Discograffiti: Fugazi
Hello and welcome to another volume of Discograffiti!
This time around, I will be diving into the discography of the Washington DC based punk/post hardcore band Fugazi.
Fugazi was formed in 1986 in our nation’s capital. The band’s lineup never changed and consisted of former Minor Threat vocalist Ian Mackaye on guitar and vocals, former Rites of Spring vocalist Guy Picciotto, also on guitar and vocals, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. The band was active until 2003.
The band is well known for refusing to work with major labels and heavy into the DIY ethic.
Through their career, they released 6 full length albums, 4 EPs, a compilation album, a demo and a soundtrack album.
I’ve always been a fan of this band but after having ran through their entire discography again, I have a larger appreciation of this band. I saw this band in either 1990 or 1991 in Edmond, Oklahoma. The ticket stub says Will Rogers Center in OKC but there was a venue change at the last minute. I can’t remember why.
On to the discography!
Fugazi
The band’s debut EP was released in November 1988 by Dischord Records. They recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia and it was produced by Ted Niceley and Fugazi.
This EP ranked #45 on Pitchfork’s 200 Best Albums of the 1980s.
There are 7 tracks on this EP. I can’t pick any favorites on this album because they’re all great. I guess if I have to though….honestly, it might be cliche but I’d have to go with “Waiting Room.” But really, all of the songs on this EP were wonderful.
See the bandcamp link for 13 Songs below.
Margin Walker
Their 2nd EP was released in June 1989. It was recorded in London at Southern Studios while they were on tour in Europe and was produced by John Loder.
There are 6 tracks on the EP. My favorites are “Margin Walker,” “Burning Too,” and “Provisional.”
See the bandcamp link for 13 Songs below.
13 Songs
This was a compilation album that comprised of the 2 previous EPs. It was released in September 1989.
This compilation ranked #29 on Spin’s 100 Greatest Albums from 1985-2005. In 2016, it ranked #35 on Rolling Stone’s 40 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time.
Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna has said about 13 Songs that it “…is to underground music what Led Zeppelin IV is to suburban potheads.”
3 Songs
This EP was released in January 1990 by Sub Pop Records and Dischord. It was recorded at Inner Ear Studios and produced by Ted Niceley.
It was re-released on the re-release of the next album I will talk about in May 1990.
As the title suggests, there are 3 songs on this EP. My favorite is “Song #1.”
See the bandcamp link for Repeater below.
Repeater
The band’s first full length record. It was released in April 1990. Also recorded at Inner Ear Studios, it was produced by Fugazi and Ted Niceley.
This is the album where Guy Picciotto started playing guitar.
Repeater is the album that broke me into them. It was while they were touring for this album that I saw them live.
Some accolades: #23 on the Alternative Press article 90s Greatest Albums of the 90s (1998). #97 on the Consequence of Sound list 100 Greatest Albums of All Time (2022). In 2023, it was #7 on Kerrang’s 50 Most Influential Albums of All Time.
There were 11 tracks on Repeater. Another album full of absolute bangers including “Turnover,” “Blueprint,” “Sieve-Fisted Find,” “Reprovisional,” and the title track.
Steady Diet of Nothing
The band’s 2nd full length was also recorded at Inner Ear. It was produced by Fugazi and released in July 1991.
There are 11 tracks. My favorites are “Exit Only,” “Latin Roots,” “Steady Diet,” “Polish,” and “KYEO.”
In On the Kill Taker
Released in June 1993, this one was produced by Ted Niceley and Fugazi and recorded at Inner Ear.
IOTKT was the band’s first album to appear on the Billboard 200, reaching #153. It peaked on the UK Albums chart at #24.
Consisting of 12 tracks, my favorites are “23 Beats Off,” “Rend It,” “Sweet and Low,” and “Great Cop.”
Red Medicine
Red Medicine was released in June 1995. It was produced by Fugazi and recorded at Inner Ear and the Guilford House in Guildford, Connecticut.
