Where to start with DC Hardcore
DC Hardcore is a music scene from Washington, D.C., USA, 1979–1986. Its principal artists include Minor Threat, Fugazi, Ian MacKaye and Bad Brains. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 18 dated events.
Start here
- 1
Minor Disturbance
Teen Idles · 1980Original release: Dischord Records · DIS001 · 7″ Vinyl · US 1980Dischord's first release shows the DIY necessity that started it all, two teenagers hand-assembling 10,000 copies.
- 2
Minor Threat EP
Minor Threat · 1981Contains 'Straight Edge,' the 46-second song that defined the band's aesthetic and launched a global subculture.
- 3
Repeater
Fugazi · 1990Original release: Dischord Records · Dischord 44 · 12″ Vinyl · US 1990Shows DIY distribution working at massive scale, proving the scene's ethos could outlast hardcore itself.
Go deeper
- 4
Flex Your Head
Various Artists · 1982Original release: Dischord Records · Dischord 7 · 12″ Vinyl · US 1982A compilation documenting DC hardcore at its most explosive, released in 1982 and featuring Minor Threat, Government Issue, S.O.A., Teen Idles, and others.
- 5
Out of Step
Minor Threat · 1983Original release: Dischord Records · Dischord 10 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1983Released in 1983 with bassist Steve Hansgen, who had joined the band in the summer of 1982, Out of Step was Minor Threat's last release before the posthumous Salad Days EP.
- 6
Complete Discography
Minor Threat · 1989Original release: Dischord Records · Dischord 40 · CD · US 1989A full compilation of Minor Threat's entire recorded output, released by Dischord in 1989, six years after the band broke up.
- 7
13 Songs
Fugazi · 1989Original release: Dischord Records · DISCHORD 36 · CD · US 1989A compilation of Fugazi's first two EPs, released in 1989, now generally considered the record that established post-hardcore as its own genre even though it was marketed as a compilation rather than an album.
- 8
State of the Union
Various Artists · 1989Original release: Dischord Records · Dischord 32 · 12″ Vinyl · US 1989A 1989 compilation capturing how far DC punk had spread by the decade's end, from Shudder to Think's art-punk to Nation of Ulysses' agitprop rock.
For the obsessed
- 9
In on the Kill Taker
Fugazi · 1993Original release: Dischord Records · dis70cd · CD · US 1993Fugazi's first album to chart on Billboard, released in 1993 to praise from Spin, Time, and Rolling Stone as post-hardcore reached audiences well beyond punk's usual circles.
- 10
The Argument
Fugazi · 2001Original release: Dischord Records · DIS130CD · CD · US 2001Fugazi's final studio album, released in 2001, layered with intricate production and arrangements that pushed post-hardcore toward art rock.
The stories behind every record are in DC Hardcore.