DISCHORD RECORDS FIRESTARTERS

 

A special-edition release of the most influential punk albums of the 1980s, Dischord Records Firestarters honors the volatile, aggressive beginning of an era.

Washington, DC in the 1980s was a hotbed for emotionally charged, aggressive punk rock, and much of it was being created by members of bands Minor Threat, Fugazi, and Rites of Spring under the Dischord Records label. Each of these bands can be held responsible for a separate current punk rock subgenre: Minor Threat for hardcore, Fugazi for post-hardcore, and Rites of Spring for emo. The musical fires started by these bands have been burning for over thirty years.

Each record in the Dischord Records Firestarters collection is packaged as a different tool for setting the world ablaze. Fugazi’s Repeater on cassette takes the form of a match book, Rites of Spring’s eponymous album on CD is disguised as lighter fluid, and Minor Threat’s eponymous 10-inch vinyl record pours out of a gas can. The battered, grungy albums certainly show their age, but they have certainly not lost their ability to cause powerful, violent reactions. Warning labels on the packages warn listeners of exactly what they are getting themselves into, boasting their potential to ignite.