Minor Threat – Out Of Step (12" mini album)

When their former band, The Teen Idles, broke up, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson decided to form a new band with Ian on vocals. In 1980, they started playing with Lyle Preslar, who sang for the Extorts and wanted to switch to guitar. Lyle introduced them to Brian Baker, who started playing bass in November and the band played its first show a month later. Minor Threat and SOA were part of a small wave of new kids and bands in D.C., many of whom were not into drugs and alcohol. Some of the bands made mention of this in their lyrics, and Minor Threat's song "Straight Edge" coined the phrase that is now used to describe a drug and alcohol-free lifestyle.

The only official album Minor Threat ever released was a mere eight songs - but that was enough. building on the promise and fire of the band's earlier singles, Out of Step instantly became iconic for american hardcore, not to mention for the DC scene, for years to come, as well as any number of bands who conflated personal and social politics. Any number of restrained turn-of-the-century emo acts could refer to songs on 'out of step' as much as fiery punk's-not-dead revivalists is demonstration enough of the record's impact. By this point the band had moved beyond the straightforward explosions of sound that characterized the earliest numbers.