AA.VV.
20 Years of Dischord

"Twenty Years of Dischord" stands to an independent music enthusiast like the Bible does to a devout, non-hypocritical Catholic: this is the mathematical recipe to describe the celebratory box set released by the Washington label to celebrate its twenty years of activity (from 1980 to 2000, though released in 2002 due to a prolonged gestation period) that has made it a beacon of indie rock, not only in the USA but worldwide, a perfect example of artistic and intellectual honesty, a love for music worthy of being defined as such, and a haven for "do it yourself" fundamentalists.

The first two discs are subtitled "50 Bands," and contain, in strict chronological order, a track for each of the groups released under Dischord: it begins with hardcore punk from Teen Idles, State of Alert (led by a very young Henry Rollins pre-Black Flag), Minor Threat (essential for a complete picture of the genre in question) and Scream, just to name a few, all bands that lived within a couple of years, able to take cues from Bad Brains to define the very essence of this music.
It then arrives at the mid-decade with new local bands beginning to veer towards new and until then uncharted territories, exemplified by Rites of Spring by Guy Picciotto, capable of maintaining the power of hardcore while diluting it into more expansive and broader atmospheres; reaching the height of success in the Nineties, an orgy of amazing bands that bring Dischord to new life: Fugazi, Shudder to Think, Jawbox, Lungfish, Nation of Ulysses, an impressive lineup in substance, capable of giving meaning to the concept of Post Hardcore, in short, Music Beyond.
A collection of bands that would support the label for the entire decade, which saw the birth of great bands like the Make Up (former N.o.U., without whom, you judge, International Noise Conspiracy, Hives, and the like wouldn't exist today), but also less convincing groups like High Back Chairs, Hoover, or Crownhate Ruin; until reaching the dawn of 2000 with Faraquet and Q And Not U, the latter harbingers of the complete resurrection that also features the absent here El Guapo, Black Eyes, and Antelope.

Also very interesting is the third CD of the work, "Unreleased & rare," containing 24 unreleased tracks and 6 video clips mainly focused on the early period of the label, but the true gem of the box set is the over 130-page book titled "Putting DC on the Map," containing the entire history of Dischord narrated by the bosses Mackaye and Jeff Nelson, the biographies of all fifty bands present, the complete catalog of the label, and a myriad of photos, in short, a fundamental document alongside the music to understand the evolution and historical resonance of this magical scene.

"Twenty Years of Dischord" is one of those records that makes no sense to burn, so many are the gems that would be lost, and also because it is worth much more than it costs.
Essential, an absolute must-have.