I Wanted A Language of My Own: The Fugazi 13 Songs Poll

(or cassette)

I think with Margin Walker, Guy's lyrical thing - intense personal/political poetry - arrived seemingly so fully-formed and artful. Ian was still evolving from the bluntly literal stuff that made so many people detest his shtick (e.g. "I don't like parties / they avoid the truth" from that Embrace record, which was just three years earlier). So the early Fugazi songs by Ian are more of an evolutionary step away from Minor Threat, whereas Guy is just doing his thing that he's been doing since Rites of Spring, but doing it really well. I kind of consider "Do You Like Me" a sequel to "Margin Walker," which is almost Travis Bickle-ish or something:

You make yourself so beautiful,
You make yourself so, so beautiful
And now i feel like i'm going,
I'm going to set myself on fire.
I'm going to set myself up at a window,
This margin walker wants a clear view,
This margin walker wants a clear shot,
And now i'm shooting it right on you.
Untraceable, untranslatable,
I can't explain all i ever wanted to do
Trajectory passing right through me
Threads my needle sends it right through you.
You make yourself so visible,
You make yourself so, so visible,
And now i feel like i'm in the tread of
Some bastard jealousy.
Up here, above the avenue, up here, where
The things you do,
They lend me a problem with the language,
Split my seams and then they drop in a fuse.

For those of us who are over 40, this was literally a cassette we were handed by a friend in a bedroom or a car or the smoking section outside our high school. "Dude, you've gotta hear this—it's the guy from Minor Threat's new band and it's fucking awesome." And "Waiting Room" was the first song. Plus, that bass line. Come on.

― 誤訳侮辱, Tuesday, 27 August 2013 21:45 (Yesterday) Permalink

Hahaha, so OTM

Also "Margin Walker" is a totally awesome song

There's no fucking way I could pick a single song from this. This comp is a pass down generation to generation gateway on par with, dunno, the first Violent Femmes record. Albeit in a different musical direction.

I do love on "Margin Walker" how he never starts singing tones.

I'm a poseur. I voted for "Waiting Room."

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

wow, surprising #2

I thought I voted for "Lockdown"... I guess not!

Great song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZqPbyEuWpk

I think I forgot to vote. I was a little surprised by how much I liked "Lockdown" when I relistened.

All three of those zero-point songs are great, actually!

Some classic anthemic choruses.