7. Fugazi – Fugazi
Aaah… this has such an immediacy and you can tell that this is a band that, how do you say it, struck a goal. They just got together and before waiting till this thing is mastered they’re already moving on. As soon as they mastered this they’re rushing back into the studio because it’s too fucking exciting!
It’s raw and has an incredible live feel but the style itself is so fresh. It’s like, wow, Gang Of Four and dub and The Clash and Minor Threat and a great merging of them. That’s what really killed me about this album. I just came from Europe then and still listening to Joy Division and The Fall and Gang Of Four but this wasn’t like American punk; it was more straight ahead. This was an American band that knows all the European and Jamaican stuff. I’m listening to it because all the basslines are so good; they’re a bit heavy but not too much, you know? It has a lot of dynamics and the lyrics are delivered in a way that the vocals and the band merges; probably the best I ever heard. It’s so together and everything sits in the right place.
Years later I met Ian [MacKaye] and now it’s always great to see him and I went to all the places where they recorded these records and they were like basements and a tiny place with a wooden ceiling where they were recording and there was a lot of eye contact, obviously. You can tell in the music.
I love the whole thing about Fugazi; I love the lyrics – they’re some of the most intelligent lyrics to have appeared in rock. Also, they went on to make a lot of great albums but this one will always stick out because it was like art hardcore. That’s what I needed then – that was the vitamins I needed!
