Although “straight edge” was never meant to be a movement, the sincerity and power behind Ian MacKaye’s lyrics allowed the term to describe a “clean lifestyle” to stick. It’s this power that explains why Minor Threat’s music is just as relatable today as it was when it was first released thirty years ago. The lyrics examine the pressures of society – from alcohol to growing up – but they also shed light on how the issues young individuals obsess over never change, regardless of the time period they’re living in. When discovering the album today, the listener gains a feeling that it doesn’t matter how much technology or social improvement has been introduced since the original release of this material - young individuals are still making the same difficult decisions their relatives were years ago. And with all the voices telling a teenager to “go for it”, Minor Threat was the young voice that tried to make the point of thinking about the consequences of “having a good time”. The message is sincere because of MacKaye’s personal conviction and his concern for other individuals.
A majority of the songs on
Complete Discography are short, angry, and profane bursts of hardcore which fall somewhere around the one minute mark. The guitar lines are fast and distorted; there’s definitely some production quality left to be desired, but the guitar tone is one the listener will almost automatically love. It is also a very fast album as far as drumming is concerned, with enough differentiation and unique fills to keep it interesting. Sometimes the bass is audible, sometimes it isn’t. However, this isn’t really an issue - and it’s chunky enough to sound pretty cool when it does decide to show its face. Almost all of the vocals are yelled and there’s a lot of profanity thrown into the mix, but it never manages to be offensive. There are also some tracks which show the band trying a more artistic approach and taking a break from the more simple structure of their very deliberate songs. However, regardless of how the band played during their short existence, they knew they’d always have a target audience, whether it was for the music, the lyrics, or both. It’s really something when music this in your face won’t deter someone who disagrees with the overall message. MacKaye didn’t want to force a lifestyle on people - he just wanted them to think for themselves.
