Minor Threat EP

Minor Threat's first 7-inch was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in March 1981 with Don Zientara, who by then understood exactly what DC hardcore bands needed: fast, clear, and minimal. The session cost around $700 and took less than a day. Eight songs, just over eight minutes total. 'Straight Edge' ran 46 seconds. Glen E. Friedman's cover photograph—Ian's younger brother Alec Mackaye crouched in combat boots, his face obscured—became one of punk's most iconic images, later leading to the Nike controversy. The record was pressed in editions of 10,000, which seemed ambitious at the time but sold out quickly as the national hardcore network discovered it. MacKaye had written 'Straight Edge' as a personal explanation for why he didn't drink, inspired by watching people he cared about destroy themselves with substances. The song's rejection of intoxication resonated with kids across America who felt alienated by both mainstream culture and punk's often self-destructive tendencies.