A brief look into punk legends Minor Threat 

Ian MacKaye actually is the definition of punk to me. 100% has kept to his morals. Minor Threat meant so much to me as a kid. Had I kept to what I took from Minor Threat, ethically I'd have been a lot better off.

I was a few years late to Minor Threat. I probably discovered them and got Out of step in 7th grade around 86-87 or so. I remember seeing skaters in magazines wearing their shirts and since that was my “internet” at the time I checked them out. One of my all time favorite things to do after school was pop Out of step in my Walkman and play RC ProAm on my Nintendo over and over. That and blast it on a boom box by the curb we would skate.

Bad Brains is like the Jimi Hendrix of punk-there’s before Bad Brains and there’s after Bad Brains

"Ian's the only one (who never sold out his punk ideals." - Joe Strummer

I subscribed for a future Bad Brains video. Don’t disappoint me.

Lucky to see Minor threat as a kid in SF at the on broadway theater. Think was 1982 or 83. Great show great band. Fugazi was another great show.

The first album is one of the best hard-core albums of all time.

A fugazi video would be badass🙌

Thank you Ian McKaye and thx for Discord and so much good music and Bands.

Definitely do one on fugazi.. It’s nice to seen the younger gens show interest in great bands like Minor threat.

Fugazi were my favorite band for years , i still love them now. A video about them would be neat.

Really well done. Thanks for authoring an expository piece without injecting opinion. And thanks for answering all the questions folks would have. Out of Step along with a Cramps and a Bad Brains album changed my life. Great to finally know more of why such an inspired album was mostly a one off.

Good job. I grew in Baltimore and started attending punk/hardcore shows in the spring of '84. I saw many discord bands so I'm very familiar with the subject but you research unearthed some things I didn't know. So good job. You did forget to mention "Embrace" Ian's band between Minor Threat & Fugazi.

So many iconic pics of minor threat but the pic of Alec MacKaye on the minor threat ep is my favorite

I was listening to the out of step ep today while playing catch with my 12 year old son…i remember buying it on cassette when I was not much older than him. Good times.

all Ian's stuff has a huge impact on me musically. I saw fugazi 4 times in like a year and half span during the "end hits" time just before the release of "INSTRUMENT " when I watched that... well I figured they got me on video in a very unstable and insecure time of my life... sweet goodness, I've been playing avidly and still trying to have a healthy and positive reaction to the whole experience. what a trip it's been

Fantastic. Loved that and would definitely be interested in a Fugazi video.

Glad you started out mentioning Bad Brains. Without them, so much of what we know as hardcore and punk would be different. They blew minds. And Dischord, unlike a certain SST Records (one of most important labels of its time), still is releasing good stuff.

I am surprised that you didn't mention Embrace, the band Ian was in between Minor Threat and Fugazi. They weren't together very long but were very influential during that time.

I’m a big admirer of Ian Mackaye and have been for a long time but I can only imagine what a nightmare it would have been to have be in a band with him back then.

I was privy to Fugazi even before really knowing Minor Threat in the early 90s. Got to see Fugazi in 92. After my obsession with Fugazi and introduction to Minor Threat, I really admired McKaye for not giving in to societal pressures and resisting conformity and doing what he saw fit to do. Really admirable, especially among young people. Nobody have the fvcking balls to do what he was doing even today. I may not agree with everything he stands for, but I can agree with his attitude and respect him for it. 🙏

As someone who had the great experience of meeting Ian, he’d love this. Education and DIY: do it yourself. A mission statement that may seem daunting at first, but built a beautiful lineage. Even in the digital age, bands are born through GarageBand on iPads. Thanks for the video. Cheers!

One of the stereotypes of punk is that it's simple music that any idiot can play. Minor Threat destroyed that stereotype. They showed so much talent and skill in their playing. They were tight as hell, and their songs were powerful.

This was the band that turned me on to punk and hardcore . While I was an 8 year old listening to GnR and Skid Row then to Anthrax and Metallica in the 80s , my friends older sister gave me a Minor Threat tape cause my friend/her lil brother didn't like it . I sure fn liked it !!!!! That tape changed my musical life .

Earth Crisis would be another interesting deep dive to expand in the straight edge and militant vegan topics that were part of the punk and hardcore scene of the 90s.