This LP, the band’s 4th, peaked at #126 on the US Billboard 200 chart, #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, and #18 on the UK Albums chart.
It was more experimental than previous releases. The band experimented with sounds like noise punk and psychedelia on some songs. They also began to incorporate alternate tunings and sampling on some of the tunes.
There were 13 tracks included on this one. The ones I like the most on it are “Back to Base,” “Target,” “By You,” “Combination Lock,” “Bed for the Scraping,” and “Forensic Scene.”
End Hits
The band’s 5th studio album, it was released in April 1998. Fugazi self-produced this one and recorded it, once again, at Inner Ear.
It reached #138 on the US Billboard 200.
Is it just me or is the bass guitar a hell of a lot more prominent on this album than on some of their previous records? Obviously a good thing but I just seemed to notice a lot more bass heavy mixes on this album than previous albums while I was going through my re-listen of their discography.
It included 13 tunes. My favorites are “Break,” “Place Position,” “Recap Modotti,” “Caustic Acrostic,” “Floating Boy,” and “Foreman’s Dog.”
Instrument
This was the band’s soundtrack album. It was released in March 1999 and produced by the band.
It is the score to the documentary film Instrument, directed by Jem Cohen. It is composed of concert footage, interviews with the band, practice sessions, and also includes a live performance at a prison in Lorton, Virginia.
It features experimentation with different instruments such as keyboards, drum machines, clarinet, and piano. The album itself is mostly instrumental and consists largely of studio outtakes and demo versions from the band’s history. It also includes a piano ballad sung by Ian Mackaye (“I’m So Tired”).
Ian Mackaye has said about this album that “…none of it was for public consumption.”
It consists of 18 tracks. My favorites are “Afterthought,” “Turkish Disco,” “Little Debbie,” “I’m So Tired,” and “Guildford Fall.”
Furniture
The band’s 4th EP was released in October 2001. Like a lot of previous releases, it was recorded at Inner Ear and produced by Ian Mackaye, Fugazi, and Don Zientara.
Jerry Busher played drums on this as well as Brendan Canty.
There were 3 tracks on this EP. My favorite is the title track.
The Argument
This was the final album from the band. It was released in October 2001 and produced by Fugazi and Don Zientara. It was recorded at Inner Ear during the same sessions as Furniture.
Ian MacKaye has said about the album that it is “an anti-war manifesto.”
This album featured guest musicians such as Jerry Busher playing 2nd drums on several tracks, Bridget Cross on backing vocals, Kathi Wilcox (Bikini Kill bass player) singing backing tracks on “Full Disclosure,” and Amy Domingues playing cello on a couple of tunes.
The Argument reached #151 on the US Billboard 200, #1 on the Independent Albums chart, and #63 on the UK Albums chart.
There were 11 tracks on this album. My favorites are “Cashout,” “Full Disclosure,” “Epic Problem,” “Strangelight,” “Ex-Spectator,” and the title track.
First Demo
This demo album was released “posthumously” in November 2014. It was recorded at Inner Ear and at the Discord House by Don Zientara in 1988.
It was recorded after the band had only played a handful of shows together.
Some of the songs from the demo were released later on some of their proper releases but others were only available on compilations such as the Dischord comp State of the Union, released in April 1989. It was a sort of benefit album for the American Civil Liberties Union and Community for Creative Non-Violence.
There were 11 tracks on this demo. I really like the song “Turn Off Your Guns” which is a song from the demo has never been released on a “proper” album or EP. I also really like “In Defense of Humans” which was on the aforementioned State of the Union comp.
For the ranking on this one, I am only going to include full length albums and the one compilation.
8. Instrument
7. In On the Kill Taker
6. The Argument
5. Red Medicine
4. End Hits
3. Steady Diet of Nothing
2. 13 Songs
1. Repeater
And there we come to the end of another edition of Discograffiti. I hope you enjoyed it. Come back next time!
Band Links: