Fugazi : Classic or Dud ?

_margin walker_ and _steady diet of nothing_ are damn fine records. distinctive sound with those crisp trebly guitars going from slashing chords to efficient but original noise, raging vocals, and icily precise rhythm section. diverse and emotional too. _steady diet_ manages to be remote, alienated, raw, and anthemic. i'm pretty sure i commented on _margin walker_ in the ep's thread. probably still my favourite fugazi. punk's energy with an undercurrent of doubt.

the other two i have are _red medicine_ and _end hits_. i'm not quite so unequivocal about these. "do you like me?," the 2nd song on _rm_, "by you," and "long distance runner" are all top-notch tracks. in fact, the noise that opens the record is almost worth the price of the record. "do you like me?" is one fugazi song with great lyrics: "your eyes like crashing jets/fixed in stained glass but not religious/you should pay rent in my mind" screamed over those blazing guitars is a great rock moment. too much of the rest of the album tends to get bogged down and noodly, which problem afflicts _end hits_ as a whole. they still have something to say but there's too much dressing to cut through. "foreman's dog" is a great track on _eh_ though.

overall, i don't listen enough to rate them as a total classic overall (as i'd do with joy division, say) but they have a unique sound that no one else does, a substantial body of diverse work, and a solid live show.

Perhaps all the more amusing in context was the identity of the first band on the bill. The Offspring.

My favorite Fugazi story is when Ian stopped a show to address some guy who kept screaming for them to play Minor Threat songs.

Fugazi's band sound and the way all the pieces interlock is what makes it work, more so than "songwriting" per say. How the voices, two guitars, and bass interact with the metronomic drums is to me the best thing. This being said, there is somewhat a similarity to much of their music.

My favorite album is "Steady Diet of Nothing", mostly because the pace is slowed up a bit more and the songs get more abstract. The first two and "In On the Kill Taker" are all filled with groovy punk. "End Hits", "Red Medicine" and "Instrument" are more spotty, but there are some cool parts on each.

The latest album "The Arguement" is probably the most varied thing they have done and is becoming a favorite of mine.

As for the politics of the lyrics and D.I.Y. attitude, it may add to the mythology, but the music is good enough on it's own for me.

They're amazing live as well--the segues from song to song are incredible. When I saw them in April of this year they went right into "Blueprint" from "Sweet And Low." It was great.

Also, if you haven't paid attention since '95, definitely check out the Argument. Sonically unlike all previous albums (sitars! female background vocals!), though the lyrics are still an issue.

That first line should be "Fugazi should have been a better band than they were."

its not as hard as i was expecting
is this hardcore?

its also a lot slower in a lot of places than i expected,for some reason i thought it would all be really fast

there is some funky (meant as an adjective,not sure whether its good or bad as yet)drumming on one of the tracks,which i wasn't expecting at all

i like it more than i was expecting,i think last time i tried to listen to it i just turned it off after a few songs

no, it's "post-rock".

Fugazi EP (first half of 13 Songs)
The Argument
Repeater
Red Medicine
In On the Kill Taker

---

Margin Walker EP (second half of 13 songs)
Steady Diet of Nothing
Instrument soundtrack
End Hits
3 Songs EP
Furniture + 2 EP

(hops to xgau.com to check that that is indeed his line)

Sickest Cover Ever, though. (for Margin Walker)

End Hits is too good to be true. In On the Killtaker comes on a close 2nd. All the others: 3rd place. No losers here.

And they are so post-rock.

I heard they were on "indefinite hiatus". Ian MacKaye is playing in the Evens these days with Amy Farina and doesn't Joe Lally run Tolotta records or did I make that up?

Fugazi is one of my favorite bands and one of the best live bands I've seen.

So I noticed a copy of Repeater in HMV the other day that had a sticker marked "2004 remaster" on it - have the destroyed it or made it better? I've no problem with the levels they'd reached by The Argument, but what's the point? it does sound VERY slight and spacious compared to their others (bar 13 Songs) unless you crank it, but when you crank it, it sounds awesome. Anyone heard it?

Definitely classic, though my favorites from them remain in their early canon. One of the coolest things I've ever done is I attend one of their shows--I think it was 1992--on acid. My friends (who hadn't partaken) were like, Ian would NOT approve.

I still remember and probably always will remember "Merchandise" from that show, that and the music they played over the PA before the show, musta been some Dischord band or the other, made me shiver it was so heavy, never found out who they were.

A friend of mine speaks highly of their later work, but for the most part I'm just not familiar.

Oh, and I tend not to like the songs where Guy sings. I bet that's not just me.

Repeater was always the worst-sounding album to my ears so I'd be curious to hear a remaster.

All the original albums sound just fine to me.

And Nick, if you're interested, I think the first three albums got the remastered treatment - 13 Songs, Repeater and Steady Diet. I can't recall the others having been rereleased.

Oh, and I tend not to like the songs where Guy sings. I bet that's not just me.

I've actually heard more complaints about the Ian songs.

I think I like much of the songs on Steady Diet the most. I've never quite understood the lack of love for that record.

Also, why is everyone so obsessed with "Waiting Room"?

The main problem I have with the sonics is the snare drum being tuned too tightly.

Huh?

hahahaha

Listened to Red Medicine the other day, another cheery reminder why Fugazi is amazing.

every record was great. repeater and steady diet sound hell of quiet on my ipod, probably pre-remaster versions.

I think I like much of the songs on Steady Diet the most. I've never quite understood the lack of love for that record.

I've said the exact same thing on another thread I can't recall. It flows almost perfectly from song to song, sounds super tight and funky, rocks like a mofo -- best Fugazi album in my opinion.

Also, why is everyone so obsessed with "Waiting Room"?

I think it's their first definitive/defining song. Before I got into Fugazi, whenever I asked someone what they sounded like, they always put on "Waiting Room." As much as I love their other stuff, "Waiting Room" hasn't aged too well (although it sounded good at what was apparently their penultimate US concert in 2002).

Agree, and would add that it's possibly my least favorite song of theirs from the first couple ep's.

especially most of the Margin Walker record...most of those tracks put Waiting Room to shame.

"In on the Kill Taker," "Red Medicine" and "End Hits" are their greatest recordings. Everything they've ever recorded is nothing short of spectacular, but an album like Repeater - I'm sad to say - honestly does sound dated. The three aforementioned albums still sound really fresh and modern, despite them all being well over a decade old. Especially the amazing and cathartic "In on the Kill Taker," which sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday.

Fugazi = greatest band ever.

Wow so true. I listened to In On the Kill Taker today for the first time in years and it sounded fantastic. Some of Picciotto's songs are so stylish and Fugazi had so many rock band trappings--they loved big choruses and singalongs, and they also loved jamming and fucking around. For all they did to advance hardcore, they're such a throwback in a lot of ways.

randomly grabbed End Hits from the rack today. "Recap Modotti" is so, so awesome.