Well done! Great to see someone exploring history of DC punk scene 🙂 and nice work getting those old live show videos

also jawbreaker would be good, since it was the band that even cobain thought would be the next big thing, played shows with oasis and nirvana, and should have made it because they had it sounded like a newer husker du.

Very cool. I didn't know this. Love their music to this day after all of the years.

This is a fantastic piece, man, well done.

Well done sir! You delivered an amazing synopsis of one of the best punk bands ever! I felt like I went back in time.

Yes to a Bad Brains essay! Please! Subscribed.

Your kitty is beautiful. This video is also. THANKYOU!

Minor Threat - my favorite punk band. The live concerts are legendary. Find some of them here on RU-vid, you'll never seen anything like it

Well done sir.

Thanks for this

wonderful resume, i really enjoyed. Minor Threat remains to be one of my favorite bands. I'll never forget the day in which I found a CD that said "Complete discography" and thought after playing it for like 40 minutes until the end I thought it was a mistake. I then looked inside of the booklet to realize that was actually it because all the songs were less than 2 minutes. Was a a wonderful introduction to fast paced energic punk. The SxE mentality and lyrics just added so much more rawness and authenticity to the whole thing, I was instantly hooked. I just want to add a tiny parenthesis around minute 11:57 you mentioned that yes the message was more positive in comparison to the Nihilistic and anarchic approach or direction. I want to say though, Anarchy is very positive! And many Anarchopunk bands were actually pro vegan and if not SxE the maybe were sober (with exception of weed hippies xD) , Anarchist philosophy is advanced, it's actually positive and almost spiritual...and overall antiestablishment and anticapitalism.. something that Minor Threat actually didn't touch upon, you can still find many pictures of Ian Mackaye drinking Coca-Colas- well that wouldn't happen with anarchopunk bands...It's interesting that still Minor Threat reacted being authentic and going against social trends. Cool video mate but just wanted to shed some light as to not misinterpret the anarchist ideology..

I was into second generation punk rock but living in the UK had not known about Minor Threat One day I went into a Virgin Record store and saw they had two records by a band called Minor Threat and I bought them without hearing them. I over played those vinyls - it was great music and I was hooked BUT the band was over so... I was at the first concert of Fugazi in London at the Sir George Robey public house in Finsbury Park because of those two records and the record buyer at that record shop!

This is one of the best minor threat docs, I been listening to minor threat since highskool I'm Mexican there music. spoke to me.

As a 42 yr old, I was lucky to have 3 older siblings to introduce me to all this great music that pissed my parents off to no end. Me being 7: “I like this Desendent song and this other one. Are the brains bad or are they brains that are bad? A glorious era to do most of my growing up.

Hey, cool video! While I know all these stuff, it's always cool to see a very well researched video about hardcore punk topics. I've seen Jeff Nelson in 2022. when he was touring Europe presenting the documentary about Madam Organ Club and this was a very cool experience. Also saw Rollins spoken word in 2023., also a great experience.

Pretty sure you meant 1980 at around the 6:00m mark.. teen idols of course predate minor threat, so… just an editorial note..

Good level of research on this. Great job.

I was expecting crap and instead got an Amazing in depth video on Minor Threat. Thank you for the research and information. Subbing for future videos. I would love to see Videos about Strung out, Tiger Army, Trapped under ice, Bane, Hope conspiracy, Nothing face, Downpour, etc

Slayer did a couple minor threat covers on the album undisputed attitude and they were awesome

Ian starting Fugazi was one of the most exciting times for me and my friends in music. It was like Odin himself graced the world with more milk and honey, and the output did not disappoint. I know that sounds grandiose, but that's how it felt to 13 year old's who hung on every note and word of Minor Threat. I still get chills listening to them (and MT).

I was at CBs one night and needed some air so I walked up the street to Great Gildersleeves and walked inside and Minor Threat was playing. The whole floor was a mosh pit. Those were good times.

