Fugazi Ruined DC Music Scene?

[blackandgold]

It's a long article, but what do you think?

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/cover/cover.html

[Joseph_T._Ergs]

I basically agree with most of what the author is saying- Fugazi is painfully humorless and it gets annoying, but anytime someone starts telling me what rock music is and isn't supposed to be, I laugh at them.  Sure, rock music can and should be humorous, fun, and stupid (most of the stuff I like falls under this catergory), but not all of it has to be that way.  That's how shit gets stale.

Why can't rock music be earnest some of the time?  Why can't people sing socially conscious songs?  If you don't like it, don't listen to it.  Start a band that's the opposite and shut the fuck up.

I'm glad someone took Fugazi down a notch though.  They are waaaay overrated.

[rawr]

so true it hurts... great article.

i agree that it's silly to be dogmatic about what rock n' roll is and isn't, but i suspect that the author's suggestion that rock n' roll MUST be self-destructive, nihilistic, and debaucherous was merely a rhetorical device.

DC is such a boring rock n' roll town, he is employing hyperbole to make waves and wake those kids the fuck up. the problem that he is addressing is exactly what you're talking about, music getting stale.

i'd love to see some kids in DC put together a decent counter-movement to fugazi and their legions. unfortunately, i don't see it happening.

[freecable]

i thought the article was bullshit.  sure they're unfunny but you have to live in DC to know how dumb the city paper is.  they just write cover stories that talk shit or start controversy where there is none (there are exceptions of course).  

i've never seen ian mackaye smile.  not once and i've seen him playing shows, at shows, at record stores.  and he comes off like an asshole in interviews.  but damn fugazi are amazing. and they've inspired so many people to start bands.  so who cares if he has a stick up his ass?  there is a vibrant underground music scene in DC (underground from dischord and black cat - lots of hardcore but pretty diverse) where kids still come out and run around and kill each other in the pit and still charge $5 for shows even if fugazi only plays once every two years.  so their effect on the scene is minimal now i'd say.

[rex]

There's a smile, just upon a real quick search.   I'm sure you could turn up more.  In fact, I seem to recall him smiling bunches in the liner notes of the Minor Threat discography and there's loads of silly pics of him and Henry Rollins in that one book Hank wrote based on his diaries in Black Flag.

rex.

[freecable]

wow.  thanks asshole.  i love fugazi and think the city paper article is shit.  

[Poopsounds]

I don't Fugazi should be blamed for creating a dour music scene in DC. I DO think Fugazi should be blamed for creating some of the worst music of the past twenty years.

I personally don't care if your band is full of shirtless tattooed folk who sing about nothing but drinking, fucking and worshipping the devil nor do I care if your band is a group of people in button down shirts with acoustic guitars singing about "feelings"...what makes you ROCK is (listen closely) GOOD F@#$'N SONGS!!!! Yes, the delivery is part of it, but the bigger part is writing something I can nod my head to and go "oh yeah!" Why is this so hard??? Why!!!

[Elliot_Rosewater]

socially conscience rock n roll? like anyone wants that. then we'd have huge festivals full of hippies trying to stop a war or something. like that would ever work. no, wait.

what a shitty article. why people base their love of a band on how the people in the band act i'll never know. sure sometimes you have to do that with bands, but its few and far between. just listen to the music and enjoy it. or dont its entirely up to you.

by the way, fugazi is amazing. end hits slays the most thanks the the song appregiator.

[SockhopShindig]

First, I was going to say the same thing Joe Erg said about how I roll my eyes whenever anyone starts defining what rock is and isn't.

Second, I think this article is similar to Nardwuar's argument - in his interview with Sean Lennon - that the Beatles ruined rock'n'roll music.  Here's the excerpt:

Nardwuar:  Because do you realize the Beatles ruined rock 'n' roll-
Lennon:  What?!
Fan in Alley 1: No!

Narduwar:  -because - Hold on! - in 1967, they put out the great album, Sergeant Peppers, and everybody tried to copy it and nobody could match it so all these fans - it was really bad.
Lennon:  No, I know what you mean.

Narduwar:  The Beastie Boys ruined the toque. They started wearing the toque, and everybody else is wearing the toque.
Lennon:  I know what you mean.

Nardwuar:  So, like, you are associated with two people who are-
Lennon:  (speaking to fans in alley) What he is trying to say is that when somebody does something really great,everybody else tries to copy them badly, and therefore it ruins rock 'n' roll because, because, you know, all the bad imitations. That's what you're trying to say, right? Like Led Zeppelin or Van Halen - they were great but they inspired so many mediocre bands that all of a sudden they flooded the market with mediocrity and therefore indirectly, without knowing it, even though they intended to make good music, actually were ruining the scene by inspiring so many bad artists.

Nardwuar:  Yes, exactly! ...

[cleancut]

preach to us freecable!

[drewpeabottom]

all i want is some good clean fun.

[freecable]

whats your point?  at least make a point i can disagree with.

[gunther8544]

I've never thought of Fugazi as a rock band.  However, I'd pin that tag on the Slickee Boys.

Best things to come out of that town were the final two Government Issue albums.

Trivia:  What major-label album did Ian MacKaye play some guitar on?  

[Poopsounds]

Was it that Pailhead thingamabob with Al Jourgenson? Or is that on Dischord? I dunno...

oh wait...

Sonic Youth..Dirty!!

[gunther8544]

Was it that Pailhead thingamabob with Al Jourgenson? Or is that on Dischord? I dunno...

oh wait...

Sonic Youth..Dirty!!

That Pailhead album is on Wax Trax...dunno if it's tied to a major or not.

