Fugazi

In typical Floorboard tradition, I had to pick a special band for its 400th post. After a lot of deliberation, I had to finally settle on the best band of all, Fugazi. To put it simply, they're this pretty influential punk/post-hardcore band from Washington, DC that were around from 1987 to their 2003 hiatus and featured members of Minor Threat and Rites Of Spring. However, there is much, much more to be said about them, and I will not even be able to scrape the surface of what makes them the phenomenal band they are. Regardless of that, thank you for letting this blog kick around long enough to make it all the way to 400, and if we're lucky, it just might last another 400, haha.

Since the start of this blog, I've had serious reservations about posting Fugazi. The sole reason behind that is the sheer amount of things that could be said about this band. It could stretch anywhere from a master's thesis to a three-volume encyclopedia as to why Fugazi are, undoubtedly, the greatest band to ever exist. Consider influence, originality, experimentation, energy, politics, catchiness, lyrics, live shows, or any other myriad of categories that constitute defining a "great" band, and Fugazi go above and beyond mastering them in the same way that bands like The Beatles or The Velvet Underground are commonly heralded for doing, and rightfully so.

Fugazi are an experience to indulge in, and thankfully they are one of the best documented bands of all time. Of course there are the actual albums, which could constitute an entire volume of that encyclopedia explaining why the songs and the recordings are absolute genius, and that could be broken down track by track, album to album. However, I think it's best to keep it short and let others find out why this is for themselves. Besides a perfect discography, they have a ton of visually recorded material. Their documentary, Instrument, is a perfect starting point for anyone getting into them. There's some of their absolute best live sets in there (see: "Glue Man" and "Shut The Door"), as well as some interview footage, in-studio clips, and random scenes from their daily lives. It's a great insight into the band, all packaged into this one very artfully done documentary.

There's also the Fugazi Live Series, which involves the band making full live sets available through Dischord, so almost any one of their shows is either or will be available to hear in full at some point in time. Even on YouTube, there's a ton of full live shows from them that I'd encourage checking out, so you can see what made their shows such a mind-blowing experience. The on-stage improvisation is seamless due to the rigid practice schedule they had, and it is an absolute awe to watch a band that tight cut through a set as diverse as theirs. As far as other information about them goes, there's a plethora of it out there; whether it be through other documentaries, interviews, or readings both online and in certain books, there's plenty that's available and incredibly interesting.

There is so much I want to rant and rave about when it comes to Fugazi, whether it be their music or their modus operandi. Even what I have written down now seems insufficient, and it's taking a lot to not just start again and try it perfect it, haha. But never mind that, the thing that caught my attention about them wasn't some blog's description. It was their music, plain and simple. They're a rare breed of band, since everything is their discography is worth giving a listen to, since they constantly expand on what they've done to progress with what they're doing next. I'll quit praising at their heels for now, so here's everything I've got by them, and thanks for sticking around to 400. Enjoy.

Fugazi (1988)

1. Waiting Room

2. Bulldog Front

3. Bad Mouth

4. Burning

5. Give Me The Cure

6. Suggestion

7. Glue Man

Peel Session (1988)

1. Waiting Room

2. Break-In

3. Merchandise

4. Glue Man

Margin Walker (1989)

1. Margin Walker

2. And The Same

3. Burning Too

4. Provisional

5. Lockdown

6. Promises

13 Songs (1989)

1. Waiting Room

2. Bulldog Front

3. Bad Mouth

4. Burning

5. Give Me The Cure

6. Suggestion

7. Glue Man

8. Margin Walker

9. And The Same

10. Burning Too

11. Provisional

12. Lockdown

13. Promises

3 Songs (1990)

1. Song #1

2. Joe #1

3. Break-In

Repeater (1990)

1. Turnover

2. Repeater

3. Brendan #1

4. Merchandise

5. Blueprint

6. Sieve-Fisted Find

7. Greed

8. Two Beats Off

9. Styrofoam

10. Reprovisional

11. Shut The Door

12. Song #1

13. Joe #1

14. Break-In

Stage Dive Masters (1990)

1. Styrofoam

2. Turnover

3. And The Same

4. Runaway

5. Merchandise

6. Sieve-Fisted Find/Reclamation

7. Break In

8. Song #1

9. Margin Walker/Bad Mouth/Waiting Room

10. Long Divison/Blueprint

11. Shut The Door

12. Promises/Two Beats Off/Repeater

13. Reprovisional

Note: This was a popular live bootleg

Steady Diet of Nothing (1991)

1. Exit Only

2. Reclamation

3. Nice New Outfit

4. Stacks

5. Latin Roots

6. Steady Diet

7. Long Division

8. Runaway Return

9. Polish

10. Dear Justice Letter

11. KYEO

Albini Demos (1993)

1. Returning The Screw

2. Smallpox Champion

3. Walken's Syndrome

4. 23 Beats Off

5. Public Witness Program

6. Great Cop

7. Cassevetes

In On The Kill Taker (1993)

1. Facet Squared

2. Public Witness Program

3. Returning The Screw

4. Smallpox Champion

5. Rend It

6. 23 Beats Off

7. Sweet And Low

8. Cassavetes

9. Great Cop

10. Walken's Syndrome

11. Instrument

12. Last Chance For A Slow Dance

Red Medicine (1995)

1. Do You Like Me

2. Bed For The Scraping

3. Latest Disgrace

4. Birthday Pony

5. Forensic Scene

6. Combination Lock

7. Fell, Destroyed

8. By You

9. Version

10. Target

11. Back To Base

12. Downed City

13. Long Distance Runner 

End Hits (1997)

1. Break

2. Place Position

3. Recap Modotti

4. No Surprise

5. Five Corporations

6. Caustic Acrostic

7. Closed Captioned

8. Floating Boy

9. Foreman's Dog

10. Arpeggiator

11. Guilford Fall

12. Pink Frosty

13. FD

Instrument Soundtrack (1999)

1. Pink Frosty Demo

2. Lusty Scripps

3. Arpeggiator Demo

4. Afterthought

5. Trio's

6. Turkish Disco

7. Me & Thumbelina

8. Floating Boy Demo

9. Link Track

10. Little Debbie

11. H.B.

12. I'm So Tired

13. Rend It Demo

14. Closed Captioned Demo

15. Guildford Fall Demo

16. Swingset

17. Shaken All Over

18. Slo Crostic

Furniture (2001)

1. Furniture

2. Number 5

3. Hello Morning 

The Argument (2001)

1. Untitled

2. Cashout

3. Full Discloure

4. Epic Problem

5. Life And Limb

6. The Kill

7. Strangelight

8. Oh

9. Ex-Spectator

10. Nightshop

11. Argument

20 Years of Dischord (2002)

19. The Word

20. Burning (Live)

First Demo (2014)

1. Waiting Room

2. Merchandise

3. Furniture

4. Song #1

5. The Word

6. Bad Mouth

7. Break-In

8. Turn Off Your Guns

9. And The Same

10. In Defense Of Humans

11. Joe #1

Dischord Records