I did this too! But yesterday. Such a solid album.

the last 30-45 seconds of Arpeggiator into the first, like 10-15 seconds of Guilford Fall=so fucking awesome

joe lally is a goddamn genius bass player.

End Hits always underwhelmed me, but it seems to be getting the love. Need to relisten now that I've ripped em all onto my iPod.

Fugazi was a big disappointment after Script For A Jester's Tear.

oh know you d'int!

Randomly grabbed Red Medicine yesterday. Very solid album, despite years of ambivalence to it. And I'm really going to have to get repeater eventually.

Those live discs are of such hit or miss audio (and physical) quality that I rarely listen to any of them, but I did buy them all anyway. At the time I sort of felt, after all these years, that I owed the band something in return, and I could forgive the no frills aspect of the whole deal. As cash grabs go, it was as innocent as they come.

one of my coworkers was recently in sf and made a point of telling me that he saw a building with the name
fugazi on it.

i took a pic of that building last time I was there

"Recap Modotti" is so, so awesome.

otm

need to re-buy Killtaker ASAP

Can't stop thinking about what it would sound like if Calle 13 covered "Merchandise". It would be such an awesome English language debut -- suitable ideologically, linguistically, sonically. What's not to like? Does Fugazi hate covers? Do they even allow that?

bands don't really have that much control over who releases covers of their music afaik

Fugazi themselves never played covers but i don't even know if there's been any prominent cover of one of their songs for them to have an opinion on

If they're trying to crossover to an English-speaking audience but keep their political/social consciousness cred, it's a hell of a song imo. Also fun to shout WE OWE YOU NOTHING.

NO-THING!

so that wasn't a response to me at all, was it, just a reiteration of your first post?

i guess i was just repeating myself

1
2
threeeeeeeeee

repeater

happy birthday ian
which fugazi live set should i download

Oh, god we had a house guest renting here, he used our food, didn't pay rent, and listened to "melodic" "soulful" music like Fugazi all of the time.

Politics and being from DC does not make for intelligent music. I can't stand Fugazi, sorry.

He can come back and visit when he learns what good music is.

Huh? Melodic? Soulful? You sure he wasn't listening to jack Johnson?

i somehow read that as "we had a horse guest renting here ..."

i mean okay he ate your food and wanted to listen to fugazi but hey on the other hand he was a sentient horse, shut the fuck up and know you are blessed

lol!

Guilty! of Eating Oats

we had a house guest renting here, he used our food, didn't pay rent

These are like Black Flag lyrics. Or maybe Descendents.

Ha, I've been on a Fugazi hinge this week.

Never a bad time to listen to Fugazi, imo. Got a few of the remasters last year, Repeater esp. sounds fantastic.

never a bad time for a Mount Cleaners thread revive post either

Politics and being from DC does not make for intelligent music. I can't stand Fugazi, sorry.

this is my favorite use of "sorry" - "I dug up a thread to talk about something nobody else had brought up for several months & which you certainly weren't thinking about right now - well guess what, I don't like this band, sorry"

Politics and being from DC does not make for intelligent music.

Seriously, fuck Duke Ellington.

It's weird when one of these thread bumps throws up a band that I haven't even thought about in years. Don't think I could go quite as far as 'classic' for them but they have def released their share of good records. Tempted to put on The Argument this evening now - that was always my favorite from them so I guess I gravitate towards their more polished/songful stuff.

I hate Fugazi because of inconsiderate houseguests. I mean, I'd like 'em okay if it weren't for that, but they always come hand-in-hand with inconsiderate houseguests, except for ian mackaye of course, who is the consummate houseguest and always washes his dishes.

figuring out the most fugazi way for fugazi to reunite is a fun pasttime. I vote playing a new album in full at Fort Reno for free. ZERO NOSTALGIA, ZERO PROFIT.

no way, gotta be benefit for hispanic community center in church basement on euclid

still no hits, and only advance notice is a tweet from henry that day

"ian's gonna kill me for this, but heads up..."

could actually see them doing what shellac does and playing shows in places they all feel like visiting. like towns you've never heard of in Italy.

Oh, god we had a house guest renting here, he used our food, didn't pay rent, and listened to "melodic" "soulful" music like Fugazi all of the time.

Politics and being from DC does not make for intelligent music. I can't stand Fugazi, sorry.

He can come back and visit when he learns what good music is.

― โตเกียวเหมียวเหมียว akaPlease You Fag Punk Rockers (Mount Cleaners), Saturday, July 14, 2012 10:29 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

So even after eating all your food and stiffing you on rent, you'd still welcome him back if he doesn't like fugazi anymore?

all european travel shows livestreamed for free

actually maybe just available on the archive

i was kind of surprised they didn't do a benefit for ca1 r0bbins

a friend of a friend was filming stuff around an empty dock area in asbury park, heard some music coming from a warehouse, opened a door, saw the E Street Band rocking out, and a burly dude ran to the door screaming "YOU CAN'T BE HERE" and closed it in his face. just once i want to hear a similar story about someone hearing sinuous post-punk grooves in the wind in a residential area outside DC.

Fugazi is/was one of the few bands that took the hardcore form and actually took it somewhere

lol, right

anyway i never really cared for them and am just waiting for the day someone can mention being from DC and someone isn't "oh, right, fugazi mannnnnn" like they've really been that relevant here in the past X decades

Blows my mind that anyone would shrug at a band this good, but I guess different strokes, new generation, kids today, etc.

What band has been relevant in - or from - DC since Fugazi broke up?

No one. They all come from Baltimore.

Fugazi are awesome and slagging them is silly challops for silly challops' sake.

Should pick up the 13 Songs remaster. Steady Diet and Instrument (Soundtrack) are the only ones I don't own.

Blows my mind that anyone would shrug at a band this good, but I guess different strokes, new generation, kids today, etc.

otm

What band has been relevant in - or from - DC since Fugazi broke up?

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, July 15, 2012 2:40 PM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

No one. They all come from Baltimore.

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, July 15, 2012 2:42 PM (29 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

XD

The only people I know who hate Fugazi do so as an extension of their hardline anti-DIY stance.

them and ice cream eating motherfuckers

Back in my 1990s noise rock days, I used to hate Fugazi because everyone told me I had to like them as they were "real". I always found the whole thing a bit macho, this idea of sweaty men putting in a shift on the coalface of punk rock. Also I hated yowly vocals.

These days I couldn't care less about them one way or the other.

