VARIOUS
ARTISTS
TWENTY YEARS OF DISCHORD (three-cd box set)
DISCHORD
That
is no small symbiotic achievement. Washington DC remains, now as
then, a small music scene, that has always needed to be self-sufficient
to exist at all. But thanks to the Dischord model of the idealistic
label (no contracts, just quality and unwavering conviction leading to
an impeccable reputation), this small label run out of a house in Arlington
has nurtured and helped produce the most knowledgeable and enduring, constantly
creative underground music in the US. Out of their hands-off nurturing,
Dischord has fanned the DC flames so hard, the sparks set off a bonanza
of new great bands eager to be a part of the Dischord story—a superb
spiral. (Even the other labels and bands in town became infused
with this unusually high standard of merit and ethics.)
The first two discs also shed light on the three main periods of the label. Those who hate thrash hardcore would do best to skip phase one (1980-1983), tracks 1-14—though in flagship legends Minor Threat (“Screaming at a Wall”), the labels heads themselves, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, produced the second greatest band of that entire genre’s history, just behind their own incomparable DC inspiration, Bad Brains. Likewise, Scream (“Fight/American Justice”) might have been the third best! The other 11 bands, such as the too-early Government Issue (they’d be incredible later), Henry (then Garfield) Rollins’ raspy first band, S.O.A., and metallic punks Void, aren’t nearly of this caliber. Yet the energy is brand new (before the style became a big, ugly, dumbed-down ceaseless-copycat) and infused with real sociopolitical comment by pissed off, macho, but thinking youth.
And don’t anyone miss phase two (1984-1992), the final 15 tracks on disc 1, and 1-8 on disc two. This is when Dischord peaked, more or less single-handedly founding the “emo” genre (before it too became a tired and rote formula, stripping the original wonderful life of it). There’s one amazing band after another, playing amazingly inspired and committed post-punk, high-energy, melodic and cunning rock ’n’ roll. One should also buy the individual Dischord LPs of such top-notch talent as the fiery MacKaye-led Embrace (“Money”), the zippy and catchy Nelson-backed band Three (“Domino Days”) and High Backed Chairs (“Summer”), the impassioned original Dag Nasty (“Circles”), the tough, whipsmart Marginal Man (“Missing Rungs”), the hooky Gray Matter (“Oscar’s Eye”), the punishing, obtuse Jawbox (“Motorist”), the weirdly-wonderful mid-period Shudder to Think (“Red House”), and the label’s greatest single song, MacKaye & Nelson’s Egg Hunt one-off (“We All Fall Down”)—and hell, I haven’t even mentioned the jagged Fugazi (“Blueprint”) and Rights of Spring (“Drink Deep”)! But wait, there’s still more. What a run!
Which leaves phase three (1992-2000), the final 13 tracks of disc 2, a slew of challenging indie groups going in a million directions at once, from Slant 6 to Smart Went Crazy to The Warmers to The Makeup. The current Dischord remains an inspiration of how to stay unique and veer from the established molds they themselves set. In fact, any attempt to lump or characterize such disparate outfits would be pointless, and that’s the point. Why do so few get it?
Finally, if you’re one of the legions that have collected all 132 Dischord releases, or even just any of these phases, Twenty Years remains an important pick-up for the 24 rarities compiled on disc three. For the best hardcore stuff, an old, pre-first gig practice tape yields an unknown Minor Threat song, the gnarly “Understand” (and there’s a live “Straight Edge,” too, from their first gig). Their precursors, Teen Idles, come off much more together on two new tracks, and Dag Nasty never sounded better than this original-lineup “All Ages Show” version until recently. Two Fugazi bits are also welcome, and best of all, the unknown “Drop Dead Don’t Blink” suggests again that until this Dischord-era lineup fell apart, and an inferior one took its place on a major label, Shudder to Think were one of the greatest bands of the early ’90s. Fantastic!
