Pitchfork

The infamous Kent State shootings may have happened over 37 years ago, but for those who were present during this grim chapter in American history-- or indeed any who seek truth above all-- justice has not yet been served. The question remains why National Guardsmen fired upon student protesters-- and by-standers-- that fateful May 4, whether they had any good reason to do so, and who made the order that left four dead in Ohio.

To help answer these questions and more, a Kent State survivor dedicated to the ongoing investigation has called upon the expertise of an indie superman: Ian MacKaye of Fugazi/Minor Threat/Embrace/Evens/Dischord/etc. fame.

As noted on Idolator.com today and originally reported by the Akron Beacon Journal on May 2, MacKaye recently "analyzed [a] recording" taken on reel-to-reel by Kent State student Terry Strubbe the day of the shootings.

On this recording-- the only one known to exist that includes the complete 13 seconds of gunfire-- one can allegedly hear a National Guard officer giving the order: "Right here. Get set. Point. Fire."

The muffled recording was presented to MacKaye by Alan Canfora, who was wounded in the shootings and now runs the richly informative Kent May 4 Center, a "non-profit educational charity" that "seek[s] to provide information for students, scholars, researchers and news media."

MacKaye and Canfora met when Fugazi played a May 4 Center benefit back in the 1990s, according to a representative from Dischord. While confirming MacKaye's involvement, he downplayed the label co-founder's "analysis."

"Ian is not a forensic audio expert," the Dischord rep wrote in an e-mail to Pitchfork, "but has access to professional audio equipment. From my understanding, Ian's role was simply to boost the volume of the tape so Canfora could decide whether or not to look into further analysis."

While "Ian MacKaye: Forensic Audio Expert" has a slightly cooler ring to it than "Ian MacKaye: Dude with Audio Equipment", we're thrilled all the same that Mr. MacKaye is lending his talents to yet another worthy enterprise.