Fucked Up is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The… Read Full Bio ↴Fucked Up is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The band formed and played their first shows in early 2001. The initial practicing lineup consisted of 10,000 Marbles (Guitar), Concentration Camp (Vocals), and Mustard Gas (Bass Guitar). Just prior to recording their demo tape, Concentration Camp moved to guitar and vocal duties were taken over by Pink Eyes (also known as Mr. Damian). Drums are played by Mr. Jo (also credited as G. Beat or J. Falco) and Young Governor was added as a third guitarist in 2007.

Following the release of the demo, the band embarked on a long series of 7" vinyl 45 rpms. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the band shunned full length LP or CD formats, preferring to output their music two songs at a time. While some record distributors refused to carry the singles, they were generally released to broad appeal, receiving glowing reviews in many punk fanzines. The artwork and feel of the records was a tribute to the Dangerhouse Records era of punk vinyl.

The band released the "No Pasaran" 7" in May of 2002. The records aesthetic and philosophy was greatly influenced by anarchism and the participation of anarchists in the Spanish Civil War in particular. The cover and insert featured anarchist propaganda posters and portraits of Spanish farmers and peasant soldiers.

The Police 7" was released on March of 2003, quickly followed by what is considered the bands most significant recording, the Baiting the Public 7" in May of 2003. This single was in tribute to the Viennese Actionism, a far left art movement during the 1960s, and the Situationist International. The record featured one song spread over two sides, and illegible liner notes, meant to shock and annoy the buyer.

Two more 7"'s followed in 2004, the Dance of Death single, and the Litany 4-song EP. The vinyl releases to this point were collected on 2004's Epics in Minutes CD.

The band's use of imagery and symbolism took a decided turn after the release of Epics in Minutes, as it was followed by two obscure and limited 12"s, the Looking for Gold 12", and the live Let Likes be Cured by Likes 12". Many felt at this point the band's message became esoteric to the point of confusion, while others felt the turn towards a more convoluted approach was ultimately more rewarding. The Looking for Gold 12" contained no liner notes or credits, no song titles, and a hidden track. It was self-released by the band in 2004 in a limited run of 600 copies and immediately became one of the most infamous and sought-after modern hardcore punk releases, selling for over $100 on internet auction sites like ebay. The title track was 17 minutes long, used 19 guitar tracks, had a three minute drum solo and contained 4 minutes of whistling, all unconventional by punk rock song-writing standards.

Following a lengthy and rumoured self-written interview in Maximum Rock and Roll, that discussed some of the band's politics and identity, many people became suspicious of the band's intentions, based on their allusions to mind control, fascism, early 20th centruy occultism, and Nazi mysticism. The release of a split 7" in 2004 with the band Haymaker did little to allay these concerns as it contained a picture of Hitler addressing a Hitler Youth Rally in 1938. A public clarification followed in late 2004 after the band was attacked onstage at a concert in Toronto.

In the summer of 2004 the band returned to form with the release of the Generation 7" and 12" EPs. The record contained the trademark sound the band had developed with their earlier releases. The record would go onto sell more than 6000 copies in that year and would represent the definitive Fucked Up release of the later period. The live performance of "Generation" had at this point become a focal point of most shows and saw hundreds of people dance and mosh in a mad frenzy of violence and aggression, and would result in many injuries.

After touring for most of 2005 the band took on David Eliade as a quasi-full time manager/promoter, and released a new UK-only 7", Triumph of Life, on VICE records. The band is currently signed to Jade Tree, on which they released the double album Hidden World in 2006. Hidden World was generally well received in the music community, although many traditional punk fans who once glorified Fucked Up for their "short and fast" older songs couldn't quite grasp Hidden World, which was 74 minutes long. Owen Pallett (commonly known as Final Fantasy) did the strings for the album, and Alexisonfire's vocalist George Pettit made an appearance as a guest vocalist on the final track. The album served as Fucked Up's "major label debut", receiving positive reviews from Pitchfork Media, SPIN magazine, and NOW magazine. The albums was also picked as "#1 punk album of the year" by the Canadian magazine Exclaim!.

After Hidden World, Fucked Up began their yearly record series based off of the Chinese calendar. They released the Year of the Dog 12" in late 2006. Fucked Up also appeared on MTV Live Canada in January 2007. Fans in attendance reportedly caused $2000 worth of damages during the recording. After a European tour in the spring and an early summer U.S Tour that took the band to the U.S Southeast for the first time ever, Fucked Up proceeded to play several major music festivals including South by Southwest, Tales of the Jackalope, Oshesga Fest, and POP Montreal. In July of 2007, the band released the second album in the Chinese calendar series "Year of the Pig". The 12" is technically a single, featuring the song Year of the Pig and it's b-side Black Hats. Year of the Pig is over 18 minutes long, and is about the treatment of sex workers in Canada.

