Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Fugazi.
I love this band and the Live Series concept even more.
I own their discography, worship at the 13 Songs/Repeater/Steady Diet/Kill Taker altar. But I simply cannot find a way into the other half of their discography. "Birthday Pony" on Red Medicine ruined that record for me, and while I do love "Arpeggiator" and whatever the first track is on End Hits, I can't really get through the whole thing. I simply have no memory of The Argument whatsoever.
Convince me on their '95 and onward discography.
Anyone have the Albini Kill Taker sessions lossless?
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Can't convince you, nor would I try to, as music is subjective.
ReplyDelete'Red Medicine' was my introduction to Fugazi and still remains my favorite album by them. 'Killtaker' is a close 2nd.
I have the Albini sessions, but not in lossless.
They are one of the few bands that I think got better with age and through each album.
'13 Songs' has never done it for me the way that 'Medicine', 'Killtaker' and 'Repeater' do. I've never been able to fully warm up to 'Steady Diet'.
I have seen Fugazi twice and they were two of the best rock shows that I have ever seen.
I'm more of an early Fugazi person. Yeah their live shows are awesome, & I'm glad to be able to catch one in person. That was during their Steady Diet era.
ReplyDeleteNo I don't have the Albini session in lossless...
Hi, I admit, some of their late 80's/early 90's stuff is truly ground breaking and unique. they manage to combine quality with a pure (often) positive message.
ReplyDeleteI must admit, I can't defend stuff of 95' expect for the argument, which was a pure different sound for the band.
Guy often comments that every record of theirs sounds different - bullshit ! it's basically the same, expect for the argument.
Just take an hour to listen, I promise you that you'll like it. after all, it's Fugazi.
On another note - your blog is absolutely amazing. you Jesus Lizard stuff are gems. thank you !
Loves that TAR post a couple of months back....
The Argument is still my personal favourite, have you heard the Furniture + 2 EP? I believe all the songs date back to earlier in their career but weren't recorded until The Argument sessions.
ReplyDeleteFurniture itself could slot right into 13 Songs but it might give a good excuse to give The Argument another chance and work backwards through their catalogue.
I'm more the opposite, actually... Red Medicine is the first one of theirs I love wholeheartedly, End Hits is even better, and The Argument their masterpiece. I liked the first three, but not as much as I would have liked to, and I wasn't into them then for quite a few years. IIRC I bought Kill Taker / Medicine / End Hits / Argument at the same time and realised what I had been missing.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think I can convince you either. But in my opinion they got better and better for each album. Maybe I liked Steady Diet a bit less than Repeater, I think that's what made me drop them for a while...
I find that from 'Red Medicine'-forward the albums tend to reveal themselves in a less linear way than, say, '13 Songs,' which gives them the reputation as being less accessible when really I think they're just "differently" accessible. I can sympathize with your take on 'Birthday Pony,' but on the other hand it's right next to 'Bed For The Scraping' which might be my favorite fugazi song of all time. On those other records, you're looking for 'Epic Problem,' and other treats.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of their later stuff either but I thought The Argument was a strong return to form, so as others here have said, you should give The Argument another chance
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to see Fugazi live for every album from Repeater onward and they remain, along with The Jesus Lizard, the best live band I've ever seen. You always knew what you were getting but no two shows were ever exactly the same. I feel hat way about all their albums too. I can't call between Killtaker and Repeater. They both work better as complete albums than any of the others - one shows them finally getting the idea of the band down and the other shows them getting the most out of what they had. Steady Diet would be better but lacks the ferocity and weight production - something I reckon all their other recordings have.
ReplyDeleteFunny you mention the Albini Killtaker sessions - sonically, they sound as good as anything they did but lack the energy in the performance so sound plodding to my ears. I too have them but not lossless sadly. I find the best way to listen to Fugazi now is from the live shows, they blur the lines between the albums and show more of the variety of what they could do. Also, I have the great compilation of onstage chat from Ian, if anyone would like it I can share it.
I've listened to The Argument on near-repeat the last few days and... What a fantastic record! It's no Repeater or 13 Songs but clearly it's not trying to be. It's the sound of a band *fully* confident in what they are doing, completely given to the muse that wrings music out of them. Unbelievable. It's identifiably Fugazi but at the same time…not. How many bands make a record this good 14 years into their career?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steve Trash--The Argument was the first Fugazi record I really liked after In On The Kill Taker. It's much more similar to their early/mid-period stuff. You should also definitely check out the Furniture EP--the A-side at least dates back to their earliest live dates, and is an awesome studio version of it.
ReplyDelete