Would love to learn more about Fugazi

I was in the DC area a few years ago and drove over to the street the Dischord house is on. I parked d and got out and walked over in front of it and I’m just going to be real…..crazy as it sounds, I got goose bumps and damn near had tears in my eyes just standing there looking at this house thinking what it meant to me and so many other people. Directly across the street is a small strip of shops. The top is street level and around the corner you can see the foundation under the shops, the “basement” of the building. I believe this is actually where the Dischord distribution is. One last side note…. Brian Baker spent the late 80’s very early 90’s in the band Junkyard. They released two major label albums and had a little MTV success and everything. They actually got lumped in with the “hair bands” because of the times, but def weren’t a hair band….they were just a gritty rock band that sung about Harley’s, hot rods, booze, and cheating. The guitar work on the albums is phenomenal for the style. He’s an extremely versatile guitarist for sure.

This stuff is just as potent as when i first heard it on vinyl this video made me cry minor threat was so important to punk rock it cant be overstated.

Subbed! Deliver that Bad Brains video sooner than later, please!!!!!

An Artist circle/genre you should look into is 90s Goner Records Garage Rock. The Oblivians, The Gories, and The Reatards are a unique sounds from 1994-now that are super crazy lol I think it’d be an interested dive

So important and pivotal I've never heard of them! Heard of Bad Brains, they were excellent

Excellent work bro, fugazi video has me.

“Has anyone here actually ever saw the Bad Brains in the 80’s?” (I did in Miami, FL back then) 😀😃

i dont know where to start or stop.. so, ill just be quoted "much respect to all & to all a good night!" huge minor threat fan, i wear my minor threat shirt @least once a week. fugazu!! bring it!! thankyou

I don’t have much to say other than amazing video, I’m just interacting with a comment to boost your video, you deserve wayyy more views

Very well done bro

Cool video!

MT was one of my fave bands as a teen. The whole straight edge movement spoke to me.

Great video! I love independent content creators that focus on this kind of stuff. Subscribing now

your storytelling fantastic:) would love to see a video on fugazi

I really liked this video. Thanks man , learned alot

Great video overall ... Been loving Minor Great since the 80s ... You asked for recommendations so here are a handful that I'd love to see your take on: The Dickies, Angry Samoans, Cadillac Tramps/Manic Hispanic, X, Circle Jerks, Descendants, The Dead Milkmen, Stiff Little Fingers, or in the vein of DC (yet not really punk) Shudder To Think ... Keep up the good work!!!

Was Straight Edge in my youth....then I got swallowed up in the whole "shoegaze " thing when I saw,Ride at 15....in 1992.....Fugazi were one of those bands... that I would always be sown to go see live no matter what I was into at the time.......best use of a hype man with GuyPiccioto out side of hip hop...the interplay between him and Ian is so dynamic

Do a roky Erickson episode. Most underrated genius that ever lived!

Listening to Minor Threat at 12 years old changed my life. At a time when you couldnt find like bands, i spent hours at record stores trying.to find with anything with such energy. It wasnt till many years later I found Gorilla Biscuts, bad brains, and other bands of that ilk, but nothing ever moved me like the minor threat discography.

Wow great stuff

It would be cool to see a video about The Youth Brigade (Canadian & California band of the Stern Brothers).

Would love a video on Fugazi!

As someone who lived it, I would say that is a pretty fair assessment.

Ohh yeah ... Love Ian Mc and MT

Interesting video. I always liked the intelligence of MT, their self awareness elevated them above most others. Now, do a discharge biography.

ian owns a house here in guilford (family Homestead) saw him walking through the store i was on my cell with a friend. isaid that guy looks jusr like ian mckay he spun around and smiled

I'm lucky to have been alive in this time and saw everyone. I was a ginormous MT fan and was straight edge too. Well, outside of the Jack and Coke, and..... Uhhhhh..... Coke. Besides that and Marlboro Reds I was straight edge through and through!

Fan-bloody-tastic! Love this. Would love something about Civ / Gorilla Biscuits / Judge / Earth Crisis. That would be well cool. Even the infiltration of Veganism / Straight edge on music, as many many artists in all genres are straight edge now.

Yeah do a bad brains video . I subbed too btw

Enjoyed this a lot. Definitely do a Fugazi video

dc punk aficionado here; this is a really really well researched video and i actually learned a thing or two! one nitpick: guy picciotto’s name is pronounced ghee pitch-oh-tow. that’s all, happy trails :)

Great stuff.... How about one on Thin Lizzy?.....they were VERY influential to a variety of genres and bands. Also...Pub Rock. From the US, Australia, and England. The 101'ers for instance. Followed by Eddie and the Hot Rods, Dr. Feel-good, and so on. Great channel! Subbed!