Currently, the band has made comments about several different projects, including a follow up full length to Hidden World, and a musical based off the song 'David Comes to Life' from the Hidden World album.

Magic Word
Fucked Up Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Put a bug into my ear,
When I woke up I was here.
I blew smoke onto a page and watched the letters re-arrange,
Pushed the words into my veins,
Tripped the valve inside my brain,
Spoke a language I could see,
I swam inside reality

Write in vines and speak in tongues,
Double meanings in my lungs
Brazen head spits out the skies,
These words are heavy but I'm alright.

The tangled web inside my head changed the canvas as it spread,
Concepts mushroomed as I talked notions,
Opened as I walked,
Chemistry is just a word we use to describe
What occurs when subtle changes in your mind make energy from common lives.

Things move everywhere, I look, I'm stuck in someone else's book,
Letter perfect engineer then it all just disappears,
Alright,

All of my words became one all the changes were undone,
I'm a strange loop, that is clear, put a bug into my ear.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Fucked Up's song Magic Word are both metaphorical and abstract, which can be challenging to interpret. The opening line, "Put a bug into my ear, When I woke up I was here," could be interpreted as an allusion to the myth of the bug that burrows into the ear, causing madness. This line could also represent a moment of revelation, where the singer has an epiphany that takes them to another realm, a new place they've never been before. The lyrics then talk about the power of language, as the singer blew smoke onto a page and watched as the letters rearranged. They then pushed the words into their veins and tripped the valve inside their brain, suggesting a state of altered consciousness. Speaking a language they could see, they swam inside reality, possibly alluding to the experience of lucid dreaming.

The lyrics go on to describe the experience of a "tangled web inside my head," where the canvas changes as it spreads. The singer talks about talking notions and opening doors as they walk, suggesting a transformative journey of self-discovery. They describe how chemistry is just a word we use to describe the energy created by subtle changes in our minds, possibly alluding to the idea that our thoughts and emotions have a biochemical basis. The final lines of the song, "All of my words became one all the changes were undone, I'm a strange loop, that is clear, put a bug into my ear," suggest that the singer has come full circle, back to where they started, but with a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them.

Line by Line Meaning

Put a bug into my ear,
I wanted to hear something that would change my perception of reality.

When I woke up I was here.
I experienced a sudden shift in my reality and everything seemed new.

I blew smoke onto a page and watched the letters re-arrange,
I used a creative outlet to let my mind wander and change the way I saw language.

Pushed the words into my veins,
As I absorbed new ideas and concepts, they became a part of me.

Tripped the valve inside my brain,
I opened up a part of my mind that I had never accessed before.

Spoke a language I could see,
I used words to create visual images in my mind.

I swam inside reality
I became fully immersed in my surroundings and felt a deeper connection to the world.

Write in vines and speak in tongues,
I use cryptic language to convey deeper meanings.

Double meanings in my lungs
There are multiple interpretations of what I say, some of which I may not even understand myself.

Brazen head spits out the skies,
My mind is overflowing with ideas and creativity.

These words are heavy but I'm alright.
Even though my thoughts and words can be overwhelming, I am still able to handle them.

The tangled web inside my head changed the canvas as it spread,
My thoughts and ideas are complex and interconnected, and they have the power to change the way I perceive the world.

Concepts mushroomed as I talked notions,
As I explored my ideas and talked about them, they grew and evolved into new concepts.

Opened as I walked,
I gained new insights and perspectives as I moved through the world and interacted with it.

Chemistry is just a word we use to describe
Our human language is limited in its ability to fully capture the complexity of the natural world.

What occurs when subtle changes in your mind make energy from common lives.
Small shifts in our thinking can have a profound impact on the energy and connections that exist between all living things.

Things move everywhere, I look, I'm stuck in someone else's book,
It can feel like we are limited by the expectations and beliefs of others, and that we are just characters in someone else's story.

Letter perfect engineer then it all just disappears,
Even when we think we have everything figured out, our understanding of the world can be fleeting and ephemeral.

All of my words became one all the changes were undone,
All of my ideas and concepts blended together into a single, unified understanding of the world.

I'm a strange loop, that is clear, put a bug into my ear.
My mind is a complex and ever-changing loop of ideas and concepts, and I am always seeking new perspectives to push my understanding even further.

Lyrics © BEGGARS MUSIC, LTD.
Written by: DAMIAN ABRAHAM, JOSHUA ELLIOT ZUCKER, MICHAEL IAN HALIECHUK, PAUL JONAH FALCO, SANDY MIRANDA

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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