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I think what we took away from first hearing about the punk stuff in England and then the early American punk stuff was a sense of self-definition and also sort of playing music for music's sake and being part of a family for family's sake.

Ian MacKaye

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Ian MacKaye
Age: 62
Born: 1962
Born: April 16
Composer
Guitarist
Singer
Washington
District of Columbia
Self
Family
Hearing
First
Sense
Sake
Think
Stuff
England
Thinking
Away
Early
Part
Took
Also
Playing
Punk
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More quotes by Ian MacKaye

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I don't need any more avenues of communication, and frankly I think people are still working out to realize that it's just a tool[social media] rather than something that you have to do or participate in.
Ian MacKaye
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In the 90s, there was a yahoo factor where there would be 50 people crowd surfing at one time! It was insane, and it had nothing to do with the music.
Ian MacKaye
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I appreciate the past, but I want to make new things. That's the problem with the sack on the back - if you carry it around with you, it's like you get hobbled.
Ian MacKaye
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Archiving is extremely expensive and time consuming. I'm sure an archivist would tell me I'm doing it wrong. It's an industry that's built upon essential ideas, and some of those practices are abusive.
Ian MacKaye
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We had punks literally protesting Fugazi. I respect a boycott. I respect a conscionable boycott, but of all bands to boycott? Fight crime. If you really want to get out there, go fight crime.
Ian MacKaye
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Every song I ever wrote, I wrote to be heard. So, if I was given a choice that 50 years from now I could either have a dollar or knowing that some kid was listening to my song, I'd go with the kid listening to my song.
Ian MacKaye
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I had a bartender friend once tell me about a $14.00 shot of vodka, this was years ago it's probably more now. I thought that was crazy. From what I understand, vodka has no taste. I think people like the taste of their money.
Ian MacKaye
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I always appreciate when people save, and more importantly, share. As we speak, there are people in this world - mostly men - who have giant collections of recordings that no one will ever hear. And the value of that collection is almost defined by the fact that nobody else can hear it.
Ian MacKaye
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Straight Edge was a song about my life. There was no structure, no premise as if I was forming a club. There were no tenets. I mean I wrote a song called Straight Edge, I'll take that, but the song was about my life the way I wanted to live it.
Ian MacKaye
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What does bother me is that I have to spend time and energy dealing with the ramifications of what people do think about me.
Ian MacKaye
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In the late 90s, there was a reverse. Everyone would stand stock still and be so attentive and quiet. But then, it was almost like, C'mon people! Engage - make a show with us! You can hear these different eras pass through in the recordings.
Ian MacKaye
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It makes me sad, the way human beings talk smack. It's why I don't like irony. People are too gleeful to put some teeth into something.
Ian MacKaye
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Part of the way the work world works is not so much creating a separation between your work and your free time, but creating the illusion of a separation between your work and your free time. Every day is the weekend for me, which means I'm always busy.
Ian MacKaye
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The amount of money that people spend on saving stuff, they try to feed you this idea that it's more important.
Ian MacKaye
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I have thousands of tapes, and photos and fliers, letters, posters, artwork - basically everything that ever happened, I kept. I'm not a hoarder, though. I'm sort of a librarian.
Ian MacKaye
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I jump from one thing to the next but try and strike a balance. But it's not nostalgic in the sense of 'those were the good old days and now we're not there'. I don't think like that. Not my way.
Ian MacKaye
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I don't watch TV but occasionally I'll read the Washington Post. I will say that sports are the only real thing on television.
Ian MacKaye
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I never imagine myself as anything. I've never had a goal or any future vision at all. I just do what's in front of me.
Ian MacKaye
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I was into Ted Nugent, I was a Nugent guy. I was a skateboarder listening to Ted Nugent.
Ian MacKaye
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If people want new music then they are going to have to figure out a way to be patrons of the arts. And they will.
Ian MacKaye