Fugazi is/was one of the few bands that took the hardcore form and actually took it somewhere

ha yeah my instinct is to rmde at this but I don't think it's a greatly objectionable statement in itself

the implication that "taking it somewhere" is of paramount importance is more or less bs however

I remember back when I was a young, impressionable Fugazi fan growing up in DC, there were always older hardcore heads around who would say that Fugazi "betrayed punk" or "ruined hardcore" or whatever. I didn't really get it because I was 13 and I didn't even know what hardcore was, except for Minor Threat, which I knew about because of Fugazi.

that their craft continued to improve as they went is I think an undermade point - people go nuts for Kill Taker which is the "important" one I guess but every album is legitimately great listening imo

Honestly, I think the remasters are unremarkable. In fact, I was emailing back and forth with Dischord a while back just to figure out if the remasters I bought were actually remastered. There really isn't anything obvious that distinguishes them from the earlier issues, save a little sticker, sometimes. As per most reissues, the levels are higher, which is good for the MP3 age.

xpost Who the fuck cares about "real?" They were real awesome .

There was a Fugazi backlash as early as "Repeater." Fuck that noise.

Fuck that noise.

was this supposed to be a pun?

Also I hated yowly vocals.

Misread this as "jowly vocals."

that their craft continued to improve as they went is I think an undermade point - people go nuts for Kill Taker which is the "important" one I guess but every album is legitimately great listening imo

^ this. For me, they only faltered once (Steady Diet), but that aside, every record was a step forward...and sometimes a "holy shit!" step forward.

somehow i always think of fugazi as hard workers and ambassadors for a certain ethos, not as good musicians or good songwriters. i always feel like their appeal is rooted heavily in their 'way of life', not the actually music. however, i am actually not that familiar with their music aside from a few songs.

^ this. For me, they only faltered once (Steady Diet), but that aside, every record was a step forward...and sometimes a "holy shit!" step forward.

i sort of went backwards through their catalog after they went on hiatus but i would've liked to have been paying attention right around when red medicine came out. and then end hits, christ

tight-as-hell band becomes progressively tighter-than-hell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGJFWirQ3ks

Went through the few Fugazi CDs in my rack and woah, I'd forgotten that I actually owned a copy of Red Medicine. This album is much better than I remembered, much sharper and more organised.

not as good musicians

Musically, I'd put Fugazi as a band up there with pretty much any band, ever. I mean, you might like other bands more, but musically, Fugazi was as tight as can be. Ian has repeatedly said the number one holdup to a reunion is that it took basically hours of practice, every single day, every single week, just for Fugazi to stay up to speed.

And yet! They never show off. It's just awesomely intricate and original without being flashy.

i thought they were tight before on record anyway, and you can hear it on live recordings too, but i've never seen them live and so trawling through their live youtube videos earlier this summer was really eye-opening for me. you can just see how together they are, how much freedom it gives them to adjust the performance in very small but fluid ways. it seems like it's no accident that they're also notorious for engaging so much with the audience non-musically.

i don't think there are too many bands of whom many ppl (including me) claim their last/seventh album is their best

Well there's Heldon

i saw a band cover 'waiting room' @ a bar in ocean city

somehow i always think of fugazi as hard workers and ambassadors for a certain ethos, not as good musicians or good songwriters. i always feel like their appeal is rooted heavily in their 'way of life', not the actually music. however, i am actually not that familiar with their music aside from a few songs.

― Poliopolice, Sunday, July 15, 2012 4:28 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Do you ever actually read your posts before hitting submit?

i saw a band cover 'waiting room' @ a bar in ocean city

― am0n, Sunday, July 15, 2012 8:00 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

yeah it always cracks me up how that song is basically pop culture in just this part of the country -- played at sporting events, occasionally on the radio, etc.

Do you ever actually read your posts before hitting submit?

If you have an actual disagreement with something someone says, it would be nice if you just stated what it was, instead of just being a condescending jerk.

"Well I always got the impression that they were mainly about the lifestyle and not good at music. But I never listened to the music."

Yeah, that was pretty silly.

I have little faith in the value of their ethos as subscribed to by some, but I adore a lot of the music.

I'm from Virginia, so I've been over-exposed to them and have been kinda put off by the rabid, righteous intensity of their home fanbase for a long time. I like the earlier stuff just fine, but I don't think the more self-consciously experimental stuff works too well. It's neither intense enough nor out-there enough. Also, Ian's voice grates on me; it's ugly but without the sense of abandon/possession that I think makes ugly voices work in a "loud-rock" context. Like being bellowed at by a gym teacher. Plus, it feels like he never adapted his vocal style to fit the band's move toward more intricate, "interesting" instrumental work, so as time went on it felt more and more tacked-on.

One of the really great bands, and maybe the only show (ie the first time I saw them) that made me think about many things differently. Definitely they get better with almost every record and I agree that The Argument is a crowning achievement. Really glad that others agree!

it feels like he never adapted his vocal style to fit the band's move toward more intricate, "interesting" instrumental work

i totally disagree. the hardcore yell was always there, but his singing definitely became more nuanced (even delicate!) as the band progressed.

dunno, this came immediately to mind:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNYbKFi8HVM

Also the Evens records are really fine.

Oh yeah, I remember this song! I was a senior in college when it came out, and this record charted #1 at my radio station for weeks. I like it alright. I admit that overtly political music tends to turn me off, and Ian always *sounds* like he's singing about politics no matter what he's singing about, if that makes any sense. They're one of those bands I can always understand why people like, whose chops/tightness I can admire, etc (and they're damn good live; I've seen them a few times), but they just do not connect emotionally in the slightest.

I agree though that Ian's songs on Argument are a little blunt & therefore stick out amidst the otherwise more subtle and intricate tracks on that record (Ex-Spectator is the primary outlier in this respect). Another reason that record really shines is that the third vocalist (is it Joe?) really holds his own.

And viz. political lyrics I always felt that they were generally more artful and oblique than most others (Smallpox Champion, e.g.).

I think a whole fugazi album that was just ian singing would get frustrating, but something works well about the two of them switching off. I hate to use these terms, but there's almost a masculine/feminine dynamic to it, in a good way.

"Well I always got the impression that they were mainly about the lifestyle and not good at music. But I never listened to the music."

So what? I don't understand what is inherently stupid about that. I stated upfront that I don't know much about Fugazi's music; I am familiar with them more as a proponent of certain lifestyle. I didn't say they were bad musicians. I said I don't think of them in terms of their music.

Also, if you think about what Fugazi/Ian MacKaye's legacy will be, I don't I'd be too far off in guessing that the music itself may not be the dominant theme.

it's true that people who are not familiar with their music have lots of opinions about their business model and political views

I think a whole fugazi album that was just ian singing would get frustrating, but something works well about the two of them switching off. I hate to use these terms, but there's almost a masculine/feminine dynamic to it, in a good way.

