My friend, Kyle, has me listening to Minor Threat for the first time in years. And these days, I can’t think about Minor Threat without thinking of a song by Ramshackle Glory (that’s one of my favorites). Here are two songs with selected lyrics from both.

Minor Threat – “In My Eyes”
You tell me that nothing matters
You’re just fucking scared
You tell me that I’m better
You just hate yourself
You tell me that you like her
You just wish you did
You tell me that I make no difference
Well at least I’m fucking trying

Ramshackle Glory – From Here to Utopia (A Song for the Desperate)

I’ve been listening to Minor Threat records all day and – shit – if I do not know every word. I sing along, as I tie off. And Ian screams he’s “out of step,” as I throw the cotton into the spoon and draw up into the syringe. I’ll know just what he means until I hit a vein. After that I won’t have to bother with knowing who I am, for a while at least. In a moment, the whole world is gonna melt around me and I’ll swear I don’t miss it, as I lie to you tonight. ‘Cause I’m afraid to look the world in the eyes. If nothing’s gonna change, well, then I ‘d rather die. … I’m too hopeless to look for a solution; I’m afraid that if I found one I’d be out of excuses for the way I waste away in the gutters that I chose, like fashion accessories to go with my dirty clothes. …
I want something more than an apology to say, when I look the world in the eyes. I’ll tell you, man – my friend William came to me with a message of hope. It went: “Fuck you and everything that you think you know. If you don’t step outside the things that you believe, they’re gonna kill you.” He said, “No one’s gonna stop you from dying young and miserable and right. If you want something better, you gotta put that shit aside.” ….
I’m not saying that we can’t change the world; everybody does at least a little bit of that. But I won’t shit myself – the way I’m living is a temper tantrum – and I need something else to stay alive. … I know it’s hard to give a shit sometimes, but promise me we’ll always try. ‘Cause I don’t wanna hate you and I don’t wanna hate me and I don’t wanna have to hate everything anymore.

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• For more Ramshackle Glory, hit up their Bandcamp page, which has a ton of audio as well as links to buy physical records.
• For more Minor Threat, visit your local mall.