DC 85 Is A Treasure Trove Of ’80s D.C. Punk Videos

Ally Schweitzer — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 17:12:58 +0000

Today Pitchfork published a piece by my pal Marc Masters about DC 85, a new outlet for the 1980s D.C. punk videos shot by ex-Edsel (and current Obits) member Sohrab Habibion. Filmmakers behind D.C. punk documentaries like Punk the Capital and Salad Days have been hitting up Habibion, Masters writes—and for good reason: Habibion has videos from 35 local punk shows, dating from 1985 to 1988. Masters says he plans to post them all on DC 85.

Go and read the whole story here. But in the meantime, here are some highlights from Habibion’s website:

Soulside at d.c. space, 1987

Fugazi (with a talk from Mark Andersen) at the Wilson Center, 1987

One Last Wish at the Chevy Chase Community Center, 1986

Dag Nasty at the Chevy Chase Community Center, 1986

Stream Fugazi’s First Demo In Its Entirety

Ally Schweitzer — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 10:30:06 +0000

Before Fugazi was an angry young man, it was an angry baby. The proof is found on the influential D.C. band’s first demo, recorded in 1988 at Inner Ear Studio, and streaming now in remastered form via Dischord Records.

On these early recordings, songs like “Waiting Room,” “Bad Mouth” and “Song #1” sound just a few tweaks away from their final recorded versions, but sometimes roomier, sillier, more experimental (or just unfinished)—and in one or two places, dubbier. Joe Lally’s bass haunts and grooves, but with five percent less polish. Brendan Canty snaps and cracks. Ian MacKaye, though only in his mid-20s at the time, doesn’t sound squeaky. Guy Picciotto sounds like Guy Picciotto.

The demo includes “Turn Off Your Guns,” not originally included on the demo, which the band gave away for free at its shows. The reissue officially drops Nov. 18.

Guy Picciotto – Bandwidth

DC 85 Is A Treasure Trove Of ’80s D.C. Punk Videos

Stream Fugazi’s First Demo In Its Entirety