Album Appreciation: Fugazi - "In On The Kill Taker"
This is not a Fugazi blog entry...
"Don't wanna lick them no more!"
Hey, you! Stop right there! I know whatchoo thinking, brosef! "Fugazi, that's that lovely hardcore band with a social conscience and strong ethics, aye? Five dollar all-age shows, no selling merchandise and no interviews with alcohol-advertising magazines! Yeah, sXe 4 eva!"
No. This is not about the band's DIY aesthetic. The band's dedication fanbase doesn't spawn from its particular business practices, admirable as they may be. Nope, the icing on the cake is merely...icing on cake. This is about the music, the unadulterated intensity, the noisy geetars. In particular, I'd like to discuss the brilliance of the 1993 release "In On The Kill Taker" - in my opinion, among the finest and most unappreciated rock albums...ever, really. There are times when I merely require that music rocks my face off its socket and over the past year, "In On The Kill Taker" has been my savior.
"Red! Dressed in red! Drenched in red! Spreading red! Ever red!"
Because, really, what more can be said aboot an album that simply rocked too hard for Steve of the Albini?
I will not lie
I will not lie
I will not lie
I will not lie
At some point in late 1992 or early 1994, Guy Picciotto came across a semi-coherent letter in the street, origin unknown (excerpt: "Disability does have no private interpretation. Automobile driver who does not criticize his driving..."). The letter provides the inspiritation for the album title, in addition to being featured in the artwork.
The production often reduced to a harsh, metallic grind of ear-bleeding guitars and thin drums, a far cry from the overly-dry, unengaging tones of "Steady Diet of Nothing". Sessions with indie rock proder... I mean, engineer/guru Steve Albini proved unsatisfying. The album ended up peaking at 153 on the billboard charts, just about fourteen years ago to the date.
"A household name with H.I.V..."
"Facet Squared" slowly leads in some intermittent bleeping, mumbling drums and a roar of guitars. First line on the album? "Pride no longer has definition. Everybody wears it; it always fits!" The song's an animal, a relentless invitation to get Fucked Up, Ambushed, Zipped In...
"Public Witness Program" is a punkish rocker, each line followed by a fluid burst of guitar dissonance; vague lyrics describing a witness situation. "I like to walk around and I'm paid to stand around..." "Returning the Screw", on the other hand, resorts to slow-burning druggy tempos providing a backbone for the band's noise tantrums. "Returning the screw.....uurrrgggghhh!" The unholy marriage of deafening intensity with vague melodic outlines illustrates what makes this album so fucking great.
"Smallpox Champion" is similar to "Public Witness Program" in its speedy abandon - a refrain of "What is good for the future!?" over a brilliant guitar-manipulation phrase, all leading up to an oddly tuneful frenzy. "Rend It", on the other hand, is best described as a combination of near-accepella verses and a screaming chorus anthemic enough for Madison Square Garden.
"Why don't you cut up my mouth?"
"23 Beats Off" may very well be the highlight, however. This time it's squealing guitars, mumbled vocals, twisted melodic phrasings and a typically vague narrative. The song ends up with a brutal scream and nearly four minutes of guitar feedback, ebbing and flowing on top of a near-tribal drum repetetion. Not a second sounds forced or out of place and that's God's honest truth. Rehabilitated ? Now, I don't have any idea what that word means.
The second half of the album, while never as relentlessly flawlessas the first, is thrilling nonetheless. "Sweet and Low" provides an instrumental intermission of sorts; bassist Joe Lally reportedly commented that he initially intended to write lyrics depicting a relationship ending, yet couldn't quite find the words to fit the tune. On the other hand, "Cassavetes" is a dark rocker highlighted by jaw-dropping drum fills. Another angular, dissonant verse characterized by vocal spasms and an oddly catchy chorus. Speaker-hopping musical break at 1:47 is a high-point. "Shut up! This is my last picture!"
