Teen Idles - Dischord #100


Out now on 7" and CD.
Adventures and Trans Am were never released. The other tracks are different recordings from those on Dischord #1. All songs were recorded at the end of 1979 and in late February and April 1980 at Don Zientara's Basement Inner Ear studio.


Track listing
"Adventures" (Inst)
"Teen Idles"
"Trans Am"
"Sneakers"
"Fiorruci Nightmare" / "Getting in my way"


"The Teen Idles founded Dischord Records in 1980 with the release of the Minor Distrubance 8-song 7" EP, so it seems somewhat appropriate to celebrate Dischord's 100th release with a second single from the band 16 years later. This record consists of songes taken from practice tapes and early demos recorded from late 1979 to mid-1980. (Two of the songs, "Adventure" and "Trans Am", were among several songs written and performed originally by The Slinkees, the band we were in before Nathan was our singer). Our first studio session was confusing and disappointing, as we were completely naive about the recording process and the engineer was dubious about our music. At one point during the session, another band who was checking out the studio came into the control room while we were recording and started laughing at us along with the engineer. As excited as we were to have put our songs down on tape, the results felt somewhat alien to us. There was too much reverb and not enough guitars.

In the months that followed, we started playing our songs faster and faster, at which point our demo tape came to sound laughably slow and gentle to our ears. We were dissatisfied with and embarrassed by it, particularly after our friends The Untouchables recorded their demo. We returned to Hit and Run Studios and recorded a second, much faster demo tape. We were initially quite happy with this tape, but after a very brief (2 shows) tour out to California in August, we had several new songs we wanted to record and a desire to work with someone who understood us and would help us in the studio. We wanted to sound like we felt when we played a good live show and we wanted to work with people who took us seriously.

When we had enough money to go into the studio again, we opted to go with our friend Skip Groff, who owned a record store called Yesterday & Today as well as his own record label, Limp. He took us to a small 4-track studio in the basement of a brick house in Arlington called Inner Ear. We got along very well with the engineer, Don Zientara, and the tape we recorded there was sufficiently fast and heavy-sounding to be released. Although by this time we were calling it quits as a band, we still very much wanted to put a out a record. We did, and it became Dischord No. 1.

The music on this record is not being released because we feel the songs are particularly amazing or essential, but because we think they're funny and cool. They represent us as we were; a bunch of high school punk rockers.

The Teen Idles certainly didn't intend to start a label, only to put out a record, but it was a decision that led to these last 16 years of putting out our friends' bands' records and documenting a part of the music community here in Washington, D.C. We would like to extend our thanks and love to the other Teen Idles, Nathan and Geordie, to the people who helped us put out that first record so long ago, and to all those who have helped us get to No. 100. You know who you are. Thanks."

Ian and Jeff