#345: Minor Threat - Out of Step (1983)

Emily: I was actually really excited to listen to this album. I'm a big Foo Fighters fan, and Ian MacKaye, Minor Threat, and the DC hardcore/punk scene that they helped to form were a big part of a biography about Dave Grohl I read last year. Grohl was a few years younger than those guys and lived in the DC area, so that scene was where he really started out. Ian MacKaye was also instrumental in running a label for the scene that released the EPs and albums of tons of DC artists in the '80s, including Grohl's first bands. Before that, though, came Minor Threat. The band was only around for two years before MacKaye moved on to other projects (like the label and his subsequent band Fugazi), but in that short time they had a big impact on hardcore music. Out of Step shows why. It's an 18-minute long album of 8 fast-paced, hard-driving songs that embody the '80s hardcore punk sound. It's over almost as soon as it started, but in that short time it packs a wallop of sound and fury.
Favorite Tracks: Look Back and Laugh; Betray; Little Friend

Zack: Minor Threat had a lot of things working against them in terms of getting me to appreciate this album. For one, they were one of the progenitors of the hardcore punk movement, which is probably my least favorite flavor of punk, perhaps only trailing cowpunk. I kid, cowpunk is awesome. Besides that, they are also essentially for popularizing the straight edge movement, which means they also created a whole army of people in high school who really annoyed me. But Minor Threat avoided garnering a third strike by turning out a really solid album. Out of Step is everything you want from punk album: fast, loud, political, and really, really fast. It blasts out of the gate and sprints for 18 minutes. It is exactly as advertised, which I really appreciate. In general, I would still rather listen to punk rock from the 70s or punk rock revival from the 90s/00s than just about any hardcore album from the 80s, but if this is your thing then you can’t do much better than Out of Step.

Favorite Tracks: Look Back and Laugh; It Follows; Little Friend

#239: Fugazi - Repeater (1990)

Zack: My only real exposure to Fugazi was from a Philly-centric blog that swore by “Fugazi Friday.” Even then, I would only bother to actually listen to the song every once in a while, even though I liked what I heard. I wasn’t exactly surprised that Fugazi put together a solid discography in their time, most notably their debut album here. And I wasn’t really surprised by how solid of an album it was overall. What did surprise me was the degree to which it was a balance between a late-80s punk album and an early 90s alternative album. Considering this is their debut, I really was expecting more of a straight punk experience. But the balance really made it stand out from all the other debut punk albums on the list.

Favorite Tracks: Blueprint; Repeater; Two Beats Off

Emily: I too read the Philly-centric, Fugazi-Friday-featuring blog that Zack mentioned above. However, I never even bothered to listen to the Fugazi songs at all. Mostly because I usually read said blog at work or in other places where playing music is frowned upon, but also because I wanted to read about Philly rather than listen to seemingly unrelated songs. I've read a bit about Fugazi as well, though I forget where, and they're quite the influence on later alternative and punk music. Through all that, Fugazi seemed like the kind of band I would like but never bothered to check out. Now, presented with the opportunity to check them out (or else), I found out whether I actually would like them - and I did. Repeater, the band's debut, has a punk edge but isn't a punk album persay. It seems to bridge the gap between punk and the grunge/alternative sounds that emerged a few years later. This innovative combo makes it clear why Fugazi and this album in particular, while less successful than their later peers, was so influential for years to come. And it's a great listen to boot.

Favorite Tracks: Blueprint; Brendan #1; Shut the Door