Dischord: The First Six Records (2022)

Day 23 of the #mayvinylchallenge asks for a limited edition/signed/numbered or otherwise rare album. I’ve been talking a lot about my love for the Dischord label, and was lucky enough to get in and order their limited edition box set of the First Six Records back when it was $40 and not the $250+ it’s going for now on Discogs. Covering the entire spectrum of music from bands I’ve never listened heard before now to bands that were a formative part of my youth, there’s a lot to unpack here, and that’s besides the great booklet, original liner notes and lyrics/posters, not to mention the careful job of sleeve and colored vinyl recreation, so let’s jump in here with some thoughts.

ChrisMay 23, 2022Leave a comment

Vinyl

#mayvinylchallenge Day 21: Dischord

Day 21 of the #mayvinylchallenge asks to feature an independent music label. As I’m still trying to catch up I decided to return to an old favorite – one I’ve been covering here at the site for a while. So rather than write up another album from the fierce and impeccable Dischord label, I’m going to link to a few I’ve already written for the site. Because sometimes you’re exhausted and it’s 90 degrees and you just need a good lie down, you know?

ChrisMay 22, 2022Leave a comment

Vinyl

Fugazi: Repeater (1990)

We’re back in Fugazi territory, and with every release I regret more and more not having this band in my life during my childhood. I was 17 when the band’s debut full length Repeater came out, and listening to it now 32 years later I can hear how the intensity, the immediacy of the songs would have taken a hold of me. True, I was listening to Minor Threat and getting my McKaye fix that way, but the space and use of sound as a punctuation rather than a melodic component is so addicting now…I assume I would have mainlined this like a fiend back in the day.

ChrisApril 28, 2022April 28, 20221 Comment

Vinyl

Fugazi: Fugazi/7 Songs (1988)

Confession time. Up until a few weeks ago I never owned any Fugazi on vinyl. Plenty of Ian McKaye – Minor Threat, Embrace, Teen Idles…even his latest band Coriky. Like everyone else my age I certainly had heard the band – I even had for the longest time 13 Songs and Repeater +3 Songs taped on a blank cassette thanks to friends in college who made sure I was aware. But as I got older I branched into other things, and Fugazi was always readily available…a download away. Once Dischord moved to Bandcamp I quickly snatched up digital copies of the albums, but vinyl still eluded me. But it’s never too late (except for certain albums that are INSANELY overpriced and currently out of print) so over the last few weeks I hunted down what I could and we’re starting at the very beginning, with the self-titled debut EP, or as it’s known in some parts 7 Songs.

ChrisApril 20, 2022April 20, 20221 Comment

Vinyl

Couch Slut: Take a Chance on Rock and Roll (2020)

There are a lot of fantastic independent labels I could have spoken about for Day 13 of the #mayvinylchallenge, and if you take anything away from this entry, it’s that you should support the labels that bring you the music you love. So shower some love on Castle Face, Drag City, Touch and Go, Dischord, RidingEasy…in the meantime I went with a small indie label I’ve been subscribing to for three years: Gilead Media. I’ve reviewed a number of their releases over the years for Nine Circles, and today it’s time for a quick word or two on Take a Chance on Rock and Roll, the stellar 2020 release from Couch Slut.

ChrisMay 13, 2021May 13, 2021Leave a comment

Vinyl

Egg Hunt: 2 Songs (1986)

Day 7 of the #mayvinylchallenge is, appropriately, a celebration of the 7″ – that glorious short format that nevertheless I don’t collect much of. Most of what I have comes from the Dischord label, which for decades has been the home of some of the best independent heavy music ever crated, from the blistering hardcore of Minor Threat to the post hardcore experimentation of Fugazi to the rebellious spirit of the Evens, the Warmers, and most recently Coriky. I picked those examples for a reason – they all feature Dischord founder and punk hero Ian MacKaye. For today’s entry I wanted to focus on a lesser known release from him and the label: the brief but infinitely punchy Egg Hunt and their 2 Songs 7″.

ChrisMay 7, 2021May 7, 20211 Comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Tag: hardcore

Dischord: The First Six Records (2022)

#mayvinylchallenge Day 21: Dischord

Fugazi: Repeater (1990)

Fugazi: Fugazi/7 Songs (1988)

Couch Slut: Take a Chance on Rock and Roll (2020)

Egg Hunt: 2 Songs (1986)