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56-530: The compilation takes its title from the Minor Threat lyric shouted in the song "12XU", included on the album, originally by the English band Wire . Dischord assembled Flex Your Head as a way to record the many punk bands that had started up, and sometimes also ceased, in the previous years in the D.C. area. The album served as either a debut or sophomore release for every band on it except Minor Threat, for whom it

112-542: A basement , opening for Bad Brains , The Untouchables, Black Market Baby and S.O.A. , all D.C. bands. The band's first 7-inch EPs, Minor Threat and In My Eyes , were released in 1981. The group became popular regionally and toured the east coast and Midwest. " Straight Edge ," a song from the band's first EP, helped to inspire the straight edge movement . The lyrics of the song relay MacKaye's first-person perspective of his personal choice of abstinence from alcohol and other drugs , contrary to most rock musicians at

168-486: A U.S. tour with a then-unknown Deftones . However, the reunion did not last for long, because of H.R.'s erratic behavior while performing and several violent incidents against the band's manager, fans, and venue employees. H.R. landed in jail and the band broke up once again. In 1997 Bad Brains reconvened to remaster some early recordings, which were released as the EP The Omega Sessions . From 1998 to 2001,

224-488: A catalyst for that city's burgeoning hardcore scene. By 1982, they were a regular act at the New York venue CBGB . Dr. Know recalled, "We played CB's every friggin' night. This whole 'Sunday matinee' thing is from us. When we first played, nobody was there. It's like, 'Who are these niggers?' And we're in their face, killing it. We got a weekend day, and by then a little buzz started happening." Their self-titled debut album

280-433: A declamatory speed-rap chatter that spews lyrics with the mechanical precision of a machine gun". H.R. and Earl Hudson quit the band in 1987 to focus on reggae music. Touring for I Against I was completed with singer Taj Singleton and former Cro-Mags drummer Mackie Jayson. In 1988, Bad Brains signed with Caroline Records and began recording the album Quickness . The album was recorded with Singleton and Jayson, but

336-421: A few months of the release of Flex Your Head , aside from Youth Brigade these band's only recorded output is on the compilation, though from those bands would come the longer lasting Beefeater , Marginal Man and Fugazi . Only Government Issue and Iron Cross would survive past the next year. The songs "12XU" and " Steppin' Stone " were extremely popular covers in the D.C. punk scene. "Steppin' Stone", which

392-418: A fifth member, Steve Hansgen , in 1982, playing bass, while Baker switched to second guitar. The band was relatively short-lived, disbanding after only three years together, but had a strong influence in the emerging American hardcore punk scene, both stylistically and in helping to further establish the " do it yourself " ethic for music distribution and concert promotion. Minor Threat's song " Straight Edge "

448-573: A former Minor Threat roadie and drummer for the Untouchables . In 1992, he worked as a producer on the first Tool EP Opiate . In 2005, a mock-up of the cover of Minor Threat's first EP (also used on the Minor Threat LP and Complete Discography CD) was copied by athletic footwear manufacturer Nike for use on a promotional poster for a skateboarding tour called "Major Threat". Nike also altered Minor Threat's logo (designed by Jeff Nelson) for

504-588: A four-piece group with the departure of Hansgen, played its final show on September 23, 1983, at the Lansburgh Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., sharing the bill with go-go band Trouble Funk , and Austin, Texas punk funk act the Big Boys . In a meaningful way, Minor Threat ended their final set with "Last Song", a tune whose name was also the original title of the band's song "Salad Days". Following

560-604: A lot of hot sauce, but I also thought the Minor Threat stuff was nice." In 2013, Minor Threat shirts began appearing in Urban Outfitters stores. Ian MacKaye confirmed that the shirts were officially licensed. Having spent what he described as "a complete waste of time" trying to track down bootlegged Minor Threat merchandise, MacKaye and Dischord made arrangements with a merchandise company in California to manage licensing of

616-428: A statement apologizing to Minor Threat, Dischord Records, and their fans for the "Major Threat" campaign and said that all promotional artwork (print and digital) that they could acquire was destroyed. On October 29, 2005, Fox played the first few seconds of Minor Threat's "Salad Days" during an NFL broadcast. Use of the song was not cleared by Dischord Records or any of the members of Minor Threat. Fox claimed that

