fugazi - the argument

.:: Of course, one primary obstacle to a public memorial for the members of Fugazi is the band's collective politics which, while moralistic and anti-corporate, are hardly anti-capitalist as many have claimed. In fact, the band has fairly been living the American dream, becoming successful on their own terms without losing the rights to their music or creative direction. They've also taken an active role in positioning their label, Dischord, at the fore of the indie pack; over the years, the label has become the most reliable source of hard-hitting post-punk around.

The Argument, Fugazi's first proper album since 1998's somewhat disjointed End Hits, is yet another leap forward for a band that has constantly pushed itself in new directions. For one thing, no Fugazi album has ever been this melodic. For the first time ever, you can hum at least part of the melody to every song on the record. As catchy as they sometimes were, you have to admit that whistling "Bed for the Scraping" or "Sieve-Fisted Find" was never really a prospect.

The album opens with an untitled bit of collage that marries static and police radio transmissions to Amy Domingues' brooding cello drones, immediately setting The Argument apart from the band's past work, before "Cashout" makes the thoroughness of the transition even more apparent.

Domingues' cello carries counter-melodies to MacKaye's double-tracked singing throughout the song, which itself is a sort of post-hardcore update of the Kinks' "Muswell Hillbilly." MacKaye details a series of evictions as the city takes an apartment complex by eminent domain to make room for a development. After spending so many years screaming their sentiments in your ear, it's nice to see that Fugazi have come to a point where they don't necessarily feel the need to raise their voices to put their point across.

Fugazi have made a career out of crafting excellent albums, and with The Argument, they've made one of their best. At this point, I don't see it edging out Red Medicine or 13 Songs from the top of my Fugazi album hierarchy, but it's certainly a worthy entry into their catalog, and proves that they're still one of the most important bands in the world. The dedication of Ian MacKaye Circle may still be a pipe dream, but that doesn't mean that he and the other members of Fugazi don't deserve the honor.

.:: Fugazi is a band from Washington, D.C. They played their first show in the fall of 1987 and since then they have released 7 albums and toured the world extensively, covering all 50 United States, Europe, Australia, South America, Japan, and many points in between. The band is self-managed and releases all its material through Dischord Records, an independent label founded by Ian MacKaye and partner Jeff Nelson in 1980.

The band maintains a policy of affordable access to their work through low record and ticket prices, and all concerts are all-ages. In addition to their recorded output Fugazi have released a documentary film/video called Instrument in collaboration with independent filmmaker Jem Cohen. The feature-length video offers a documentary overview of the band's career thus far with footage shot in a variety of formats over the last 10 years combining concert, tour and studio material backed with a musical soundtrack by the band unique to the movie.

Fugazi's most recent musical releases are The Argument 10-song LP and the Furniture 3-song single, both recorded and released in the fall of 2001. These sessions mark the first studio appearance of long-time roadie and second drummer Jerry Busher, who plays additional drums and percussion on a number of the tracks on both releases.

The recordings were once again made in collaboration with long-time Fugazi engineer Don Zientara at Inner Ear studios. Prior to forming Fugazi the members of the band played in various other bands with releases available on the Dischord label.

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