Customer Reviews

20 Years of Dischord

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On the basis of the ambitiousness of this project alone, "20 Years of Dischord" should garner a really high star rating. Now, while I'm not too keen on some of the bands on the second disc -- it's just not my taste -- I LOVE the majority of tunes on the first and third discs. The huge, beautiful full color booklet is a great touch too. Makes for nice bathroom reading. ha.

Anyway, one thing I really enjoyed about this set is the chronological order that shows a very clear evolution in "the DC sound." First you get the primitive hardcore of Teen Idles and Untouchables. These are great bands, but they lead up to the real meat of the first disc: The CLASSICS from Minor Threat, GI, SOA, Void, Youth Brigade and Faith. But the neatest thing about it is as soon as the Faith song is finished, you can tell the DC sound had reached a turning point. "20 Years of Dischord" really demonstrates, as never before to those who weren't there in the early years of harDCore, how important Faith was to the scene. They're the true roots of the "emo" style that would develop later, with introspective lyrics, more complicated and melodic guitar work, and less harsh vocals. They're still a hardcore band, yeah, but they do mark a departure from the straightforward thrash of Minor Threat and the others.

After Faith, things get more melodic, with Marginal Man, Embrace and the impeccable Rites of Spring. There's plenty of just "what the hell" type stuff from the "Revolution Summer" era too... take Beefeater's almost metallic funk-punk and The Snakes' silly "Snake Rap." Other mid-era highlights include Gray Matter and Dag Nasty. Towards the end of disc one it's evident that Dischord has outgrown the hardcore trappings it started with and is focussed on independent music of any kind in DC. It's cool, but not exactly my steez, if you get me. So I usually only listen to a few tracks on disc two (Nation of Ulysses, Slant 6 and The Make-Up are great, and of course, Fugazi has to be mentioned).

And disc three is great icing on the cake, with unreleased/rare songs from (mostly early hardcore) bands. There are some video clips too that I haven't been able to figger out how to play on my comp, blast it!

"20 Years of Dischord" is the most bang, and band, for your buck you can get. Three discs and a huge booklet for less than most new DVDs? Snap this up. Great history lesson on one of the most influential and important record labels in HISTORY.

This one arrived last night, and while there are too many tracks to absorb in 12 hours, I'm already in awe. Over the course of 2 discs you get to hear the way punk rock changed over the last 20 years in Washington, DC. Disc One is mostly hardcore punk, but it begins to change around the time Rites Of Spring - Drink Deep is heard. Disc 2 is my favorite so far because it features 2 of the best bands ever, Fugazi and Jawbox, who have shaped the sound of post punk and related genres. I haven't even gotten to the rarity disc and I can honestly say this is the best box set I've ever heard. Also, the 134 page booklet with biographies of every band on the cd is priceless. Its well written with introductions from Jeff and Ian (the founders of Dischord, not to mention musical masterminds behind Minor Threat, Fugazi, etc..) and Henry Garfield (who is now known as Henry Rollins). Lots of cool pictures are included as well. The great packaging only hints at the music thats inside. Please, if you buy anything this year, make it this box set. Never before has something been so worth the money. ...

This is the best value anybody can get with a punk cd. Anyway, this is a great lookback to dischord records since the beginning of the Teen Idles and comes with a great book. All of the songs are really good, and ian mackaye has always made Dischord what a record label should be for the last 22 years of its existence. Support the true labels in it for the love, not the money. Grass roots. Buy it

why are you buying this from amazon? oh, just because its cheaper than buying it from the friggin' label. come on guys let's stick it to the man...or save money.

I've had this box set in my CD player for a month now. As much as I hoped it would grow on me, it has not yet. As brilliant as Minor Threat and Government Issue were, the reason why you probably never heard of a lot of these bands is simply because their songs weren't very good. I doubt many people will hit repeat on their CD player to hear the generic noise of Gray Matter or the insufferable Rites of Spring multiple times. That said, there are some good singles strewn throughout like Marginal Man's "Missing Rungs," Circus Lupus' "Pop Man," and Embrace's classic "Money." Dischord is an unassailable indie label, so it is no surprise that they would choose to democratically showcase all the artists on their roster rather than focus in on a few popular bands. Still, much of this music simply makes no impact at all.

the first cd is dischord as a hardcore label. the second cd is dischord as a more general indie/punk label. there are a bunch of great bands on the second, like lungfish, fugazi, q and not u, and the warmers. there are also a bunch of great bands on the first, like minor threat, government issue, shudder to think, and rites of spring.

it's a $25 value for a pair of mix cd's plus a rare/unreleased disc that i haven't really gotten into. it's worth it just for the experience of listening to new music that probably won't disappoint (mostly). if you hate hardcore, this might be too expensive to be worth it.

it costs 2 cents more at dischord, but they don't charge for S/H, ever.

But not great because there are a lot of crap songs that are probably sentimental for the guys who made the music, but not for those who aren't in on it. I really was all about the DC punk thing for a while and picked up this set and listened to it a lot for a while. I'm a huge Gray Matter/Three fan, and really enjoyed the songs by Blue Tip, Ignition, Shudder to Think, The High-Back Chairs, Circus Lupus, Smart Went Crazy, The Make-Up, and some others. Not 5 stars. I gave it 4 because while I'd like to give it 3, I'm sure others who buy this will like more of the songs than I do. I just like organized, but jam-bandy music, rather than screaming and more hardcore stuff to come out at this time.

Anyone with any passing interest in punk or hardcore needs to order this box set. 74 fantastic tracks, and not a single bad one.The names speak for themselves: Minor Threat, Fugazi, Void, Scream, The Nation of Ulysses, Jawbox, Rites of Spring, Beefeater, Lungfish, The Faith, State of Alert...... practically every good band to release anything in the DC Hardcore scene in 20 years, aside from Bad Brains.

Great packaging too, the booklet is great, even if the intro by Henry Rollins is a little long. Great value for your money, you gotta get this if you like Punk/Hardcore. Order it from the official Dischord website though.

DISCHORD shows a good health with this box, it's a good travel across the multi estilistic, and the multi artistic skill of close of 50 artists that shows their skill and their imagination.
FUGAZI, BLUETIP, LUNGFISH, are somme exemples of their skill and talent

So much manufactured dreck out there these days that it's hard to even listen to the radio. Thank God for Dischord!

I've had this set about 3 weeks now and it's hardly left my CD player. Beautiful packaging, great music. I knew Minor Threat, Fugazi, and much of the old harDCore stuff (and love it!), but some of the stuff from Dischord's little known second generation of bands on disc two (most of them defunct) is like a revelation. I suspect I'll be exploring some of these artists in the near future.

My only gripe (and it's a minor one) is that all 50 bands get equal billing. Bands like Fugazi, Jawbox, Minor Threat are simply in a different league than some of the acts, but they all get just one song; it must be said that there are a couple of stinkers. But that's okay, 'cause you already have everything Fugazi has put out. Right?!! And that egalitarianism is what makes Dischord something special.

Highly recommended.