Show Notes
In celebration of the recently unearthed Out of Step Outtakes, we take a detailed look at the making of the original record. After Minor Threat formed in Washington D.C. in 1980, they began to find an audience in the American punk scene. Their first two seven-inch records contained songs written by Ian MacKaye, such as “Straight Edge” and “Out of Step,” which kickstarted the straight edge movement within punk. By 1982, guitarist Lyle Preslar had left for college and Minor Threat temporarily broke up. After speaking with H.R. of the Bad Brains, MacKaye was convinced of the impact the band was having and considered reforming. At that point, Preslar agreed to quit college and rejoin the band. Despite accusations of the band selling out by reforming, Minor Threat began playing shows in their hometown and embarked on a cross-country tour. Brian Baker decided to switch from bass to second guitar so they asked Steve Hansgen to join as the new bassist. In early 1983, they returned to Don Zientara’s Inner Ear Studio to begin recording as a five-piece. Out of Step was eventually released in the spring of 1983. In this episode, Ian MacKaye describes this pivotal moment in the band’s history when they decided to reunite and change their sound by adding a fifth member. Though they faced backlash about reuniting from their hometown crowd, this fueled the next batch of songs they would write as a band. MacKaye discusses how most of his lyrics on this record reflect the gossip and backstabbing that was prevalent in their scene at the time. In addition, tension within the band was rising over MacKaye’s lyrics and their overall musical direction. The new version of the title track reflected their differences as Jeff Nelson convinced MacKaye to include a spoken word interlude that explained how the straight edge lyrics were personal to MacKaye and didn’t represent the band’s views. From Minor Threat’s first 12-inch to a joke song about selling out to recording vocals live for the first time to the benefits of an expensive strobe tuner to hearing the call of punk to self-define, we’ll hear the stories of how the record came together.
More from Life of the Record
In celebration of the landmark Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album Déjà Vu, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Crosby, Stills & Nash formed in 1968 in Los Angeles, California by Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Graham Nash. Each of them had been members of successful rock bands, including Crosby in the Byrds, Stills in Buffalo Springfield and Nash in the Hollies. After an impromptu sing-a-long at a social gathering, they realized they had a unique harmony blend and decided to form a new group. They signed a deal with Atlantic Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1969. The album became a huge hit so they began planning for their live shows and realized they would benefit from bringing in an additional band member. Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records suggested Neil Young, since Young and Stills had been former bandmates in Buffalo Springfield. They started playing live as a four-piece before turning their attention to recording their second album. Déjà Vu was eventually released in 1970.
For the 20th anniversary of the second Hot Chip album, The Warning, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor initially connected as young teenagers in secondary school in southwest London in the early 90s. They bonded over being music obsessives, listening to a wide variety of genres, reading the music press, going to gigs together and eventually recording the songs they were writing. While they attended different universities, they continued to collaborate and officially formed Hot Chip in 2000. One of their early releases caught the attention of Moshi Moshi Records, who signed them to a deal. Their debut album, Coming on Strong, was released in 2004. Around this time, they developed a full band sound, adding other members, including Owen Clarke, Al Doyle, and Felix Martin. For their second album, they signed a deal with EMI Records. The Warning was eventually released in 2006.
For the 35th anniversary of Slint’s landmark second album, Spiderland, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Brian McMahan and Britt Walford first connected over a shared love of punk rock, growing up in Louisville, Kentucky in the early 1980s. They began forming bands when they were young teenagers, including Languid and Flaccid and Squirrel Bait. Another band, Maurice, was formed around this time and they began working with guitarist David Pajo. When Maurice ended, Walford and Pajo continued playing together and brought in bassist Ethan Buckler. After they performed at a unitarian church service where McMahan was in attendance, he joined the band soon after and they became Slint. They had befriended Steve Albini from playing shows with his band Big Black so they asked him to record their debut album. Tweez was self-released by their friend Jennifer Hartman in 1989. Buckler was unhappy with the sound of the record and decided to quit the band so Todd Brashear took over on bass. They recorded a single with Albini that caught the attention of Touch and Go Records, who signed them to a deal for their second album. After spending a summer working on new material, they recorded at a commercial studio in Chicago with producer Brian Paulson. Spiderland was eventually released in 1991.
For the 45th anniversary of The Soft Boys’ influential second album, Underwater Moonlight, we take a detailed look at how it was made. When Robyn Hitchcock first started a band in Cambridge, England under the name Dennis and the Experts, he recruited Morris Windsor, Andy Metcalfe and Alan Davies. They changed their name to The Soft Boys and released an EP called Give It to the Soft Boys in 1977. Kimberly Rew replaced Alan Davies on guitar as they began working with Radar Records, releasing a single in 1978. After Radar dropped them, they self-released their first album, A Can of Bees, in 1979. At this point, Matthew Seligman replaced Andy Metcalfe on bass as they began working on the material for their second full-length album. Underwater Moonlight was eventually released by the Armageddon label in 1980.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the debut Bat for Lashes album, Fur and Gold, we take a detailed look at how it was made. Natasha Khan had grown up in Hertfordshire, England and studied art at the University of Brighton. After graduating, she taught as a schoolteacher while writing songs and performing as Bat for Lashes. Her manager, Dick O’Dell, got her a publishing deal and connected her with producer David Kosten to work on some demos. The first Bat for Lashes single, “The Wizard” was released on her own label in early 2006. After signing with Echo, Natasha and David began working on a full-length album together at Jacobs studio in the Surrey countryside. They brought in other musicians, including Abi Fry and Caroline Weeks, who had been playing as a group with Natasha at this time. Fur and Gold was eventually released in 2006.