Great video! Very well done, a few little extra tidbits, one of Ian’s lesser known bands that’s definitely worth a listen is Pailhead a collaboration with Al from Ministry. Also Samhain (not to sound like a dick but paraphrasing Danzig “is pronounced Sow-Ween but since nobody ever does we just call it Sam-Hain”)…So regarding Samhain and MT, the last track on Initium is Archangel, the long solo at the end of that song is actually played by Lyle Presslar. One of the greatest punk, pre-metal albums, as is all of Samhain’s work imo!

9:30 club, that place was awesome. the new place is great, but not the same as the original. There was this giant pole in the floor in the middle of the front of the stage area, anyway, not the same as the new place. Lots of great memories there, concussions included!

ian is the only person i have found to be larger than life for me, i think he is a true role model and the way he was raised is a massive reason for that. genuinely, the only person i can look at and feel like i aspire to be that.

MINOR THREAT are the apex of HARD CORE PUNK ROCK. They were the East Coast counterweight to BLACK FLAG. I’ve been a fan since their first 7”, and I was thrilled to see them live in SF. Great respect for McKay and his support for the DIY R&R scene.

Yes to Fugazi

You know what? I’ve just come in contact with your channel, but I’m rather impressed. Listen. I was in bands in Seattle during the 90’s. I expect your channel has done the big names of Seattle as nauseum. What do you think about digging a little deeper? I’d like to see something about The Rest Of Us. I do miss the old band names in the rehearsal space.

Would love to see a video on Drive-By Truckers. One moment you’re listening to dark well told stories in songs like ‘Decoration Day’, another you’re head-banging and screaming to ‘Lookout Mountain’, and at the end you’re cheekily laughing to ‘Gravity’s Gone’

Congratulations for the video! I love Minor Threat and other bands like Dag Nasty, Agent Orange and Circle Jerks. Is there any chance you put together some contents about them?

Nice video! Fugazi next please

Cool channel. You should do a video about indie pop / twee pop / jangle pop / C86. Tons of bands on that genre. The Field Mice, Trembling Blue Stars-, Felt, Go-Betweens, Young Marble Giants, The Lucksmiths, Magnetic Fields, The Wedding Present, Orange Juice, Marine Girls, Aztec Camera, The Wild Swans, Riverside USA, The Ocean Blue, Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, World Party, East Village, Momus, Heavenly, East River Pipe, The Shop Assistants, The Primitives, Fuzzbox, Darling Buds, The Popguns, The Flatmates, Acid House Kings, The Chills, Trash Can Sinatras, Television Personalities, etc ..

Oh please don’t sound uninterested when you mention the Meatmen. That’s a video to unpack right there.

Good work. Perhaps you could do a doc on The Ruts?

Do a video on Morphine. Criminally underrated. Like nothing else youve ever heard.

I'm straight edge because of Ian

I had a buddy in high school that when he was a kid he lived right across the road from Steve Hansgen and I remember one day I was wearing my Minor Threat shirt to school he told me "Oh yeah I know the bassist for that band" and he ended up pulling out his phone and texted him on the spot and I remember when he got the text back he showed it to me and it was dope as fuck

Hey bro I like ur stuff. You should do one on The Screamers. “122 hours of fear” is such a brilliant song and they never came out with an “album”. I’ll be delighted to see if u do but idk much concrete info regarding the band. One of them is the brother of black flags bassist Kira, but it’d be a good one. Or “The Rocket from The tombs”, that’d be cool too.

Please do a video on Youth of today. They have such an interesting history

Ian joined Pailhead - with Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker, Bill Rieflin - first wave of industrial punk ;)

A band i have just recently learned about that needs some sort of recognition is Cortex, i’m not talking about the french jazz groups from the 70s, but rather the punk Swedish band from the 80s. please give some sort of attention to them, even if it’s a 30 second short

The best band on DISCHORD was SCREAM, saw them live in Ljubljana while promoting THIS SIDE UP,great gig,bought the first two albums, and followed them til the end.

That’s sick