― Will Chave (Hurting 2), Monday, July 16, 2012 9:52 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I hear that... But I probably like Guy's voice even less. ;-)

It's kind of a cliche about them that "they're mainly known for their politics" except that that hasn't really been true since I don't know 1993? Most people I've met who like fugazi tend to geek out about their music and put their politics second. As musicians they're pretty much in the top tier of hardcore bands, in fact hardcore purists often find them too proggy.

Another thing that gets overlooked in this band, one because ian and guy are iconic and two because of the view point poliopolice put out there - this band has an amazing, all time rhythm section

otm

Yeah, Brendan Canty is pretty beast.

otm2

Apparently the early plan was for the Ian / Guy dynamic to be in part modeled on Chuck D / Flava Flav

ha that makes total sense

This thread got me to listen to The Argument. I had a housemate who listened to it all the time in 2002-2003. I never gave it much thought. It sounds great now though! Much more sophisticated and nuanced than I remember Fugazi being, actually. I also find the vocals problematic on some of their 'middle' stuff but they work here. Is that really Ian MacKaye singing on "Cashout"?

Oh, it does sound like him on the chorus.

I mean, at the same time, it's almost more pop than other Fugazi that I remember, more fun. Some good grooves.

that's the one I couldn't get into, and tried again recently, and it sounded very dated to me, in a way that none of their other stuff does.

Ha, that's interesting to me. Something like Steady Diet almost seems so dated to me that I can't imagine putting it on again.

I like it fine (Argument), but it might be my least favorite of their records. With hindsight you can kind of imagine that they were dragging themselves through it a bit before calling it quits. Full Disclosure and and Oh are still classic Guy tunes imo. Some of the Ian stuff has a stripped down feel like proto-Evens, but I don't like the Evens much.

Ian always *sounds* like he's singing about politics no matter what he's singing about

tbh I think the opposite is true if anything

maybe cos there's (I've always assumed) a tendency with a lot of Fugazi lyrics to choose words because of their cadence or w/e

not to say that means they don't work as, like, polemic, just that you can sort of let it... wash over you if you feel so inclined

not to say that means they don't work as, like, polemic, just that you can sort of let it... wash over you if you feel so inclined

― if you are a false nine don't entry (DJ Mencap), Monday, July 16, 2012 11:07 AM (39 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Interesting; this is precisely what I *can't* do with Ian's vocals. I have no problem with "extreme" styles of singing; cathartic black metal screaming, e.g., sort of invites the listener to inhabit it, though, and even if I'm not feeling that level of intensity I actually can let the vocals wash over me ("voice as instrument" blah blah). It always feels like Ian is singing *at* me.

I think I still like Steady Diet more than Repeater (or 13 Songs really, which is wildly uneven). It's hard for me to imagine them being an important band to anyone (esp. anyone who didn't see them live)... their songs/albums just feel slight to me.

I like it fine (Argument), but it might be my least favorite of their records. With hindsight you can kind of imagine that they were dragging themselves through it a bit before calling it quits. Full Disclosure and and Oh are still classic Guy tunes imo. Some of the Ian stuff has a stripped down feel like proto-Evens, but I don't like the Evens much.

― Will Chave (Hurting 2), Monday, July 16, 2012 10:57 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

you're like the first other person i've ever heard from who doesn't think The Argument is all that. and Red Medicine is my favorite and i have a big soft spot for End Hits.

Red Medicine and Steady Diet are my favorites.

I don't think it's a bad album, and I was happy with it when it came out, but probably about half the album is weaker than a lot of their past material. Cashout always grated on me actually -- at the time I said it was Ian's "Another Day In Paradise" moment.

I'm not big on Argument either, but Repeater is my least favorite. Sometimes I'm purposely a contrarian, but in this case it's actually true.

Red Medicine > Steady Diet > Killtaker > End Hits > 13 Songs > Repeater > Argument

is pretty much how they rank for me now, so I hear you. I actually always disliked something about the production on Repeater even though the songs are good. I like it when they play stuff from Repeater live.

I love Fugazi, but I think I find Red Medicine lovers even more baffling than people who are defensively dismissive of the band. I need to relisten to that album but it's always felt like a relative slog compared to everything else.

Argument > Repeater > Instrument > 13 Songs > Steady Diet > Killtaker > End Hits > Red Medicine

shoo instrument away entirely and that's relatively where i'm at

I love Instrument, but I know most consider it a weird throwaway.

ez snappin have you heard the albini version of killtaker that out there in the ether?

Yeah. It's an interesting curio. I'd rate it below the released version of Killtaker.

Instrument is ok. It has "I'm So Tired" and the better imo version of Guilford Fall

13 Songs: ATTENTION! this is Fugazi! DEAL!
Repeater: Attention! Fugazi now includes a second guitar! DEAAALLL!
Steady Diet of Nothing: ATTENTION! this remains Fugazi! Continue to deal!
In On The Kill Taker: ATTENTION! This remains Fugazi......hurm....
Red Medicine: ATTENTION!............this remains Fugazi.......*blurt of clarinet*....WE MEANT TO DO THAT!
End Hits: Hey, this is Fugazi! GROOVE!
Argument: ATTENTION! THIS IS THE FUGAZI UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA! *GONG*

i dunno if steady diet was just business as usual

I think they were at their best around Kill Taker, it just has the greatest amount of good material basically. Their best 'guitar' album, Sweet and Low their best album instrumental. Red Medicine, I dunno, sounds great but there's some throwaway stuff on there no doubt - more so the second side. Comes out of the blocks really well though.

Repeater, nails their band dynamics - especially now Guy's on 2nd guitar - but I find the material as it's produced doesn't have space to breathe and a lot sounds rushed - the example for me is the Instrument live version of 'Shut The Door' compared to the album version. Steady Diet suffers a little less from this but on the other hand sounds really flat production-wise.

End Hits, I dunno, I think that run of songs in the middle is among their weakest material. Fair play to them for using what they had and fucking around a bit but I don't that side of them was as interesting as it could have been. Again, good start to the album. I think, with Lally and Canty, there was something there with 'Sweet and Low', melodically, that wasn't developed or tapped into as well after IOTKT. The Argument I like more than EH and a worthy send off but I still think the likes of 'Full Disclosure', 'Ex Spectator', 'Epic Problem' etc are the best songs.

end hits is my favorite record of theirs b/c it's the grooviest, croupier otm

"run of songs in the middle" includes "closed captioned" which is totally gorgeous yo

I think they were at their best around Kill Taker, it just has the greatest amount of good material basically.

^ da troof!

nah. Might have been their best live period though - they were tight as hell and one of the best dance bands around.

I like all Fugazi styles and albums to some degree, so I can appreciate how everyone has their own favorite period...but In on the Kill Taker so clearly seems like their finest work that idgi when people shrug it off.

I think it's definitely their loudest and most confrontational, that's for sure. I like to play the first couple tracks for people and ask them to identify a single word.

