"Straight Edge" is a track from

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

's 1981 eponymous debut 7-inch EP, later reissued both as part of the 1984 collection ''

'', then as part of 1989's '' Complete Discography''. The song was the inspiration for a movement in the

punk subculture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of Punk rock, music, Punk ideologies, ideologies, Punk fashion, fashion, and other forms of expression, Punk visual art, visual art, dance, Punk literature, literature, and film. La ...

known as

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some ...

Cultural impact

The song provides a succinct summary of

Ian MacKaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label, and the frontman of hardcore pu ...

's interpretation of the philosophy that prescribed abstinence from snorting white powder (

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

), speed (

amphetamines Substituted amphetamines, or simply amphetamines, are a chemical class, class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative (chemistry), derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substitution reacti ...

), smoking dope (

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

), sniffing glue (

inhalants Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They ...

), and quaalude use. The anti-inebriation movement had been developing in punk prior to this song, but the song was a major influence in giving the scene a name and, in frontman

, something of a (somewhat unwilling) figurehead. The song is also notable as being, at 46 seconds long, unusually short, especially considering its cultural impact. The track's themes were later followed up, and further detailed by the later Minor Threat songs "Out of Step (With the World)" and "In My Eyes".

Critical reception

Along with being cited regularly as an important moment in founding the straight edge punk scene, the track has continued to receive critical plaudits, with

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

stating that "Straight Edge" "rings with as much immediacy as it ever has", while

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Blake Butler describes it as an "anthemic, pulse pounding manifesto", citing "this song's importance in the progression of hardcore".

Personnel

– vocals * Lyle Preslar – guitar * Brian Baker – bass guitar * Jeff Nelson – drums

NOFX cover version

Punk band

NOFX NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

covered the song on their 1992 album ''

White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean ''White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean'' is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on November 5, 1992, through Epitaph Records. It is the first NOFX album to feature El Hefe on guitar, replacing Steve Kidwiler ...

''. The song is played with a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

melody, and sung in the style of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

References

{{Authority control 1981 songs Minor Threat songs Songs about drugs Straight edge NOFX songs