Flex Your Head
At a glance
- Artist
- Various Artists
- Released
- January 1982
- Label
- Dischord Records
- Catalogue number
- Dischord 7
- Format
- 12″ Vinyl
- Country
- US
- Tracks
- 32, 40:57
In the issue
A compilation documenting DC hardcore at its most explosive, released in 1982 and featuring Minor Threat, Government Issue, S.O.A., Teen Idles, and others. By this point the scene had turned openly territorial — cities developing their own dance styles, their own rivalries, their own sound, as Minor Threat noted while touring in a Maximum Rocknroll interview describing Boston dancers who "punch dance" and "shadowbox". Flex Your Head captured the exact moment DC's version of that territorial identity solidified.
How it was made
By 1982, DC hardcore had exploded into a full scene with dozens of bands, but most existed only on dubious cassette recordings and fading memories of basement shows. Dischord Records decided to document the moment with Flex Your Head, a compilation that would serve as both historical record and calling card to the national hardcore network. Don Zientara recorded 32 tracks at Inner Ear: Minor Threat, Teen Idles, Government Issue, S.O.A., Youth Brigade, Void, and others. Some bands played blindingly fast. Others pulled in metal riffs or reggae skank. All shared the same intensity and conviction. The album's packaging reflected Dischord's approach—simple design, credits listing every band member, thank-yous to the venues and community members who made the scene possible. Flex Your Head became essential listening for anyone interested in hardcore. A snapshot of a local scene at critical mass.
Track list
- A1I Drink Milk1:08
- A2Commie Song1:01
- A3No Fun2:24
- A4Rat Patrol0:59
- A5Nic Fit1:01
- A6I Hate You1:17
- A7I Hate the Kids0:39
- A8Disease0:27
- A9Stepping Stone Party1:50
- A10Stand Up0:53
- A1112XU1:04
- A12Hey, Ronnie1:08
- A13Lie, Cheat & Steal0:45
- A14Moral Majority1:06
- A15Waste of Time0:51
- A16Last Word1:17
- B1Jimi 451:19
- B2Pressure's On1:40
- B36 O'Clock News2:03
- B4Assassin0:49
- B5Dehumanized1:16
- B6Authority0:49
- B7My Rules0:52
- B8Wargames1:22
- B9New Breed1:21
- B10Live for Now2:05
- B11Artificial Peace1:38
- B12Outside Looking In0:58
- B13Wasteland1:55
- B14Stolen Youth1:43
- B15Hear the Cry1:02
- B16Aftermath2:15
The label
Founded with roughly $600 in Teen Idles earnings, Dischord released the scene's foundational records, starting with the hand-assembled Minor Disturbance EP and continuing through Minor Threat, Flex Your Head, and Fugazi's catalog. Its DIY methods, cheap ticket and record prices, and refusal to sign with major labels set the ethical template that DC hardcore and its later offshoots operated by.