I mean, like, YAAAARGH!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoEkMD-1dCk

Yeah that song. I always hear it in my head as something like "Banned and blubber and definition, everybody wins and always plays, danny bones in another position" and then I can't even make up lyrics for the next line

Of course it has the great line "Irony is the refuge of the educated, always complaining and they never quit", which I would never have understood if I hadn't read it somewhere

This is my last picture!

I love Fugazi, but I think I find Red Medicine lovers even more baffling than people who are defensively dismissive of the band. I need to relisten to that album but it's always felt like a relative slog compared to everything else.

― da croupier, Monday, July 16, 2012 2:53 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark

it's their pop album! i really think you're overstating how much the clarinet and whatnot interfere with the songs

it's a pretty grimy, spiny, unfriendly album in a way. like "combination lock" would have been a lot more...supple a couple years earlier or later. it's also my favorite album of theirs, but then i don't get tetchy when former hardcore dudes make grimy, spiny, unfriendly albums.

it's their pop album!

you're on crack

lol i like that you bused your insult in special from 1995

you still haven't explained your glitch

they were tight as hell and one of the best dance bands around.

― EZ Snappin, Monday, July 16, 2012 5:59 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

many many people are on crack in this thread

but none so much as the h8rs! talk to the hand h8rs!

Fugazi were totally a dance band! Live they swung like motherfuckers.

totally i recall doing all the dances, the twist, the cabbage patch, wild punching

do you mean dance as in what people do at dance clubs or dance as in what people do at phish concerts

i am a patient boy
i frug i frug i frug i frug

i dunno it's obviously a facetious statement but if not RM what is their pop album? i guess maybe Repeater, not really familiar with 13 Songs. but when i think of Red Medicine i think of catchy stuff like "Target" and "Do You Like Me" and think of "By You" as their epic power ballad.

hardcore kids talk about "dancing" even more than hippies (and mean it even more loosely)

i dunno it's obviously a facetious statement but if not RM what is their pop album?

would argue that 13 songs, repeater, kill taker and argument are all consistently more anthemic/catchy than medicine

fugazi were funky as hell. i mean they weren't *always* funky as hell because they were a rock band. but still.

13 songs and repeater are definitely the "pop" albums. argument simmers too long in the middle.

kill taker is probably the most pop in the sense that what they were doing was making mint for majors at the same time, argument the most lush production-wise, and yeah 13/repeater are non-stop anthems.

could see a couple of those. the noodly atmospheric stuff breaks The Argument's momentum way more than RM's for me (but in End Hits it feels all deliberately threaded into the songs in a satisfying way). maybe i'm just imagining it but i feel like RM has less of Ian's drill sergeant voice than a lot of the other records, a little less brute force in the riffs?

a lack of strong riffs doesn't make it their "pop album" by any stretch

end hits and steady diet are the outliers for me. hardly ever listen to them. high highs, but a lot of filler. (i probably saw this band like 900 times and i cant remember them ever playing a song from steady diet.) (ian also should have left the "singing" to guy.)

you didn't hear reclamation 500 times? it was a live staple for a good while

I've definitely heard Long Division live

actually I think I've heard a bunch of songs from that record live: Nice New Outfit, Stacks, Latin Roots, Runaway Return

xp yeah, I saw them maybe 5 times and heard "Long Division" at least twice.

Reclamation was a highlight when I saw them in like 98? 99?

Think I saw them do KYEO, too. Steady Diet and Killtaker are the only Fugazi records I listen to with any regularity.

The book Dance of Days has a lengthy bit about the centrality of Reclamation to their live shows for a while.

Interesting to see the Steady Diet love.

the only time i saw Fugazi live they played Reclamation first and held those first guitar notes for what felt like 5 minutes before the bass & drums came in. People were going nuts.

randomly, steady diet ended up being my first fugazi record, cuz i was just buying one at random and i liked the title or something...sort of a weird intro to the band

yeah that was kind of a fun thing of the pre-internet era, having these random and sometimes "wrong" entry points based on what was in the store or what had a cool cover/title

I would rather hear "Latin Roots" than haha no just kidding that song is terrible.

I know a few people who even at the time preferred Steady Diet to Repeater and 13 Songs (which is wildly uneven IMO, way more so than Steady Diet frankly). I'm not sure when critical consensus resulted in X is or isn't the Fugazi to have, but I don't think it really existed in 1991/2.

true

http://timetomeetjamaicans.ytmnd.com/

otm

http://timetoreadsomeeggers.ytmnd.com/

http://iliketoandimpaidto.ytmnd.com/

fugazi really are in the mondegreen hall of fame

"BLAME SISTER RAY! BLAME SISTER RAY! BLAME SISTER RAY!" - Fugazi, "Epic Problem"

on some other thread strongo notes the "wipeout" in "smallpox champion" can be mistaken for "white power" while i always heard "waffles."

mondegreen! i never knew what that was called

yeah nice vocab expander

"AUSSIE THUGS IN A PRISOOOOOOON! THEY SHOULD NEVER TOUCH THE GROUND!"

We just so happened to play Fugazi's first two EPs at Devon Record Club last week.

http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/fugazi-7-songs-and-margin-walker-round-32-robs-choice/

Saw these guys at the Manchester Boardwalk in 1989, so fucking great. I know that Waiting Room is remembered as the big song of their early days, but Suggestion was definitely the highpoint of their set and the one that really blew the whole room up, so taut and yes, so funky.

I liked back in 88 in DC when Amy Pickering guested on some of the vocals for "Suggestion". Here's a Wilson Center version from that time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k1iK4nyS8o

Amy's vocals are good, Ian's are more predictable

WE SIT BACK
LIKE THE TORTOISE
WE KEEP QUIET
LIKE THE TORTOISE

I love that Wilson Center clip of Suggestion!

HERE COMES THE ONION MEN

ALADDIN ROOTS

This is all over FB now but figured some may not have seen (notice quote at top)

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7ciqpG23w1qjnw5fo1_500.jpg

And yes this photoshopping is explained elsewhere with lotsa fun comments and suggested flavors

:( I WANT IT TO BE REAL.

way to live up to your name bud

hmpf

classic mount cleaners cold open on this revive

x-post

ha. I shouldn't confuse ilxors with the commenters I saw on this elsewhere who did think it was real.

;)

Full disclosure I did think it was real for maybe 20 mins or so last night before realizing that probably wasn't the case.

lol I did that photoshop and it's kind of gotten out of hand

no way

really??

I wouldn't tell a lie on a Fugazi thread

haha i'm glad i didn't grouse GUY WASN'T IN MINOR THREAT THIS IS SO DUMB on the thread then :)

details, details

I was going to just make an "ICE CREAM EATING MOTHERFUCKER" truck but then the Minor Threat stuff worked really well and so I added that. Just put it on my facebook and a City Paper writer saw it and put it here and it went from there I guess:

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/07/17/someone-make-this-happen-minor-treat-ice-cream-truck/

I wish I'd know it would get around so much, I definitely would have made the quote "ICE CREAM EATING MOTHERFUCKER, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE - GUY PICCIOTTO OF MINOR THREAT" to get people really riled up

lol

guys did i ever post pictures of the "ice cream eating motherfucker" shirt my sister got/made me for xmas one year?

