Editing Minor Threat (section)

==History==

===Formation and early years===
[[File:Minor-Threat-Logo.png|thumb|The band logo]]
Prior to forming Minor Threat in 1980, vocalist [[Ian MacKaye]] and drummer [[Jeff Nelson (musician)|Jeff Nelson]] had played bass and drums respectively in [[the Teen Idles]] while attending what was then [[Jackson-Reed High School|Wilson High School]]. During their two-year career within the flourishing [[Washington, D.C. hardcore|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]].<ref name="Alt Press">{{cite web|last=Pappalardo|first=Anthony|title=The Influence of Minor Threat 30 Years After Their First Show|url=http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/the_influence_of_minor_threat_30_years_after_their_first_show/|work=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]]|date=November 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116104548/http://www.altpress.com/features/entry/the_influence_of_minor_threat_30_years_after_their_first_show|archive-date=November 16, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> MacKaye and Nelson were strong believers in the [[Do It Yourself|DIY]] mentality and an independent, underground music scene. After 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.<ref name="KFH_MinorThreat">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160310042236/http://killfromtheheart.com/bands.php?id=877 "Minor Threat"]}}. ''Kill from the Heart''. Archived from {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080107161352/http://www.killfromtheheart.com/bands.php?id=877 the original]}} on March 10, 2016.</ref>

Eager to start a new band after the Teen Idles, MacKaye and Nelson recruited guitarist [[Lyle Preslar]] and bassist [[Brian Baker (musician)|Brian Baker]]. They played their first performance in December 1980 to fifty people in a [[Basement show|basement]], opening for [[Bad Brains]], The Untouchables, Black Market Baby and [[State of Alert|S.O.A.]], all D.C. bands.<ref name="Alt Press" />

The band's first 7-inch EPs, ''Minor Threat'' and ''[[In My Eyes (EP)|In My Eyes]]'', were released in 1981. The group became popular regionally and toured the east coast and Midwest.

"[[Straight Edge (song)|Straight Edge]]," a song from the band's first EP, helped to inspire the [[straight edge|straight edge movement]]. The lyrics of the song relay MacKaye's first-person perspective of his personal choice of abstinence from [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] and other [[recreational drug use|drugs]], contrary to most rock musicians at 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.<ref name="Wire">{{cite web |last1=Rettman |first1=Tony |title=excerpt from 'Straight Edge: A Clear Headed Hardcore Punk History' |url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/book-extracts/read-an-excerpt-from-straight-edge-a-clear-headed-hardcore-punk-history-by-tony-rettman |website=The Wire |access-date=November 12, 2024}}</ref> Minor Threat band members stated they never intended or viewed "Straight Edge" as a "movement".<ref name="MRR">{{cite web |title=Minor Threat Interview |url=https://www.maximumrocknroll.com/article/minor-threat-interview/ |website=[[Maximum Rocknroll]] |access-date=November 12, 2024 |date=August 30, 1982}}</ref>

"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 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 [[wiktionary:imperious|imperious]] attitude on the song.<ref name=ourband>[[Michael Azzerad|Azzerad, Michael]], ''[[Our Band Could Be Your Life]]'', New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2012</ref> 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 the act itself.<ref name="MRR"/>

Minor Threat's song "Guilty of Being White" led some critics to accuse the band of [[racism]],<ref>{{cite web|first=Rahan|last=Salam|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/12/criming-while-white-the-problem-with-our-conversation-about-white-privilege.html|title=What White Privilege Really Means|website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=December 17, 2014|accessdate=October 20, 2022}}</ref> 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 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."<ref name=ourband /> Thrash metal band [[Slayer]] later [[cover version|covered]] the song, with the last iteration of the lyric "guilty of being white" changed to "guilty of being right."

===Hiatus===
In the time between the release of the band's second seven-inch EP and the ''[[Out of Step (album)|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 a studio-only project called [[Skewbald/Grand Union (band)|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 [[Skewbald/Grand Union (EP)|Dischord's 50th release]]. During Minor Threat's inactive period, Brian Baker also briefly played guitar for [[Government Issue]] and appeared on the ''Make an Effort'' EP.

In March 1982, at the urging of Bad Brains' [[H.R. (musician)|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 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 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.

===Breakup===
[[File:LansburghCulturalCenter_showposter_092383.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.74|Poster promoting what would be Minor Threat's final show.]]

