Revolution Summer (music)
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Revolution Summer was a phrase coined by an employee of Dischord Records in an effort to revive the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. during the summer of 1985.
Background and creation[edit]
From the late-1970s through the early-1980s, Washington, DC had a thriving hardcore punk community.[1] The short-lived scene is one of the most influential in the United States.[2] Bad Brains were an early influence on the speed of hardcore punk and Straight edge came to fruition in the wake of Minor Threat.[3] By 1984, the scene was awash in violence; skinheads came to hardcore punk concerts in DC to fight.[4] Shows devolved into vandalism.[5]
Amy Pickering of Fire Party worked at Dischord Records, and on her first day of work there, she tore down a sign that said "No Skirts Allowed".[6] Oman Emmet named Pickering as "the mother of the revolution" for her role in what became known as "Revolution Summer" in 1985, and he credited Pickering with "setting a season into motion."[7][8] "Revolution Summer" had been a phrase Pickering used in notes she sent out to people in the D.C. punk scene to reflect "a climax, the end of something" and to re-inspire punks in D.C.[9]
The tight-knit community around Dischord Records, who helped create the scene, decided to leave it and create a new alternative music scene in the city.[10] This scene was to be more aware of the sexism of the traditional punk scene, embraced animal rights and vegetarianism, and was in opposition to moshing and violence at concerts.[11]
Revolution Summer Bands[edit]
Besides Fire Party and Beefeater, other Dischord bands associated with Revolution Summer include Rites of Spring, Embrace, Dag Nasty, Kingface, and Lunchmeat/Soulside.[1][12] Members of bands from the Revolution Summer went on to form part of Fugazi.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Blush 2001, pp. 132–158
- ^ Norton, Justin M. (17 October 2012). "13 Essential DC Hardcore Albums". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 119; Azerrad 2001, p. 136
- ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 378; Andersen & Jenkins 2009, pp. 159–161
- ^ Andersen & Jenkins 2009, pp. 153
- ^ Andersen & Jenkins 2001 p. 141
- ^ Andersen & Jenkins 2001 p. 182
- ^ Crawford, Scott (2017). Spoke: Images and Stories from the 1980s Washington, DC Punk Scene (Illustrated ed.). Akashic Books. p. 95. ISBN 978-1617755002.
- ^ Andersen & Jenkins 2001 p. 173, 209
- ^ Azerrad 2001, p. 379
- ^ Anderson, Mark (3 July 2015). "Revolution Summer lives on — 30 years later". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ Pattison, Louis (2012-11-27). "Rites of Spring and the summer that changed punk rock". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
Rites of Spring's handful of furious, impassioned live shows would be a spur to action. The summer after their formation, 1985, would enter DC punk folklore as Revolution Summer, a long hot season of discussion, learning, and political action..A new clutch of Dischord bands offered evidence of the label's newly broadened horizons: the funk-tinged Beefeater, all-female group Fire Party, and Ian Mackaye's new band, called, pointedly, Embrace.
Further reading[edit]
- Andersen, Mark; Jenkins, Mark (2009). Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital. New York: Akashic Books.
- Azerrad, Michael (2001). Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.
- Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Los Angeles: Feral House.
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