Song · Minor Threat
“Straight Edge” by Minor Threat
From the EP Minor Threat (1981)
“Straight Edge” by Minor Threat appears on 2 radio countdowns from 1 station between 2002 and 2003. It was first released in 1981 on the EP Minor Threat. Its best result is #1538 on the Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,695 alternative song of all time.
"Straight Edge" sits on Minor Threat's self-titled debut, a seven-inch EP that Dischord Records released in 1981, and in 46 seconds it named a movement. Ian MacKaye wrote the words and the music and sings them over Lyle Preslar's guitar, Brian Baker's bass and Jeff Nelson's drums; the band produced it themselves, with Don Zientara engineering and Skip Groff mixing.
It's MacKaye's short, sharp manifesto for staying clean: no cocaine, no speed, no pot, no glue, no quaaludes. Punk's sober streak was already stirring before it, but this song gave the idea a name and made MacKaye its reluctant figurehead. Minor Threat came back to the theme on "Out of Step (With the World)" and "In My Eyes", and the track resurfaced on First Two Seven Inches in 1984 and Complete Discography in 1989.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1696 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1538 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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