Dischord Records
| Dischord Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder |
Ian MacKaye Jeff Nelson |
| Genre |
Punk rock Hardcore punk Post-hardcore Indie rock Alternative rock |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Washington, DC |
| Official website |
www |
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles.[1][2] Along with other independent American labels such as Twin/Tone, Touch and Go Records, and SST Records, Dischord helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the pre-Nirvana indie-rock scene.[3] These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.[4]
The label is most notable for employing the do-it-yourself ethic, producing all of its albums by itself and selling them at discount prices without finance from major distributors.[5] Dischord continues to release records by bands from Washington D.C., and to document and support the Washington D.C. music scene.[6]
Dischord was a local label in the early days of hardcore, and is one of the more famous independent labels, along with the likes of Alternative Tentacles, Epitaph Records, SST Records, and Touch & Go Records.[5]
The logo of the label was designed by Jeff Nelson, who has an associate's degree in advertising design.[7]
Roster
Bands such as Minor Threat,[8] Government Issue,[9] The Faith,[10] Void,[11] Iron Cross,[9] Embrace,[12] Rites of Spring,[12] Nation of Ulysses,[12] Scream,[13] Soulside, S.O.A., the Teen Idles, Gray Matter, Jawbox,[12] Marginal Man,[12] Shudder to Think,[12] Dag Nasty,[12] Lungfish and Fugazi[5] have released records on Dischord.
Additions to the Dischord roster as of the late 1990s and 2000s include Q and Not U,[5] Beauty Pill, Antelope, French Toast, Faraquet, Black Eyes, The Aquarium, Title Tracks, Edie Sedgwick, Slant 6, and Andalusians. Many of these acts, notably Q and Not U and Black Eyes, are both influential and experimental post-hardcore bands.
Notes
- ↑ Azerrad 2001, p. 132.
- ↑ Blush 2001, p. 138.
- ↑ Dolan, Jon (January 2005), "The Revival of Indie Rock", Spin, p. 53, retrieved 19 April 2015
- ↑ Reynolds, Simon (2006). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-1-1012-0105-3.
- 1 2 3 4 Cogan 2008, p. 82.
- ↑ Cogan 2008, p. 83.
- ↑ Beaujon, Andrew (May 2003). "Out of Step with the World". Spin 19 (5): 86.
- ↑ Blush 2001, p. 142.
- 1 2 Blush 2001, p. 147.
- ↑ Blush 2001, p. 146.
- ↑ Blush 2001, p. 150.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Blush 2001, p. 157.
- ↑ Blush 2001, p. 148.
References and bibliography
- Azerrad, Michael (2001). Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-78753-1.
- Blush, Steven (2001). George Petros, ed. American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House. ISBN 978-0-922915-71-2.
- Cogan, Brian (2008). The Encyclopedia of Punk. New York: Sterling. ISBN 978-1-4027-5960-4.
External links
- Official website
- Dischord Records Profile by Southern Records
- Dischord Records Label Spotlight
- Heller, Jason (November 18, 2014). "Primer: Where to start with the righteous noise of Dischord Records". avclub.com. Retrieved January 28, 2016.