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/19970_1279899166755_20426_n.jpg
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/19970_1279899126754_5172796_n.jpg

"that's the shit you can't hide."

"...but you eat ice cream, everybody knows it, the WHOLE FUCKING PLACE knows it.."

That's my favourite bit there

Jess that's awesome.

Fugazi is/was one of the few bands that took the hardcore form and actually took it somewhere

ha yeah my instinct is to rmde at this but I don't think it's a greatly objectionable statement in itself

the implication that "taking it somewhere" is of paramount importance is more or less bs however

― if you are a false nine don't entry (DJ Mencap)

Haha, can't believe I'm going back to try to defend an 11-year old post but: Partly the statement was made because I wasn't as familiar with hardcore as I thought, and partly because I was being a bit too glib to get at my actual point. aero and Tarfumes kind of got at what I was talking about though this exchange:

that their craft continued to improve as they went is I think an undermade point - people go nuts for Kill Taker which is the "important" one I guess but every album is legitimately great listening imo

^ this. For me, they only faltered once (Steady Diet), but that aside, every record was a step forward...and sometimes a "holy shit!" step forward.

At the point I wrote that I think I was so burnt out on other bands that started at point A and 10 years later ended at point A that Fugazi's constant move to somewhere else was extremely welcome. Maybe I overstated, but where they went over the course of a small handful of albums still impressed the fuck out of me.

Also I get that part of the point of the complaint was essentially "why should they have to go anywhere"? And yeah, bands can feel free to stay wherever the hell they want, and sometimes that works fine. I just loved seeing Fugazi's move from one place to another, especially when it must have pissed off a lot of people who thought they were fans.

One of my few complaints about fugazi is that I feel like they deserve a big share of the responsibility for the fact that everyone started just standing around at shows instead of moving. I mean I understand where they were coming from - hardcore shows could get really nasty with throwing elbows, steel-toed boot kicks, etc. But the other extreme kind of blows.

yeah but i think it was just from the perspective of wanting to protect ppl from getting injured

plus i bet ppl were standing around at REM shows in the mid 80s, or bands like that?

I dunno, the two times I saw Fugazi (and even at other hardcore/emo shows I went to in the 90s), people were moving, just not moshing/crowd surfing.

yeah blame indie bands that don't inspire movement, not the band that stopped people from punching each other

I suppose unfunky white people not punching each other anymore is a great and righteous earth changing activity.

I personally don't see what music has to do with punching people, if I need to be told that or inspired by it, maybe there is something wrong with me.

one thing that's great about "get in the ring" is axl makes explicit that it's all about punching for him. every other song on that record just kinds of hints at it from the corners.

mount cleaners do check ilx on a weekly basis?

do you, i mean

Three Dutch radio sessions online: http://3voor12.vpro.nl/nieuws/2012/juli/Fugazi-sessie.html

Will Chave: wtf? You use be thinking of Tortoise, the most crossed armed chin stroking live act ever.

**must** not use, damn sausage fingers.

http://i.imgur.com/uxLhe.jpg

lmao

nice

http://oi55.tinypic.com/24171mw.jpg

would watch that on the food network

it's time to beat some eggs

The guys in Minor Threat would have demanded a parenthetical I in front of "Don't add sugar it ruins it"

In his early days in Fugazi Guy didn't play guitar for them.

well, fuck.

its funny to see the oatmeal thing because i've seen in two or three places people complain that fugazi were so po faced they contributed 'oatmeal' to a recipe column, or something

QUAKER OATS ARE SHIT!

oatmeal is unfunky white people food

so many great lines in that recipe - "if you have an electric stove, you're pretty fucked"

let it simmer for about 15 phone calls

If Albini can do it, MacKaye can do it. So do it, MacKaye! Where's your cooking blog?

I'm kind of excited - certainly intrigued - by the idea of Guy Picciotto playing live in a couple of weeks.

I know he's done some stuff with the Silver Mount Zion guys, and he played guitar with Vic Chestnutt and all that - but could this be an actual, like, solo set? I hope so...

The event will be held on November 15 at New York's Le Poisson Rouge. It will feature performances from Jeff Mangum, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and Fugazi's Guy Picciotto, plus non-musical talent like comic Janeane Garofalo, director John Cameron Mitchell, culture jammers the Yes Men, and more.

somehow the phrase "non-musical talent" made me laugh

jcm's pretty musical

i want to know where the style guide for that publication stands oxford comma wise

That reads to me as if Ranaldo and Picciotto are playing a set together.

I actually read it that way as well! Not just oxford comma trolling -- I really thought that's what they meant.

btw, what is "the event"?

Differently Comma'd version, from Brooklyn Vegan

On November 15, Le Poisson Rouge will host "The People's Bailout: A Variety Show and Telethon to Benefit the 99%," a benefit show for Occupy-affiliated organization Strike Debt. The show features a huge (and very impressive) lineup of Jeff Mangum (of Neutral Milk Hotel) (who has played for Occupy Wall Street in the past), Lee Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth) (who has also played for Occupy Wall Street before), Guy Picciotto (of Fugazi), Tunde Adebimpe (of TV on the Radio), Janeane Garofalo, Lizz Winstead, Max Silvestri, Frances Fox Piven, Hari Kondabolu, David Rees, corproate pranksters The Yes Men, John Cameron Mitchell, Climbing Poetree, The invisible Army of Defaulters, members of Healthcare for the 99%, Occupy Faith, and many more. Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, November 2 at 10 AM.

when do we get our cut from the telethon

There's absolutely no way I would ever read a Fugazi cooking special.

LOL @ 'telethon'
It would be so good if Jerry Lewis hosted this

http://disquiet.com/2012/11/01/chris-lawhorn-fugazi-edits/

http://www.lepoissonrouge.com/lpr_events/peoples-bailout/

live stream of the telethon: http://pitchfork.com/news/48614-watch-jeff-mangum-members-of-sonic-youth-fugazi-tv-on-the-radio-perform-at-occupy-telethon/

glad to see other people are finding it as hard to get genuinely excited about the fugazi edits record as i did

so Guy is performing with Jeff Mangum, it turns out.

http://clatl.com/cribnotes/archives/2012/11/14/guy-piccotto-talks-rites-of-spring-fugazi-and-the-indelible-power-of-youth -- good interview, ends with Guy demurring at the idea of ever doing a solo record or a Rites show, although "I do hope to put out another record, and my hope is always to one day be in a band again"

guy interviewed for the low times podcast this week - http://www.lowtimespodcast.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6nqIbnDGmI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6nqIbnDGmI

featuring ian mackaye clone on 2nd drumkit lol

Dag, this whole show, this band ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVDmFm0FxmM

I mean, christ, why have I never searched for this stuff before?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_5OZOwAhas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKKgoYOF-Ww

Totally blanking on which Fugazi song recalls this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug67qr7Dzdo

Hmmm... me too. Are you sure it's a specific song and not a general vibe? Because I do hear a resemblance.

