Minor Threat in 1980, vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson had played bass and drums respectively in the Teen Idles while attending what was then Wilson High School. During their two-year career within the flourishing Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, the Teen Idles had gained a following of around one hundred fans (a sizable amount at the time), and were seen as only second within the scene to the contemporary Bad Brains.[4] MacKaye and Nelson were strong believers in the DIY mentality and an independent, underground music scene. After the breakup of the Teen Idles, they used the money earned through the band to create Dischord Records, an independent record label that would host the releases of the Teen Idles, Minor Threat, and numerous other D.C. punk bands.[5]

Eager to start a new band after the Teen Idles, MacKaye and Nelson recruited guitarist Lyle Preslar and bassist Brian Baker. They played their first performance in December 1980 to fifty people in a basement, opening for Bad Brains, The Untouchables, Black Market Baby and S.O.A., all D.C. bands.[4]

"Out of Step", a Minor Threat song from their second EP, further demonstrates the said belief: "Don't smoke/Don't drink/Don't fuck/At least I can fucking think/I can't keep up/I'm out of step with the world." The "I" in the lyrics was usually only implied, mainly because it did not quite fit the rhythm of the song. Some of the other members of Minor Threat, Jeff Nelson in particular, took exception to what they saw as MacKaye's imperious attitude on the song.[6]

Minor Threat's song "Guilty of Being White" led some critics to accuse the band of racism,[7] but MacKaye has strongly denied such intentions and said that some listeners misinterpreted his words. He claims that his experiences attending Wilson High School, whose student population was 70 percent Black, inspired the song. There, many students bullied MacKaye and his friends. In an interview, MacKaye stated that he was offended that some perceived racist overtones in the lyrics, saying, "To me, at the time and now, it seemed clear it's an anti-racist song. Of course, it didn't occur to me at the time I wrote it that anybody outside of my twenty or thirty friends who I was singing to would ever have to actually ponder the lyrics or even consider them."[6]

Breakup

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Poster promoting what would be Minor Threat's final show.

Minor Threat broke up in 1983. A contributing factor was disagreement over musical direction. MacKaye was skipping rehearsal sessions towards the end of the band's career, and he wrote the lyrics to the songs on the Salad Days EP in the studio. That was quite a contrast with the earlier recordings, as he had written and co-written the music for much of the band's early material. Minor Threat, which had returned to being a four-piece group with the departure of Hansgen, played its final show on September 23, 1983, at the Lansburgh Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.[8][9]

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"Major Threat"

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In 2005, a mock-up of the cover of Minor Threat's first EP (also used on the Minor Threat LP and Complete Discography CD) was copied by athletic footwear manufacturer Nike for use on a promotional poster for a skateboarding tour called "Major Threat". Nike also altered Minor Threat's logo (designed by Jeff Nelson) for the same campaign, as well as featuring Nike shoes in the new picture, rather than the combat boots worn by Ian MacKaye's younger brother Alec on the original.[10]

MacKaye issued a press statement condemning Nike's actions and said that he would discuss legal options with the other members of the band. Meanwhile, fans, at the encouragement of Dischord, organized a letter-writing campaign protesting Nike's infringement. On June 27, 2005, Nike issued a statement apologizing to Minor Threat, Dischord Records, and their fans for the "Major Threat" campaign and said that all promotional artwork (print and digital) that they could acquire was destroyed.[11][10]

"Salad Days"

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On October 29, 2005, Fox played the first few seconds of Minor Threat's "Salad Days" during an NFL broadcast. Use of the song was not cleared by Dischord Records or any of the members of Minor Threat. Fox claimed that the clip was too short to have violated any copyrights.[12]

Wheelhouse Pickles

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In 2007, Brooklyn-based company Wheelhouse Pickles marketed a pepper sauce named "Minor Threat Sauce".[13] Requesting only that the original label design (which was based on the "Bottled Violence" artwork)[14] be amended, Ian MacKaye gave the product his endorsement.[15] A small mention of this was made, where MacKaye commented, "I don't have an occasion to eat a lot of hot sauce, but I also thought the Minor Threat stuff was nice."[14]

Urban Outfitters

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In 2013, Minor Threat shirts began appearing in Urban Outfitters stores. Ian MacKaye confirmed that the shirts were officially licensed. Having spent what he described as "a complete waste of time" trying to track down bootlegged Minor Threat merchandise, MacKaye and Dischord made arrangements with a merchandise company in California to manage licensing of the band's shirts, as well as working to ensure that bootleg manufacturers of the shirts were curtailed. In comments that appeared in Rolling Stone, MacKaye called it "absurd" for the shirts to be sold for $28 but concluded that "my time is better spent doing other things" than dealing with shirts.[16] Dischord had previously taken action against Forever 21 in 2009 for marketing unlicensed Minor Threat shirts.[17]

Members

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Discography

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Original material

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Compilation albums

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Compilation appearances

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  • Flex Your Head (1982) – "Stand Up", "12XU"
  • Dischord 1981: The Year in Seven Inches (1995) contains the first two EPs
  • 20 Years of Dischord (2002) – "Screaming at a Wall", "Straight Edge" (live), "Understand", "Asshole Dub"

References

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  1. ^ Hargus, Billy Bob. "Ian MacKaye Interview". Perfect Sound Forever. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved June 9, 2007.
  2. ^ Raggett, Ned. "Out of Step". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2006.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Complete Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2006.
  4. ^ a b Pappalardo, Anthony (November 16, 2014). "The Influence of Minor Threat 30 Years After Their First Show". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014.
  5. ^ "Minor Threat"[usurped]. Kill from the Heart. Archived from the original[usurped] on March 10, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Azzerad, Michael, Our Band Could Be Your Life, New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2012
  7. ^ Salam, Rahan (December 17, 2014). "What White Privilege Really Means". Slate. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  8. ^ Andersen, Mark; Jenkins, Mark (Soft Skull Press, 2001). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. Fourth ed., 2009. Akashic Books. ISBN 9781933354996. pp. 122 and 148.
  9. ^ "Minor Threat at Lansburgh Cultural Center - September 23, 1983". All It Happened. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Pitchfork (June 28, 2005). "Nike Pulls Major Threat Ad, Issues Apology". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  11. ^ "Major Threat East Coast Tour Poster". Nike. Nike Skateboarding. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
  12. ^ Moyer, Justin "Fox Uses "Salad Days" on NFL Broadcast Archived 2008-09-24 at the Wayback Machine" EconoCulture. Retrieved on March 17, 2007.
  13. ^ "Wheelhouse Pickles". Wheelhouse Pickles. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  14. ^ a b Del Signore, John (December 14, 2007). "MacKaye Mildly Endorses Minor Threat Hot Sauce" Archived February 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Gothamist. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  15. ^ "Minor Threat Turns Condiment, But Ian Doesn't Mind". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009.
  16. ^ "Ian MacKaye Approves Urban Outfitters' Minor Threat Apparel". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  17. ^ "Forever 21 Sold Bootleg Minor Threat Shirts". Pitchfork. March 10, 2009. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.

Further reading

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