And of course, you get that unmistakable historic archive booklet, too--this time 134- pages including great then-and-now photo shots...And six live clips of the early thrash bands on enhanced CD...And you get the label’s always-lower-than-everyone-else’s price, too. These people!!! They’ve made the rest of us look so slipshod! Dischord Records, 3819 Beecher St. NW, Wash, D.C. 20007.
The first two discs also shed light on the three main periods of the label. Those who hate thrash hardcore would do best to skip phase one (1980-1983), tracks 1-14—though in flagship legends Minor Threat (“Screaming at a Wall”), the labels heads themselves, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, produced the second greatest band of that entire genre’s history, just behind their own incomparable DC inspiration, Bad Brains. Likewise, Scream (“Fight/American Justice”) might have been the third best! The other 11 bands, such as the too-early Government Issue (they’d be incredible later), Henry (then Garfield) Rollins’ raspy first band, S.O.A., and metallic punks Void, aren’t nearly of this caliber. Yet the energy is brand new (before the style became a big, ugly, dumbed-down ceaseless-copycat) and infused with real sociopolitical comment by pissed off, macho, but thinking youth.
And don’t anyone miss phase two (1984-1992), the final 15 tracks on disc 1, and 1-8 on disc two. This is when Dischord peaked, more or less single-handedly founding the “emo” genre (before it too became a tired and rote formula, stripping the original wonderful life of it). There’s one amazing band after another, playing amazingly inspired and committed post-punk, high-energy, melodic and cunning rock ’n’ roll. One should also buy the individual Dischord LPs of such top-notch talent as the fiery MacKaye-led Embrace (“Money”), the zippy and catchy Nelson-backed band Three (“Domino Days”) and High Backed Chairs (“Summer”), the impassioned original Dag Nasty (“Circles”), the tough, whipsmart Marginal Man (“Missing Rungs”), the hooky Gray Matter (“Oscar’s Eye”), the punishing, obtuse Jawbox (“Motorist”), the weirdly-wonderful mid-period Shudder to Think (“Red House”), and the label’s greatest single song, MacKaye & Nelson’s Egg Hunt one-off (“We All Fall Down”)—and hell, I haven’t even mentioned the jagged Fugazi (“Blueprint”) and Rights of Spring (“Drink Deep”)! But wait, there’s still more. What a run!
Which leaves phase three (1992-2000), the final 13 tracks of disc 2, a slew of challenging indie groups going in a million directions at once, from Slant 6 to Smart Went Crazy to The Warmers to The Makeup. The current Dischord remains an inspiration of how to stay unique and veer from the established molds they themselves set. In fact, any attempt to lump or characterize such disparate outfits would be pointless, and that’s the point. Why do so few get it?
Finally, if you’re one of the legions that have collected all 132 Dischord releases, or even just any of these phases, Twenty Years remains an important pick-up for the 24 rarities compiled on disc three. For the best hardcore stuff, an old, pre-first gig practice tape yields an unknown Minor Threat song, the gnarly “Understand” (and there’s a live “Straight Edge,” too, from their first gig). Their precursors, Teen Idles, come off much more together on two new tracks, and Dag Nasty never sounded better than this original-lineup “All Ages Show” version until recently. Two Fugazi bits are also welcome, and best of all, the unknown “Drop Dead Don’t Blink” suggests again that until this Dischord-era lineup fell apart, and an inferior one took its place on a major label, Shudder to Think were one of the greatest bands of the early ’90s. Fantastic!
And of course, you get that unmistakable historic archive booklet, too--this time 134- pages including great then-and-now photo shots...And six live clips of the early thrash bands on enhanced CD...And you get the label’s always-lower-than-everyone-else’s price, too. These people!!! They’ve made the rest of us look so slipshod! Dischord Records, 3819 Beecher St. NW, Wash, D.C. 20007.
----Jack
Rabid
LINKS:
dischord.com