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672-399: A studio-only project called Skewbald/Grand Union ; in a reflection of the slowly increasing disagreements between the two musicians, they were unable to decide on one name. The group recorded three untitled songs, which would be released posthumously as Dischord's 50th release . During Minor Threat's inactive period, Brian Baker also briefly played guitar for Government Issue and appeared on

728-609: Is the jumping-off point for everything that followed..." Flex Your Head was re-released on CD in August 1993. A remastered CD version was released in 2002. Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. , by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson . MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitarist Lyle Preslar to form Minor Threat. They added

784-552: The Boy album…?’    I was dumb! And he wasn’t. So Minor Threat fortunately stopped exactly when it did." MacKaye was skipping rehearsal sessions towards the end of the band's career, and he wrote the lyrics to the songs on the Salad Days EP in the studio. That was quite a contrast with the earlier recordings, as he had written and co-written the music for much of the band's early material. Minor Threat, which had returned to being

840-563: The Make an Effort EP. In March 1982, at the urging of Bad Brains' H.R. , Preslar left college to reform Minor Threat. The reunited band featured an expanded lineup: Steve Hansgen joined as the band's bassist and Baker switched to second guitar. When the "Out of Step" was re-recorded for the LP Out of Step, MacKaye clearly sang "I don't drink/smoke/fuck", as was the intent of his words all along, in response to what many saw as his imperious attitude on

896-455: The Rastafari movement . Bad Brains have released nine studio albums. They have broken up and reformed several times over their career, sometimes with different singers or drummers. The band originally formed in 1976 as a jazz fusion act under the name Mind Power . Their classic lineup includes singer H.R. , guitarist Dr. Know , bassist Darryl Jenifer , and drummer Earl Hudson . This lineup

952-515: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , but were not inducted. In a December 2016 interview with Rolling Stone , Dr. Know and Darryl Jenifer discussed the band members' health issues and the future of the band. They announced that they hoped to record a new album titled Mind Power , after the band's short-lived original moniker. In June 2017 the band played a show featuring guest appearances by Randy Blythe and original Bad Brains singer Sid McCray, who sang with

1008-470: The British pressing of the album, displayed a black and white version of the flag of Washington, D.C. , with the stars replaced by Xs. Later, in 1985, the record was re-released with a new cover featuring a blurry photo of a man in a hat, which was used until 2008. The most recent version, a variation in red and white of the D.C. flag cover from 1982, came in 2010 on a remastered LP re-release. The CD editions of

1064-1121: The Faith , Egg Hunt with Jeff Nelson, and later Fugazi , the Evens , and Coriky , as well as collaborating on Pailhead . Baker went on to play in Junkyard , the Meatmen , Dag Nasty and Government Issue . Since 1994, Baker has been a member of Bad Religion . Preslar was briefly a member of Glenn Danzig 's Samhain , and his playing appears on a few songs on the band's first record. He joined The Meatmen in 1984, along with fellow Minor Threat member Brian Baker. He later ran Caroline Records , signing and working with (among others) Peter Gabriel , Ben Folds , Chemical Brothers , and Idaho , and ran marketing for Sire Records . He graduated from Rutgers University School of Law and lives in New Jersey . Nelson played less-frantic alternative rock with Three and The High-Back Chairs before retiring from live performance. He runs

1120-693: The Hudson brothers again quit the band. Mackie Jayson again joined on drums. Former Faith No More member Chuck Mosley took over on lead vocals in 1990–91, and was then replaced by Israel Joseph I (Dexter Pinto). In 1990, the band collaborated with Henry Rollins on a cover of The MC5 's " Kick Out the Jams ", which appears on the soundtrack to the film Pump Up the Volume . As bands influenced by Bad Brains (such as Living Colour and Fishbone ) enjoyed commercial success, Epic Records approached Dr. Know in 1992 and offered

1176-433: The Hudson brothers returned to the band in 1989 and H.R. replaced Singleton's work with new lyrics and vocals. During this period, the Hudson brothers, who wanted to steer the band toward reggae, often clashed with Dr. Know and Jenifer, who were increasingly interested in hard rock and heavy metal. H.R. often failed to turn up for scheduled concerts and recording sessions. After the tour supporting Quickness ended in 1989,

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1232-465: The Nation's Capital , this argument was over exactly what would be said in the message that Nelson wanted MacKaye to record, stating essentially what he said without knowing it was being recorded. Minor Threat broke up in 1983. According to Baker, a major point of contention was the band's musical direction: "Did we all want to develop Minor Threat’s sound to be more melodic, but Ian MacKaye didn’t? Yes, Ian

