Straight edge

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For the drawing or cutting tool, see straightedge.

Straight edge refers to a lifestyle and scene that started within the hardcore punk subculture whose adherents abstain from alcohol, smoking and recreational drug use. Some adherents may also abstain from caffeine and promiscuity. The term was coined by the 1980s hardcore punk band Minor Threat in the song "Straight Edge". There is considerable debate over what constitutes a straight edge lifestyle. Adherents' main objective is to not poison the body in any way. Some people in the straight edge movement embrace a vegetarian lifestyle and others abstain from all animal products, a philosophy known as veganism. These two choices are considered add-ons to the straight edge lifestyle and are not essential aspects of the movement.

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[edit] "X" symbol

The letter "X" is the most prevalent symbol of straight edge. Commonly it is worn as a marking, symbol or tattoo on the back of one or both hands, though it can be displayed on other body parts as well. Some followers of straight edge have also incorporated the symbol into clothing and pins. According to a series of interviews by journalist Michael Azerrad, the straight-edge "X" can be traced to the Teen Idles' brief U.S. West Coast tour in 1980.[1] the Teen Idles were scheduled to play at San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens, but when the band arrived, club management discovered that the entire band was under the legal drinking age and therefore should be denied entry to the club. As a compromise, management marked each of the Idles' hands with a large black "X" as a warning to the club's staff not to serve alcohol to the band. Upon returning to Washington, D.C., the band suggested this same system to local clubs as a means to allow teenagers in to see musical performances without being served alcohol. While the practice was never widely adopted by D.C.-area music venues,[1] the mark soon became associated with the straight edge lifestyle. Recently, however, after a slow pickup, more and more music venues have been employing this system.

Sometimes the number "24" is used, as X is the 24th letter of the alphabet. A variation involving a trio of X's ("xxx") originated in artwork created by Minor Threat's drummer, Jeff Nelson, in which he replaced the three stars in the band's hometown Washington, D.C. flag with Xs.[citation needed] The term is sometimes abbreviated by including an "X" with the first two letters of the words "straight edge" to give "sXe". By analogy, hardcore punk is sometimes abbreviated to "hXc".

[edit] History

William Tsitsos writes that straight edge has gone through three different eras since its creation in 1980.[2] Associated with punk-rock, the early years of the straight edge subculture are now called the Old School Era. However in the late nineteen eighties the straight edge subculture seemed to drift further and further away from the punk culture. The following era called Youth Crew, presented different types of elements that began to change the subculture. For example, vegetarianism became a major theme and a small minority expressed interest in Hare Krishna religon. Youth Crew also led to tension inside the subculture. After nearly a decade of the separation of straight edge-punk from the punk culture, the era called Straight Edge 2000 brought the cultures together without clash.

[edit] Old school

Straight edge ideas can be found in songs by the early-1970s band The Modern Lovers, particularly their songs "I'm Straight" and "She Cracked". Hard rock icon Ted Nugent also inspired the early straight edge movement with his frequent declaration that he did not drink alcohol or smoke tobacco or marijuana. [3] However, straight edge was most closely associated with punk rock, particularly the faster subgenre of hardcore punk that developed in the late 1970s and early '80s, which was partly characterized by shouting rather than sung vocals.[4] Straightedge people of this early "Old School" era often associated with the original punk ideals such as individualism, disdain for work and school, and live-for-the-moment attitudes.[2]

Although straight edge started on the US east coast in Washington D.C. and New York, it quickly spread through the USA and Canada.[5] By the 1980s, bands on the west coast, such as America's Hardcore (A.H.C.), Stalag 13, Justice League and Uniform Choice, were gaining national acclaim. In the early stages of this subculture’s history, musical gigs often consisted of non-straightedge punk bands along with straightedge bands. However, circumstances soon changed and the Old School Era would eventually be viewed as the time "before the two scenes separated".[4] Old School straightedge bands included: the D.C. core of Minor Threat, S.O.A., Government Issue and Teen Idles, Reno Nevada's 7 Seconds, Boston's super-stringent crew made up of SSD, DYS and Negative FX, California's bands as mentioned above and N.Y.C.'s Cause for Alarm, among others.