It's weird how much 80s Dischord stuff has a kind of U2/U.K. big-guitar post-punk sound. I've heard that the Minor Threat guitarists actually were U2 fans towards the end, and you can hear the influence on something like "Salad Days". But it's all over Embrace, some Rites of Spring, and definitely the fantastic and overlooked post-ROS band One Last Wish.

Yeah, there's a specific instrumental break I'm thinking of from ... an early album/ep?

The intro sounds a little like the intro to Suggestion but slower maybe?

sounds a bit like intro to 'bad mouth'?

oh wait, I am totally thinking of Bad Mouth, not Suggestion.

Totally, that's it. Thanks! Mind block lifted.

the fantastic and overlooked post-ROS band One Last Wish

See, this is why I read this forum. I've never heard of One Last Wish before right now. Now I have some investigating to do.

They existed for eight months in 1986 and made one album that didn't get released until 1999. It's so good. My favorite track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGDIuHZXx08

you guys ever notice that guy picciotto's vocals sound like he's going to tell on you to the teacher?

Yeah this is a great find for me too - totally was clueless on this release...

Liked them and Happy Go Licky

you guys ever notice that guy picciotto's vocals sound like he's going to tell on you to the teacher?

― Cory Sklar, Tuesday, July 21, 2015 5:49 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I had a running joke with friends about the guy/ian vocal dynamic being a whiny toddler/stern parent thing.

I always imagine Ian/Guy as Fozzie/Gonzo.

I spent a lot of time studying the mysteries of a samizdat One Last Wish/Happy Go Licky tape in the mid-90s. "My Better Half" is tremendous but HGL's "Torso Butter" is imo the peak of Dischord/U2 crossover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi83Gqu3H8w

I always imagine Ian/Guy as Fozzie/Gonzo.

― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Wednesday, July 22, 2015 1:05 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought of Ian as Bert and Guy as Ernie.

Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird.

I think so much of what works about Fugazi is the tension between Ian and Guy. There's an Ego/Id aspect to it, masculine/feminine, disciplined/free, etc. Heard in both their singing styles and lyrical styles, haven't really given thought to whether it applies to their guitar playing too.

Well, as Ian has said, it's more of a Chuck D./Flava Flav deal. It def. applies to their guitar. Ian plays an SG, so Guy specifically picked the most un-SG guitar, a Rick.

Ian: Charlotte
Guy: Carrie
Joe: Miranda
Brendan: Samantha

Well Ian was essentially the band's rhythm guitarist and obv something he preferred. Obviously a lot more bottom end than his bandmate.

Usually anything 'lead' was G.

Just ordered One Last Wish and Happy Go Licky from Dischord. Can't wait for that package to arrive!

One Last Wish.....!

Holy hell, it's good.

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/rare-fugazi-footage-screening-at-nitehawk-williamsburg-prospect-park/

June 1 and June 6 screenings in Brooklyn of concert footage doc “We are Fugazi from Washington DC”

already sold out :(

wait June 1 isn't! woo-hoo

It's worth seeing. Most of the live footage is from the band's earlier years though

Brooklyn sold out June 6 screening, then Philadelphia June 11 - A third and final screening has been added for 10:00 PM on Sunday, June 11, tickets are available below, the 4:00 and 7:00 screenings are completely sold out

Joe Lally (Fugazi),
Pete Stahl (Scream),
Guy Picciotto (Fugazi),
Don Zientara,
Antonia Tricarico
'The Inner Ear of Don Zientara' Book Talk @
Rough Trade NYC
All Ages / Free Sat June 24 today

4pm

Saw an interesting panel on the studio last night but with Joe Lally, Alec Mackaye, Don Zientara, Antonia and Ian M added a few anecdotes from the audience

The Inner Ear book by Antonia Tricarica ( photographer and Joe Lally’s wife) was discussed briefly. She has more events ahead . Guy was part of discussion panel at Rough Trade in NY , and there are more coming in Charlottesville and elsewhere

The Inner Ear book by Antonia Tricarica ( photographer and Joe Lally’s wife) was discussed briefly. She has more events ahead . Guy was part of discussion panel at Rough Trade in NY , and there are more coming in Charlottesville and elsewhere

anyone know if there will be any west coast screenings of the concert footage doc?

My buddy who is one of the folks who put the movie together says:

Future screenings will have proceeds going to a charity selected in that city.

Look for a San Francisco screening this summer, and current interest from Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Durham, Calgary, Nashville, Las Vegas, Austin, Lancaster PA and Yellow Springs, Ohio. Plus more certain to come.

September 14 in Los Angeles two screenings of We are Fugazi movie via Trust Records at Brain Dead Studios on 611 N . Fairfax

Wither Chicago?

It seems like they are only showing it in places where a theatre or a record store or a festival actively reaches out to the makers of the movie ( rather than the other way around). Yeah , doc would be of interest in many places

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icpovfg5EaM

Super cool!

Damn, Brendan Canty is so good. Love the giant bell too.

Most bands with a giant gong barely hit the gong, but Canty's got a bell and he uses it, dammit.

Can I just say what a wonder it is to exist in a time when within seconds I can watch complete and great sounding Fugazi shows?

That YT channel is insane, I've been scrolling for 20 mins and haven't gotten to the bottom of it yet. I was thinking it would be a nice idea to have a thread for well-curated, deep archive YT channels.

Dude sounds like he's on a mission to upload 1000+ shows.

WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON, DC screens Sunday, October 8 in Yellow Springs, OH. That's , at 145pm.

Jeff Krulik who worked on this Fugazi doc will be there . He had also directed Heavy Metal Parking Lot—MPLS FESTIVAL FILM | WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON D.C.

Saturday, November 11, 2023
4:00 PM 6:00 PM
Parkway Theater
4814 Chicago Avenue Minneapolis,

charming little fugazi (but really more nation of ulysses) doc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuHwmqb2asA

Yes , I like that Dc barber video too

Would have been a funny video if it was just a feature on the clippers they all used to buzz their hair down to the scalp.

We are Fugazi doc is gonna be shown in Austin Texas in December at Unseen Film and Music Fest

And per earlier mention, We are Fugazi concert doc showing Saturday November 11 in Minneapolis.

