A
Washington DC punk rock (though that terming is
arguable by many people's
definition of what is
punk and what is not) band that made a very large and lasting
impression in the short time that they existed. I've heard stories about the
emotional fever pitch that their shows reached; people throwing
flowers,
crying, etc. This might sound a bit like something that would happen at an
Elvis concert but keep in mind that these were largely
punk rock kids we're talking about.
Members of this band went on to play in Fugazi and one went on to record a good chunk of the mid-1980's and early 1990's output of Dischord Records. Rites of Spring released only a handful of records so in for the purposes of clarity I'm going to compile all of the lyrics according to the discography CD.
One of the ironic things about this band in retrospect is how people react to their music when first hearing it. Rites of Spring has been criticized for so long for being too emotional and not "tough" enough to be palatable to the limited tastes of the average punk kid. Many people are surprised to hear the actual sound which is actually a lot more aggressive than what it is typically classified as being. It's unfortunate but satisfying when someone who previously put Rites of Spring into the same category as the Carpenters asks me to tape the record for them after hearing it for the first time.