In any case, "Dirty" gets a ding-ding.      

[AlexCH]

people in DC are pretty lazy. they like whatever it's easiest to like. i think what Minor Threat and Fugazi did was great for it's time, but now it's just another scene. the hipsters stick to what they know. it's easy to just fall into that whole structure. shop at the thrift stores, attend the Positive Force meetings, go to Ft. Reno shows.
the article is pretty dead on, not that i really agree with the evil of rock = good thing, but DC does suck in a lot of ways. however, i think the guy missed the mark somewhat, or for the purposes of the article chose to ignore evidence that DC still has potential. The Dismemberment Plan (which i think sucked) was fun and got people moving. so do Q and Not U (though, they fall under the ultra-hip, laziness thing i was talking about - they're really only big because they have a lot of friends in DC and around the country, the music is just sort of semi-interesting standard DC quirky rock). but my personal favorite is El Guapo - who are on Dischord. they are absurd and hilarious, but it's not the pour a bottle of Jack on your head in the swimming pool type of absurd. they just embrace the whole DC hipster thing ironically, and lay it on thick, while playing really fun jazzy electronic rock.
so, yeah, i agree with the article, but Fugazi is important and music and indie rock are better because of them...

[Jon CBGav club]

This article is very funny.  
I agree with what most of this article is saying, having spent some time in DC making music there.  For a long time, I have said that DC has the worst music scene and is just riding off of its past achievements.  And it has certainly been the least fun environment for shows.  Very uptight and focused on "art" or being "hip."
 
The only part I don't agree with is him getting on Fugazi for playing benefits and charities.  You can't be all evil, all the time.......  

Great quotes..........

"Rock isn't a Positive Force—rock is pure sleaze."

"Let's face it: Ian missed his calling. He should have been a preacher."

"MacKaye bragged that he once "fuckin' hit a kid with a hammer because he blew pot smoke in my face." John Ashcroft would be proud of him."

-jon

[Pop_Sounds]

There's a smile, just upon a real quick search.   I'm sure you could turn up more.  In fact, I seem to recall him smiling bunches in the liner notes of the Minor Threat discography and there's loads of silly pics of him and Henry Rollins in that one book Hank wrote based on his diaries in Black Flag.

rex.

hahahaha. This is why i love rex.

[Johnny_Misfit]

what a one sided look into the rock and roll genre that is punk rock. what this collumnist seems to be pissed off at it the DC scene. and what better way to critize it then to pick a well know band from the area that is still around. saying rock and roll shouldnt have a message, its all about sex and drugs. half the bands we all are in dont have one song about either one. i got the tattletales record, theres no song saying give me an A for alcohol. if any of us dont like a band, we dont listen. if they preach some message like Antiflag, or sing about bleeding anuses like Turbonegro, if you dont like it, dont listen. i wouldnt blame the one band for ruining all the rest of thier local talent, because of a copycat tendency. shit macho mans got a cd sounding like DMX, but i wont hate on him, even if he has a message about dissin' hogan (by the way anyone heard the whole cd yet?).
so i guess what im saying, and not cuz i do like fugazi, but because i dont like it when someone seemingly missinformed makes a blanket statement with out real proof, because as we all know from watching the simpsons, hearsay and conjecture are types of evidence, they are not fact. this is an opinion piece and so is my response. maybe some one will actually read this reply, im bored, and no one is online talking to me. there. done.
johnny

[rawr]

some of you seem to be missing the point...

THE ARTICLE IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY! it's a based on the ridiculous premise that all rock n' roll MUST be evil, and it goes on to make fun of a well-respected band for not being "bad" enough. OF COURSE IT'S A SHITTY ARGUMENT, IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LOGICALLY SOUND... IT'S A JOKE! GET IT?

this article was written to piss people off or make them laugh... depending on their feelings towards the DC scene.

but in every joke, there is a grain of truth, and it's hard to deny that fugazi's music and mentality has had a HUGE impact on the DC scene. when arguably the most influential band from the area has made it a point to prohibit dancing at their shows while preaching to their audience, it's no wonder DC is such a boring rock n' roll town.

people just stand around with their backpacks full of vegan / straightedge / anarchy pamphlets and stare at the band as they play. fucking weaksauce.

[Stefan_Stardumb]

Wouldn't it be funny if some one started a thread called 'Fugazi moments', like every now and then on message boards you see these 'Spinal Tap moments' threads. But instead of all the funny stories, now every one would post their most boring & serious band stories...

[Poopsounds]

Yo!!! One time, me and my band rehearsed for, like, five hours just trying to get the bridge of this song right. I thought it should go A flat to G and the bass player thought it should go A flat to E minor. So we talked about it and eventually, we got the bridge written!

Then this other time we drove to a show. Then we played the show and drove home! Whooooooo!!

[lucas]

Boo Hoo Hoo. Fugazi ruined my scene. They broke my legs so I can't dance at shows. They said I couldn't dance if I wanted to and their hypnotic voices made it true. Boooboooboooboobooboo.

Why oh why does Fugazi have total control over my actions? Who voted that city ordinance in?

[unclepete]

people in DC are pretty lazy. they like whatever it's easiest to like. .

Then you try being in a pop-punk in the DC area... It is damn near impossible to find band members, or get shows, unless you are a hardcore, metalcore, emocore, or (fill in the blank)core band.

[AlexCH]

it's not easy to like pop-punk in DC. there's been like one big pop-punk band around here, and that was almost ten years ago. take it to baltimore, where the hipster scene is a little less oppressive. the kids in DC just want want something they can cuff their pants to...