"Walken's Syndrome" was supposedly inspired by a Christopher Walken fantasy about speeding through a stoplight in a movie I've never seen. The lyrics are impossible to follow without the lyric sheet and the music is in fine form. "Instrumental" sounds catchy enough for a ten-year-old's birthday singalong, whereas "Last Chance for a Slow Dance" closees the record on an uncharacteristically sensitive note.
Balls ahoy! Purchases this record right now at your friendly local dealer (of music, that is) and watch the video right now. Both right now. Which means...your task, if you choose to accept it....is to...do both simultaneously! Let's call it "Zaireeka"!
"In On The Kill Taker" review: special features, bonus material:
"In On The Kill Taker" is the top release from this fine group. Here's the rest of the Fugazi catalogue, rated from greatest to...least greatest:
2. "Red Medicine" (1995): Fugazi at their most inspired and unpredictable. Stay for the ride.
3. "13 Songs" (1990): A collection of their first two EP's...often considered their most essential hour. Raw songwriting at its height, and representative of the entire late `80's indie scene. Opens with "Waiting Room", the bands quintessential 'alternative' (heh) anthem.
4. "Repeater + 3 Songs" (1990): The Stooges playing reggae? How now, brown cow! Similar in sound to "13 Songs", with a more studio-clean production. Sums up the bands vision. Rocks a whole lot in the process.
5. "The Argument" (2001): Brings the band's growth into the 21st century. Takes a while to get used to, and a grower like no other - not a good choice for one's first Fugazi album and I learned the hard way. Incorporates a wide range of instrumentation and influences into a rich, refined palette.
6. "End Hits" (1998): Continues on "Red Medicine"'s path of non-sequiter's, with a misleading title and slightly (slightly!) less-perfect songwriting.
7. "Steady Diet of Nothing" (1991): More smart rocker sadly hidden behind a dry, tinny production. Enjoyable record nonetheless.
8. "Instrument (soundrack)" (1999): Soundtrack to band's documentary comprises odds `n sods collection, feauturing some of their most out-of-character, unusual material (piano ballad "I'm So Tired", pour exemple) and a whole lot of filler. Fans only territory, cluttered with instrumentals and fairly pointless demo recordings.
Goodnight.
"Don't wanna lick them no more!"
Hey, you! Stop right there! I know whatchoo thinking, brosef! "Fugazi, that's that lovely hardcore band with a social conscience and strong ethics, aye? Five dollar all-age shows, no selling merchandise and no interviews with alcohol-advertising magazines! Yeah, sXe 4 eva!"
No. This is not about the band's DIY aesthetic. The band's dedication fanbase doesn't spawn from its particular business practices, admirable as they may be. Nope, the icing on the cake is merely...icing on cake. This is about the music, the unadulterated intensity, the noisy geetars. In particular, I'd like to discuss the brilliance of the 1993 release "In On The Kill Taker" - in my opinion, among the finest and most unappreciated rock albums...ever, really. There are times when I merely require that music rocks my face off its socket and over the past year, "In On The Kill Taker" has been my savior.
"Red! Dressed in red! Drenched in red! Spreading red! Ever red!"
Because, really, what more can be said aboot an album that simply rocked too hard for Steve of the Albini?
I will not lie
I will not lie
I will not lie
I will not lie
At some point in late 1992 or early 1994, Guy Picciotto came across a semi-coherent letter in the street, origin unknown (excerpt: "Disability does have no private interpretation. Automobile driver who does not criticize his driving..."). The letter provides the inspiritation for the album title, in addition to being featured in the artwork.
The production often reduced to a harsh, metallic grind of ear-bleeding guitars and thin drums, a far cry from the overly-dry, unengaging tones of "Steady Diet of Nothing". Sessions with indie rock proder... I mean, engineer/guru Steve Albini proved unsatisfying. The album ended up peaking at 153 on the billboard charts, just about fourteen years ago to the date.
"A household name with H.I.V..."
"Facet Squared" slowly leads in some intermittent bleeping, mumbling drums and a roar of guitars. First line on the album? "Pride no longer has definition. Everybody wears it; it always fits!" The song's an animal, a relentless invitation to get Fucked Up, Ambushed, Zipped In...
