The Teen Idles

The Teen Idles
The Teen Idles in 1980. Left to right: Nathan Strejcek, Jeff Nelson, Ian MacKaye, Geordie Grindle
Background information
Origin	Washington, D.C.
Genres	Hardcore punk
Years active	1979–80
Labels	Dischord
Associated acts	Minor Threat
Website	www.dischord.com/band/teenidles
Members	Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle, Ian MacKaye, Jeff Nelson

The Teen Idles were an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in September 1979. Consisting of teenagers Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, the Idles' recorded two demo sessions and the 1980 Minor Disturbance EP before they broke up in November 1980. The influential independent record label Dischord Records was originally created with the sole purpose of releasing the Teen Idles 7" record. They were an early landmark in the D.C. hardcore movement, and MacKaye and Nelson would later form the seminal punk outfit Minor Threat.

The Teen Idles were among the first punk rock groups from the early 1980s hardcore movement to break out of their regional scene to tour and sell nationally. Inspired by other American punk bands like the Cramps and Bad Brains, the Teen Idles' music was an early version of hardcore punk, and an attempt, in the words of MacKaye, "to get away from a really corrupted music." Their appearances, lyrics and musical style sought to revive a punk movement that they believed had lost its original zeal.

In 1978, Washingtonian teenager Ian MacKaye discovered punk rock through a local college radio station, Georgetown University's WGTB. He met Jeff Nelson, a classmate of his, after Nelson set off a pipe bomb outside their school and MacKaye went to investigate. The two became friends and quickly discovered their shared interest in punk. MacKaye and Nelson saw their first punk show in January 1979—a benefit concert by the Cramps for WGTB. The concert inspired the pair; MacKaye later admitted, "It blew my mind because I saw for the first time this huge, totally invisible community that had gathered together for this tribal event. [...] I thought, 'This appeals to me. This is the world I think I can breathe in. This is what I need.'"