Despite breaking up back in 1983, Minor Threat continue to stand as the grandfathers of hardcore punk music. Case in point, we clamor for any bit of music they’ve created that we can get our hands on. The latest song, “You Betrayed Me By Growing Up”, is one right out of the annals of history.
Here’s how the Internet got its hands on the gem: MP3 blog More Than A Witness (via PastePunk.com and Riot Fest) dug up a tape of a concert from 10/30/82 held at Woodlawn High School in Arlington, VA. The song, which seemingly has never seen the light of day, went on to become something else completely in the Minor Threat catalog.
“It was an unfinished song that I think we decided to try playing out to see how it felt,” lead singer Ian Mackaye recently told the Double Cross webzine regarding the song. “That’s the only time I think we ever did that song/arrangement, but the lyrics ended up becoming the song “Betray”. I can’t remember why we ditched that music… it was a cool track, but I imagine that it just didn’t make the grade within the band’s collective mind. There were a lot of songs/riffs/arrangements that never made it out of the basement, this is one of the only ones that escaped.”
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Clearly, don’t expect lots of quality, although it’s pretty good for what was probably a small, sweaty high school gym packed with angry, hormonal punks. It’s a gut shot of straight angst fueled by Mackaye’s rapid fire scream-singing with a guitar that does its best to sound rhythmic while shredding the air and a drum that bangs along with the tempo of seizure. Like we said, a thrashing good time.
You can download the whole tape from More Than A Witness.
Woodlawn High School 10/30/82 Tracklist:
01. Look Back and Laugh (instrumental)
02. You Betrayed Me By Growing Up (unreleased song)
03. Seeing Red
04. Little Friend
05. Straight Edge
06. No Reason
07. Out Of Step
08. It Follows
09. Asshole Dub
10. Steppin’ Stone
11. Filler
12. Bottled Violence
13. Minor Threat
14. Sob Story
15. 12XU