"Public Witness Program" is a punkish rocker, each line followed by a fluid burst of guitar dissonance; vague lyrics describing a witness situation. "I like to walk around and I'm paid to stand around..." "Returning the Screw", on the other hand, resorts to slow-burning druggy tempos providing a backbone for the band's noise tantrums. "Returning the screw.....uurrrgggghhh!" The unholy marriage of deafening intensity with vague melodic outlines illustrates what makes this album so fucking great.
"Smallpox Champion" is similar to "Public Witness Program" in its speedy abandon - a refrain of "What is good for the future!?" over a brilliant guitar-manipulation phrase, all leading up to an oddly tuneful frenzy. "Rend It", on the other hand, is best described as a combination of near-accepella verses and a screaming chorus anthemic enough for Madison Square Garden.
"Why don't you cut up my mouth?"
"23 Beats Off" may very well be the highlight, however. This time it's squealing guitars, mumbled vocals, twisted melodic phrasings and a typically vague narrative. The song ends up with a brutal scream and nearly four minutes of guitar feedback, ebbing and flowing on top of a near-tribal drum repetetion. Not a second sounds forced or out of place and that's God's honest truth. Rehabilitated ? Now, I don't have any idea what that word means.
The second half of the album, while never as relentlessly flawlessas the first, is thrilling nonetheless. "Sweet and Low" provides an instrumental intermission of sorts; bassist Joe Lally reportedly commented that he initially intended to write lyrics depicting a relationship ending, yet couldn't quite find the words to fit the tune. On the other hand, "Cassavetes" is a dark rocker highlighted by jaw-dropping drum fills. Another angular, dissonant verse characterized by vocal spasms and an oddly catchy chorus. Speaker-hopping musical break at 1:47 is a high-point. "Shut up! This is my last picture!"
"Walken's Syndrome" was supposedly inspired by a Christopher Walken fantasy about speeding through a stoplight in a movie I've never seen. The lyrics are impossible to follow without the lyric sheet and the music is in fine form. "Instrumental" sounds catchy enough for a ten-year-old's birthday singalong, whereas "Last Chance for a Slow Dance" closees the record on an uncharacteristically sensitive note.
Balls ahoy! Purchases this record right now at your friendly local dealer (of music, that is) and watch the video right now. Both right now. Which means...your task, if you choose to accept it....is to...do both simultaneously! Let's call it "Zaireeka"!
"In On The Kill Taker" review: special features, bonus material:
"In On The Kill Taker" is the top release from this fine group. Here's the rest of the Fugazi catalogue, rated from greatest to...least greatest:
2. "Red Medicine" (1995): Fugazi at their most inspired and unpredictable. Stay for the ride.
3. "13 Songs" (1990): A collection of their first two EP's...often considered their most essential hour. Raw songwriting at its height, and representative of the entire late `80's indie scene. Opens with "Waiting Room", the bands quintessential 'alternative' (heh) anthem.
4. "Repeater + 3 Songs" (1990): The Stooges playing reggae? How now, brown cow! Similar in sound to "13 Songs", with a more studio-clean production. Sums up the bands vision. Rocks a whole lot in the process.
5. "The Argument" (2001): Brings the band's growth into the 21st century. Takes a while to get used to, and a grower like no other - not a good choice for one's first Fugazi album and I learned the hard way. Incorporates a wide range of instrumentation and influences into a rich, refined palette.
6. "End Hits" (1998): Continues on "Red Medicine"'s path of non-sequiter's, with a misleading title and slightly (slightly!) less-perfect songwriting.
7. "Steady Diet of Nothing" (1991): More smart rocker sadly hidden behind a dry, tinny production. Enjoyable record nonetheless.
8. "Instrument (soundrack)" (1999): Soundtrack to band's documentary comprises odds `n sods collection, feauturing some of their most out-of-character, unusual material (piano ballad "I'm So Tired", pour exemple) and a whole lot of filler. Fans only territory, cluttered with instrumentals and fairly pointless demo recordings.
Goodnight.
Labels: Fugazi
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