1288-549: The Teen Idles while attending what was then Wilson High School . During their two-year career within the flourishing Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene , the Teen Idles had gained a following of around one hundred fans (a sizable amount at the time), and were seen as only second within the scene to the contemporary Bad Brains . MacKaye and Nelson were strong believers in the DIY mentality and an independent, underground music scene. After

1344-436: The act itself. Minor Threat's song "Guilty of Being White" led some critics to accuse the band of racism , but MacKaye has strongly denied such intentions and said that some listeners misinterpreted his words. He claims that his experiences attending Wilson High School, whose student population was 70 percent Black, inspired the song. There, many students bullied MacKaye and his friends. In an interview, MacKaye stated that he

1400-508: The album came with all versions of the front cover to be used interchangeably. Justin M. Norton, contributor at the online magazine Stereogum , was of the view that: "[ Flex Your Head is] a Rosetta Stone not just for the DC scene but all of American hardcore ... Almost every niche of DC hardcore –- and a young performance from almost every crucial DC performer -- is covered in this must-own collection ... In addition to Bad Brains ' debut , this

1456-708: The band for the first time in 39 years. Former singer Chuck Mosley died in November 2017. Sid McCray died in September 2020. Many notable bands and artists cite Bad Brains as an artistic influence on their music, including the Beastie Boys , Nirvana , Foo Fighters , Guns N' Roses , Soundgarden , the Red Hot Chili Peppers , Jane's Addiction , Faith No More , Rage Against the Machine , Deftones , Clutch , Green Day ,

1512-453: The band their first major-label record deal. The album Rise was released by Epic in 1993. Jayson left the band in the middle of the ensuing tour and was temporarily replaced by Chuck Treece . The Hudson brothers again returned to the band in 1994, and they signed with Maverick Records for the 1995 album God of Love . In support of the album, Bad Brains opened for the Beastie Boys on their Ill Communication tour, and headlined

1568-567: The band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of other genres like funk , heavy metal , hip hop , and soul . Rolling Stone magazine called them "the mother of all black hard-rock bands", and they have been cited as a seminal influence to numerous other subgenres in addition to hardcore punk, including various subgenres of heavy metal, such as thrash / speed metal , alternative metal , and funk metal . Bad Brains are followers of

1624-643: The band's shirts, as well as working to ensure that bootleg manufacturers of the shirts were curtailed. In comments that appeared in Rolling Stone , MacKaye called it "absurd" for the shirts to be sold for $ 28 but concluded that "my time is better spent doing other things" than dealing with shirts. Dischord had previously taken action against Forever 21 in 2009 for marketing unlicensed Minor Threat shirts. Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. , in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk , though

1680-483: The band's then-singer Sid McCray introduced them to punk rock . Mind Power decided to switch their sound to hardcore punk and changed their name to Bad Brains , after the Ramones song "Bad Brain." Despite their burgeoning punk sound, after seeing Bob Marley in concert the band also became interested in reggae music and the Rastafari movement . McCray was briefly the singer for the new hardcore punk incarnation of

1736-423: The band, but he soon departed, and H.R. switched from guitar to lead vocals. The band gained a fan base in Washington D.C. due to their high-energy performances and occasional reggae songs. In 1979, they were blacklisted from many Washington area clubs due to their destructive fans; this was later addressed in their song "Banned in D.C.". Around 1980, the band relocated to New York City, where they would serve as

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1792-409: The book Punk! Hardcore! Reggae! PMA! Bad Brains! which recounted the band's history. In 2015 the band recorded the live EP The Woodstock Sessions ; H.R. did not participate for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Jamaican singer Jesse Royal. H.R.'s status at the band remained unclear throughout that year. In November 2015, Dr. Know suffered a heart attack and was placed on life support due to

1848-485: The breakup of the Teen Idles, they used the money earned through the band to create Dischord Records , an independent record label that would host the releases of the Teen Idles, Minor Threat, and numerous other D.C. punk bands. Eager to start a new band after the Teen Idles, MacKaye and Nelson recruited guitarist Lyle Preslar and bassist Brian Baker . They played their first performance in December 1980 to fifty people in

1904-410: The breakup, MacKaye stated that he did not "check out" on hardcore , but in fact hardcore "checked out". Explaining this, he stated that at a 1984 Minutemen show, a fan struck MacKaye's younger brother Alec in the face, and he punched the fan back, then realizing that the violence was "stupid," and that he saw his role in the stupidity. MacKaye claimed that immediately after this he decided to leave