Last night Ian, Joe, and Brendan from the band were in the audience for Rwandan duo The Good Ones in DC . The producer of that duo once promoted a Fugazi gig in the Bay Area .

> The producer of that duo once promoted a Fugazi gig in the Bay Area.

A *free* daytime show at Dolores Park with Sleater Kinney and Vic Chestnutt opening to celebrate/raise awareness of 20 years of Food Not Bombs.

Also this (non-Fugazi) show that I raved about at least once in the ILX archives:

bardo pond

I mean, seriously.

Tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis's Eye of I, my most played album of current days, ends with this track feat. The Mezzthetics, who are Lally and Canty and guitarist Anthony Pirog---goes pretty well with the other tracks---then the guitar comes in:
https://jamesbrandonlewis.bandcamp.com/track/fear-not-feat-the-messthetics-2

No Mezz albs posted on Bandcamp since 2019, but a couple of those, and some upcoming shows:

Brendan Canty and Joe Lally were the rhythm section of the band Fugazi from its inception in 1987 to its period of hiatus in 2002. This is the first band they’ve had together since then. Anthony Pirog is a jazz and experimental guitarist based in Washington, D.C. One half of the duo Janel & Anthony, he has emerged as a primary figure in the city’s out-music community.

That's the first one, self-titled:

The trio’s debut includes nine songs recorded at Canty’s practice space throughout 2017, live and mostly without overdubs. It’s a snapshot of a band dedicated to the live ideal, where structure gives birth to improvisation.

Pirog’s guitar sound with Messthetics is sometimes too prog rock jazz fusion for me. I saw him recently with a different dc area band of his that rarely plays live these days - the EL Reys. They do surf and 50s rock and have a blaring sax and a farfisa organ .

Have also seen Pirog do “Sleepwalk” with roots bands.

I saw them play here once, and my impression was that it sounded like Fugazi's rhythm section with a guitarist I didn't like.

Never saw them live but yeah that was my impression of them too.

Haven't listened to the Mezzthetics albums yet, but Pirog doesn't progfuse that xxxpost James Brandon Lewis track, "Fear Not." It starts with his fluid accompaniment to Lewis's statement of the theme on tenor sax, then drone ov bass & drums drone quickly kicks in, and he steps back into it, sometimes providing punctuation and/or tiny ornaments, best detectable on headphones, as Lewis restates the theme, slightly twisting it, 'til Pirog chops a few chords and twangbar comments---then back into the hunkered-down caveman groove, while brave target Lewis sails overhead: so it's like Neil Young and Crazy Horse backing jazzman, and not a progfuse jazzman.
Thread-relevant only if you've been wondering what Canty and Lally have been up to lately.

Although any good track is relevant to any thread on ILM.

Saw JBL & The Messthetics at Le Poisson Rouge the other night. Closest I'll ever get to seeing Fugazi. A great rhythm section, super tight with JBL and Pirog. I've not always been into Pirog's playing, but he was fantastic live - he reins it in little on the album, but was blazing here.

That’s good. Although the short IG video clip of Jbl & messthetics there in an IG story I saw , his “blazing “ was too busy and math rock meets jazzy prog rock for me.

Honestly, when I saw the show is was kind of like when I saw a Trey Anastasio solo band show. I liked the band, more than I expected (because I don't like Phish), but every time I started kinda enjoying myself he would come back in and my engagement would just fade. Messthetics wasn't quite like that, but Canty/Lally are such a great team, and while he wasn't bad, he still detracted/distracted from them. Or maybe I was just primed to hear Guy and Ian's playing. Probably, lol.

Well we will see if Pirog can restrain his excesses on that upcoming JBL & Messthetics album on Impulse.

Ian isn’t in any active group now, and I don’t think Guy is either.

When I saw the MC50 thing Wayne Kramer's MC5 tribute/reunion thing it had Canty on drums & Billy Gould of FNM on bass and while I didn't always love the show I did come away thinking I would watch any band with Canty playing drums.

Is Coriky no longer a thing? Guy seems more into producing lately.

fwiw Ian is 62 years old and Guy isn't that far behind. So I wouldn't really expect either to still be in active bands if they have absolutely anything else going on in their lives that does not require them to go on tour.

The impression I get from Mackaye's interviews and podcast appearances is that he's kept busy these days curating and preserving not only Dischord's legacy and archive but some of the wider punk/hardcore culture, collecting fanzines/letters/photos and ephemera.

nice, good for him

the short IG video clip of Jbl & messthetics there in an IG story I saw , his “blazing “ was too busy and math rock meets jazzy prog rock for me.

Although, in the DC axis context, if he wanted to take these Fugazi guys in a Don Callero and/or early Battles direction, that would be okay too, I would hope (I like all three of those bands, however you tag them).

listen with juice, not prejudice.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2Lx9F_t_rk/?igsh=dzc1d3R6a3R2dWEx

Eww

guy played instruments on the new jim white solo album so he's still playing

pirog with short hair still flummoxes me

The impression I get from Mackaye's interviews and podcast appearances is that he's kept busy these days curating and preserving not only Dischord's legacy and archive but some of the wider punk/hardcore culture, collecting fanzines/letters/photos and ephemera.

Yes to this. I found some old Minor Threat photos my brother took (plus some negatives of other bands he took pics of back then - DC band Doulbe O, Cramps , others) at our late parents home cleaning up , and my brother and I visited the Dischord house and warehouse and Ian as he is going to digitize them and such. He says he still plays guitar everyday but has put Coriky on hold. He has so much stuff archived -- both physical items, diaries from tours, tapes in multiple formats of practices and gigs.

that insta clip sounded like something that SST would've put out in 1989 (i didn't hate it)

lololol I can't deny that

it's not really for me

I feel like Ian would have good tips for the digital music collection thread.
But maybe it would be vice versa?

"What if Alan Holdsworth joined Saccharine Trust?"

Folk-artist and performer Lonnie Holley will be backed by Lee Bains, Joe Lally, and Brendan Canty at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage tonight from 6 to 7 pm Eastern US time. The show is free but ticketed. It will also be streamed on the Millennium Stage Youtube & Facebook page

https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/millennium-stage/2024/february/lonnie-holley/

Alabaman guitarist and backing vocalist Lee Bains is kinda prominent there behind Holley, but Lally and Canty are of course there and sound strong.

Canty has been filling in Hammered Hulls on bass , and has a gig coming up with Johnny Temple ( Girls against Boys, new wet kojak)

what a fucking band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gy7TAkQW8

Yep. Old guy me was at that Washington Monument show . Well, I was around Ian’s age then .

It's been eight years since they were mentioned and the link's dead so a re-up for the immense Torso Butter by Happy Go Licky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVaoEbFBTBc

Thanks. You can hear what Guy and Brendan later brought to Fugazi. I was a big fan of Eddie Janney in this group and Rites of Spring.