[edit] Youth crew

Although the subculture and music of the straight edge movement are dependent on each other, at certain points, the musical influence seems to have been stronger than at other times. During the Youth Crew Era, the influence of music seemed to be at an all-time high. Furthermore, the new branches of straight edge that came about during this era all seemed to come from ideas presented in songs. The Youth Crew Era emphasized the idea that cultures are influenced by media; music is the dominant media source for tenets of the straightedge subculture.

Starting in the mid-1980s, the name of New York straight edge band Youth of Today became associated with the straight edge movement. In their song "Youth Crew" they expressed their views on uniting the scene into a movement.[6] The most identifiable theme that arose during the Youth Crew Era was straight edge association with vegetarianism.

In 1988, straight edge band Youth of Today released their song "No More" that would initiate this new theme within the subculture. Lead singer Ray Cappo displayed his vegan views in the lyrics: "Meat-eating, flesh-eating, think about it/ so callous this crime we commit".[7] By the end of the 1980s, bands all over the United States and Canada sang about animal cruelty.

During the late 1980s, not all people that claimed to be straight edge identified with animal rights issues, though as the 1990s came on the horizon, bands such as Earth Crisis (with their frontman Karl Buechner) had continued the animal rights trend.

By the early 1990s, militant straight edge was a well-known presence in the straight edge music scene. The term militant described someone who was dedicated and outspoken, but also believed to be narrow-minded, judgmental, and potentially violent.[8] The Militant straight edger was characterized by the following: less tolerant of non-straight edge people, more outward pride in being straight edge, more outspoken, and believed that violence was a necessary method to promote clean living.[8] Youth Crew Era bands include: Gorilla Biscuits, Judge, Bold, Youth of Today, Chain Of Strength and Boston's Slapshot, whose members Choke (Jack Kelly) and Jonathan Anastas were part of Boston's Old School movement in Negative FX and DYS - living and leading through two movements.

[edit] Mid-1990s

In the mid-1990s, a number of bands advocating social justice, animal liberation, veganism, and straight edge practices displayed a stronger metal influence. Bands from this era include Vegan Reich, Raid, Culture, Earth Crisis, Snapcase, Undertow and Strife. Some straight edge bands began combining the above ideologies with Abrahamic religions (especially Islam and Rastafari), anarchism and deep ecology. The resulting movement was called Hardline.

[edit] 2000s

After the 1990s, some of the more controversial aspects that surrounded straight edge began to disappear. In the 2000s, straight edge and non-straight edge bands played concerts together regularly. Some of these bands include xArmed For Battlex, Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes, Carry On, Champion, Allegiance, Over My Dead Body, The First Step, Have Heart, Throwdown, Black My Heart, Rhinoceros, Trueflesh and Stop & Think.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Azerrad, Michael(2002). Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991. Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-31678-753-1
  2. ^ a b Tsitsos, William (1999-10). "Rules of Rebellion: Slamdancing, Moshing, and the American Alternative Scene". Popular Music, 18(3), 403
  3. ^ see statements by Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye in Michael Azerrad's Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981–1991. 2002, Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-31678-753-1
  4. ^ a b Haenfler, Ross (2006). Straight Edge: Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change (p. 11). Piscataway: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-81353-851-3
  5. ^ Bartlett, Thomas (2006-09-29). "Studying Rock’s Clean, Mean Movement". The Chronicle of Higher Education, A16.
  6. ^ Haenfler, Ross (2006). Straight Edge: Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change (p. 12). Piscataway: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-81353-851-3
  7. ^ Youth of Today (1988). "No More". On We're Not In This Alone [LP/CD]. New York: Caroline Records (1988).
  8. ^ a b Haenfler, Ross (2006). Straight Edge: Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change (p. 88). Piscataway: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-81353-851-3

[edit] Further reading