1960-415: The clip was too short to have violated any copyrights. In 2007, Brooklyn-based company Wheelhouse Pickles marketed a pepper sauce named "Minor Threat Sauce". Requesting only that the original label design (which was based on the "Bottled Violence" artwork) be amended, Ian MacKaye gave the product his endorsement. A small mention of this was made, where MacKaye commented, "I don't have an occasion to eat

2016-627: The former members joining a multitude of bands including The Faith , The Warmers , Rites of Spring , One Last Wish , Skewbald , Happy Go Licky , Youth Brigade, and The Meatmen . State of Alert had also folded in early 1981 as singer Henry Garfield had joined Black Flag . Minor Threat had disbanded (although they would reunite a few months after the album's release) and since then Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson had founded Skewbald while Lyle Preslar joined an early version of Big Black . Youth Brigade and Red C both existed solely during 1981, and both Artificial Peace and Deadline would break up within

2072-586: The hardcore scene. In March 1984, six months after the band broke up, the EPs Minor Threat and In My Eyes were compiled together and re-released as the Minor Threat album. The Complete Discography archival compilation would follow in 1989, with the additional release of First Demo Tape in 2003. Two previously unreleased songs were featured on the 20 Years of Dischord compilation in 2002. MacKaye went on to found Embrace with former members of

2128-490: The last iteration of the lyric "guilty of being white" changed to "guilty of being right." In the time between the release of the band's second seven-inch EP and the Out of Step record, the band briefly split when guitarist Lyle Preslar moved to Illinois to attend college for a semester at Northwestern University . Preslar was a member of Big Black for a few tempestuous rehearsals. During that period, MacKaye and Nelson put together

2184-509: The original lineup toured under the name Soul Brains and released two live albums. In 2005 the band, known once again as Bad Brains, announced that they were recording their first album of new material in ten years, with MCA of the Beastie Boys producing. They played their first shows in several years at CBGB in 2006. Build a Nation was released in 2007. The band toured extensively in 2007–08, with former singer Israel Joseph I filling in for H.R. on some dates. Daryl Jenifer released

2240-476: The other songs were recorded at Inner Ear Studios with engineer Don Zientara . While the back cover of Flex Your Head has remained almost the same, its front cover has changed throughout the years. When the album was first released, featured a stock photography of a painting of a violin, roses, and sheet music . The second pressing, released almost immediately, came with a stock image of stalks of wheat. A third early cover, designed by Jeff Nelson and used for

2296-515: The record label Adult Swim Records (distributed by Dischord) and Pedestrian Press, as well as being a political activist. He resides in Toledo, Ohio . The band's own Dischord Records released material by many bands from the Washington, D.C., area, such as Government Issue, Void , Scream , Fugazi, Artificial Peace, Rites of Spring , Gray Matter , and Dag Nasty, and became a respected independent record label. Hansgen formed Second Wind with Rich Moore,

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2352-420: The risk of organ failure. After three months in the hospital he made a full recovery, thanks in part to a GoFundMe campaign organized by his bandmates. In March 2016, H.R. announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare type of headache called SUNCT , and received treatment for this condition and other ongoing health issues thanks to another GoFundMe campaign. In October 2016, Bad Brains were nominated for

2408-454: The same campaign, as well as featuring Nike shoes in the new picture, rather than the combat boots worn by Ian MacKaye's younger brother Alec on the original. MacKaye issued a press statement condemning Nike's actions and said that he would discuss legal options with the other members of the band. Meanwhile, fans, at the encouragement of Dischord, organized a letter-writing campaign protesting Nike's infringement. On June 27, 2005, Nike issued

2464-563: The solo album In Search of Black Judas in 2010. A short Bad Brains tour of Australia planned for 2010 was cancelled for health reasons. Bad Brains announced the recording of another new album in 2011. Into the Future was released in late 2012, and included a tribute to the recently deceased MCA. On the ensuing tour, the band added touring keyboardist Jamie Saft . In 2014 the band hinted at another new album, though no such album has yet been released. Also in 2014, author Greg Prato released

2520-459: The song. The band also inserted an overdubbed spoken section into the instrumental break before the last chorus with MacKaye stating, "This is not a set of rules, I'm not telling you what to do..." Recording engineer Don Zientara had inadvertently recorded an argument between drummer Nelson and lyricist/singer MacKaye that captured the message perfectly, so this was used. According to Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins' Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in

