Fugazi : Classic or Dud ?

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