Minor Threat split up in 1983. Creative differences were the main factor in the breakup, Preslar and Baker having become fans of the band [[U2]] and wanting Minor Threat to pursue a similar musical direction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 23, 2021 |title=Catching Up with Punk Rock Legends: Brian Baker |url=https://gnarlymagazine.com/blogs/news/catching-up-with-punk-rock-legends-brian-baker?srsltid=AfmBOoo7kqhhJRKMlxhbQa6eCmTUYvSD1JVRrHSJmEFu3NWQqJguNNsg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250501144237/https://gnarlymagazine.com/blogs/news/catching-up-with-punk-rock-legends-brian-baker?srsltid=AfmBOoo7kqhhJRKMlxhbQa6eCmTUYvSD1JVRrHSJmEFu3NWQqJguNNsg |archive-date=May 1, 2025 |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=Gnarly Magazine |quote=We broke up in 1983 because Lyle Preslar (guitarist) and I had actually discovered [[U2 (band) | U2]] and really wanted to move in a similar direction because it was new, unique, and powerful with political lyrics. Ian understood and it was just an agree to disagree and part ways.}}</ref> According to Baker:<blockquote>"Did we all want to develop Minor Threat’s sound to be more melodic, but Ian MacKaye didn't? Yes, Ian 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 the [[Boy (album)|''Boy'']] album…?' I was dumb! And he wasn't. So Minor Threat fortunately stopped exactly when it did."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burrows |first=Alex |date=May 31, 2022 |title=Bad Religion's Brian Baker: 10 Albums That Changed My Life |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/bad-religions-brian-baker-10-albums-that-changed-my-life |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614042409/https://www.loudersound.com/features/bad-religions-brian-baker-10-albums-that-changed-my-life |archive-date=June 14, 2024 |access-date=November 12, 2024 |website=Louder Sound}}</ref></blockquote>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)|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 a four-piece group with the departure of Hansgen, played its final show on September 23, 1983, at the [[Harman Center for the Arts|Lansburgh Cultural Center]] in Washington, D.C.,<ref name="DanceofDays_pp122&148">[[Mark Andersen|Andersen, Mark]]; Jenkins, Mark ([[Soft Skull Press]], 2001). ''Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital''. Fourth ed., 2009. [[Akashic Books]]. {{ISBN|9781933354996}}. pp. 122 and 148.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151016005808/http://www.itallhappened.com/minor-threat-at-lansburgh-cultural-center-1983-09-23 "Minor Threat at Lansburgh Cultural Center - September 23, 1983"]. ''All It Happened''. Archived from [http://www.itallhappened.com/minor-threat-at-lansburgh-cultural-center-1983-09-23 the original] on October 16, 2015.</ref> sharing the bill with [[go-go]] band [[Trouble Funk]], and Austin, Texas [[Dance punk|punk funk]] act the [[Big Boys (band)|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 the breakup, MacKaye stated that he did not "check out" on [[hardcore punk|hardcore]], but in fact hardcore "checked out". {{citation needed|date=July 2023}} Explaining this, he stated that at a 1984 [[Minutemen (band)|Minutemen]] show, a fan struck MacKaye's younger brother [[Alec MacKaye|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 the hardcore scene.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

===Subsequent activities===
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)|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 (American band)|Embrace]] with former members of [[the Faith (American band)|the Faith]], [[Egg Hunt]] with Jeff Nelson, and later [[Fugazi (band)|Fugazi]], [[the Evens]], and [[Coriky]], as well as collaborating on [[Pailhead]].

Baker went on to play in [[Junkyard (band)|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 (band)|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 (band)|Idaho]], and ran marketing for [[Sire Records]]. He graduated from [[Rutgers School of Law–Newark|Rutgers University School of Law]] and lives in [[New Jersey]].

Nelson played less-frantic alternative rock with [[Three (band)|Three]] and The High-Back Chairs before retiring from live performance. He runs the record label Adult Swim Records (distributed by Dischord) and Pedestrian Press, as well as being a political activist.<ref name="Toledo">{{cite web |last1=Webber |first1=Jason |title=Minor Threats and Jeep Thrills |url=https://toledocitypaper.com/feature/minor-threats-and-jeep-thrills/ |website=Toledo City Paper |access-date=November 13, 2024 |date=December 3, 2019}}</ref> 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 (band)|Void]], [[Scream (band)|Scream]], Fugazi, Artificial Peace, [[Rites of Spring]], [[Gray Matter (band)|Gray Matter]], and Dag Nasty, and became a respected independent record label.

Hansgen formed Second Wind with Rich Moore, a former Minor Threat roadie and drummer for the [[Untouchables (punk band)|Untouchables]]. In 1992, he worked as a producer on the first [[Tool (band)|Tool]] EP ''[[Opiate (EP)|Opiate]]''.<!-- "In 2014, the band's song "Filler" was covered by straight edge hardcore band [[XTRMST]], on a live performance". This would belong to a "cover versions" section in the article "Minor Threat (album)" -->