2576-440: The standard for many hardcore punk bands in the 1980s and 1990s. All of Minor Threat's recordings were released on MacKaye's and Nelson's own label, Dischord Records . The Minor Threat EP and Out of Step EP have received a number of accolades and are cited as landmarks of the hardcore punk genre. Prior to forming Minor Threat in 1980, vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson had played bass and drums respectively in

2632-472: The time. Although the original song was not written as a manifesto or a "set of rules," according to the band members, many later bands inspired by the idea used it as such. Minor Threat band members stated they never intended or viewed "Straight Edge" as a "movement". "Out of Step", a Minor Threat song from their second EP, further demonstrates the said belief: "Don't smoke/Don't drink/Don't fuck/At least I can fucking think/I can't keep up/I'm out of step with

2688-511: The vocals for the song "Sacred Love" over the phone from the Lorton Reformatory while serving time for a cannabis charge. H.R. gained additional critical notice for his expanded vocal style on I Against I ; according to Rick Anderson of AllMusic , "[HR] digs deep into his bag of voices and pulls them all out, one by one: the frightening nasal falsetto that was his signature in the band's hardcore days, an almost bel canto baritone , and

2744-436: The world." The "I" in the lyrics was usually only implied, mainly because it did not quite fit the rhythm of the song. Some of the other members of Minor Threat, Jeff Nelson in particular, took exception to what they saw as MacKaye's imperious attitude on the song. The line "Don't fuck" sparked widespread debate, to which Ian clarified that the intent was commentary on society's attitude towards predatory or casual sex , not on

2800-547: Was intact until 1987 and has reunited periodically in the years since. Many notable bands and artists cite Bad Brains as an artistic influence on their music. The band's origins date to 1976, when the members first came together as a jazz fusion band called Mind Power , in the mold of bands such as Return to Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra . The group included lead guitarist Dr. Know (Gary Miller), bassist Darryl Jenifer , and brothers Paul Hudson (later known as H.R. ) on rhythm guitar and Earl Hudson on drums. In 1977,

2856-403: Was offended that some perceived racist overtones in the lyrics, saying, "To me, at the time and now, it seemed clear it's an anti-racist song. Of course, it didn't occur to me at the time I wrote it that anybody outside of my twenty or thirty friends who I was singing to would ever have to actually ponder the lyrics or even consider them." Thrash metal band Slayer later covered the song, with

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2912-498: Was performed by State of Alert on this album, was also covered by Minor Threat on their second EP In My Eyes , while the song "12XU" was so commonly covered that several shows would have multiple bands playing their renditions. Flex Your Head was recorded between April 1980 and December 1981. The Teen Idles, Untouchables, and Red C songs were recorded at Hit and Run Studios with engineer Steve Carr, Iron Cross' tracks were recorded at C.A.B. Studios with engineer Tom Scott, while all

2968-622: Was released on the ROIR label, originally on cassette only, in 1982, followed in 1983 by Rock for Light , produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars . In 1985, the Bad Brains song " Pay to Cum " was featured in Martin Scorsese 's film After Hours . In 1986, Bad Brains signed with SST Records and released I Against I . In addition to the band's hardcore punk and reggae sounds, this album added elements from heavy metal and funk . H.R. provided

3024-415: Was right, and we were wrong. What Ian was doing was not just a band, Ian was building a community. He was so far ahead of his time and was thinking about the idea of Dischord and several bands and having this kind of reciprocating relationship with other artists. He was so big picture. But I was like: ‘I want to play bigger shows, I want to tour more. Minor Threat is a great little punk band, but have you heard

3080-413: Was the basis of the straight edge movement, which emphasized a lifestyle without alcohol or other drugs, or promiscuous sex. AllMusic described Minor Threat's music as "iconic" and noted that their groundbreaking music "has held up better than [that of] most of their contemporaries." Along with the fellow Washington, D.C. hardcore band Bad Brains and California band Black Flag , Minor Threat set

3136-407: Was their third. At the time of the album's release not only had most of the bands on it already have broken up, but many had gone on to start other bands, some of those bands also appear on the album. The Teen Idles had broken up in late 1980 and by the time of the release of Flex Your Head members had already started Minor Threat and Youth Brigade . The Untouchables broke up in 1981 and with

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