Top 5 Saturday

I am almost through with American Hardcore. There is so much in it that I did not know that I feel like I am even closer to full nerd punk status. It is mostly useless knowledge but it is knowledge none the less. It is funny how scenes in the 80's were very clique-ish. I guess it is no different now but back then every town or state had a sound. L.A. ,D.C., N.Y., Midwest, all had there own scenes and not till bands started touring did the scenes cross over. So I was trying to pick my favorite bands from that era and it is real hard to do. I have always flown the L.A. flag because I grew up there. But ultimately I am a D.C. fan through and through. I can't pinpoint the reason really but they are the fathers of the true D.I.Y ethos and I have always respected that in Ian Mackaye and Dischord records. So Today my top 5 is gonna be more of a list of all the bands Ian has done and why they are so fucking awesome. 

Teen Idles- The first punk band Ian was in pre Minor Threat. Ian plays bass and Jeff Nelson on drums. They released one 7 inch then split. This almost pre-dates the first Bad Brains recordings out of DC. This is the band that got there feet wet and got there chops up to speed

Minor Threat- I could go on and on but all it takes is a listen and you will know how many light years they were ahead of the pack. Musically it is about as sonic and tight as it gets before the riffs turn into mush. Lyle Preslar had a insane way of playing guitar and there wasn't one single member that did not add to the mix. A band that was a unit a single machine that could mow over the city with a single pass. The lyrics are what dragged me in at 13. So angry and so heart felt. He hated religion, school, people around him, other bands, at it all showed in a in your face direct assault. I have always liked people that are like that. I could talk forever about how good they are but you already know I hope.

Skewbald- While Minor Threat broke up for 6 months Ian did this little side project. Recorded 1 ep and then started up Minor Threat again. It is kinda tell tell of how he was gonna go after Minor Threat. I will post it up so you can hear it. It is good but different.

Embrace- So it is 1985 and Minor Threat is done for sure. All the other members have already joined other bands or just fell out of the scene. The violence at shows had spurred all the older scene guys to really hate what was going on. So as a direct reaction Ian starts up Embrace. The first Emo band on the planet. There was a time when saying a band was Emo meant they were good. Now not so much. Embrace threw out the manual on hardcore and went there own way. Still very much rooted in punk but like walking a line of early REM and the Kinks almost. I bought the record in 86 when the full length came out. I liked it a lot but was a little sad that it was not Minor Threat. The songs stand up after all these years and are very good as a starting point for the next band.

Fugazi- The one true forever changing band in a lot of lives. I have to say I love this band and all they have done more then almost any other band. The music will truly stand the test of time and fans devour it like a rabid animal. I saw there first tour in 1988 or 89 and I have to say it was a life changing event. These four guys could actually play there instruments and still write powerful and elegant songs. There is still the message and no fluff so to speak of. It is all meat and potatoes and that is true on every record they have ever made. The full movie named Instrument is truly amazing and captures the band in there ultimate weird prime. They keep themselves entertained enough with weird time changes and crazy guitar parts always being dragged back in by the best bass and drums in the world. I listened to Repeater so many times it is now instilled in my head like a soundtrack to my high school years. I spent more time trying to make it with girls, skateboarding, driving to shows, laying in bed with head phones on, trying to soak in what they were doing, but never quite getting it. They write music that is so beyond what I can do that it is almost alien. Much like some one that is prodigy of some sort. Everything I do I have had to work very hard at to get to the level I am at. The way they play as a band is like how trees know when to change color in fall or how a bird knows where to fly for winter. Beyond  beyond you know what I mean.

As a bonus I looked up all the bands he has been in it is insane how many bands he has done or projects. Here is some more.
Pailhead
Egghunt
Guitar ensemble
Solo  projects
The Evens