Since its inception, Fugazi has been self-managed and have released almost all their material through Dischord Records, an independent label founded by MacKaye and partner Jeff Nelson in 1980. The band maintained a policy of affordable access to their work through low record and ticket prices and all-ages concerts.
Says AMG All Music Guide, "Along with their stridently underground ethics — which were more out of pragmatism and modesty than anything else — they gained an extremely loyal and numerous global following. To many, Fugazi meant as much to them as Bob Dylan did to their parents."
They played their first show in the fall of 1987 and since then released 7 albums and toured the world extensively covering all 50 United States, Europe, Australia, South America, Japan and many points in between.
In addition to their recorded output Fugazi released a documentary film/video called "Instrument" in collaboration with independent filmmaker, Jem Cohen. The feature length video offers a documentary overview of the the band's career 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 last musical releases were The Argument, a 10 song LP, and Furniture, a 3 song single, released in the Fall of 2001. These sessions marked the first studio appearance of long time roadie and second drummer Jerry Busher who played 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 Dischord.
Fugazi are currently on hiatus as of 2002, with Mackaye in The Evens, Picciotto having produced various bands including Blonde Redhead and The Blood Brothers, and Lally playing with John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer on both Ataxia releases and working on a solo album.
Song 1
Fugazi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll save that thought until later on
You want to know if there's something wrong? It's nothing
Everybody's talking about their hometown scenes And hurting people's feelings in their magazines You
Want to know what it all means?
It's nothing
Fighting for a haircut?
Crying for the music?
I doubt you really care
Looking for an answer?
You can find it anywhere
It's nothing
Life is what you want it to be
So don't get tangled up trying to be free
And don't worry what the other people see
It's nothing
The lyrics of Fugazi's "Song 1" initially disavow any intention to insult or offend anyone with a "fuck you" song and also dismiss any current matters of concern by telling the listener that "it's nothing." The song then goes on to critique the obsessiveness and triviality of various cultural trends, such as people's preoccupation with local music scenes, physical appearance, and the quest for answers to life's questions. The message delivered through such critiques seems to be that those who are true to themselves and not overly concerned with the opinions of others will fare well in life. This is indicated by the advice to not fret over appearances, just be yourself, and do not worry about what others think since it is really nothing.
Line by Line Meaning
Song number one is not a fuck you song
This is not a song meant to insult anyone
I'll save that thought until later on
There may be a time for a more aggressive message, but not right now
You want to know if there's something wrong? It's nothing
No need to worry, everything is okay
Everybody's talking about their hometown scenes And hurting people's feelings in their magazines You want to know what it all means? It's nothing
People like to talk about their local music scenes and criticize others, but it's all meaningless in the end
Fighting for a haircut? Then grow your hair
Don't get too caught up in meaningless things like hairstyles
Crying for the music? I doubt you really care
Don't act like you care deeply about music if you're just going along with what's popular
Looking for an answer? You can find it anywhere
There are answers to your questions everywhere, so don't stress too much about finding them
It's nothing
Life's problems are not that significant in the grand scheme of things
Life is what you want it to be
You have the power to shape your own life
So don't get tangled up trying to be free
Don't overthink things in trying to achieve freedom
And don't worry what the other people see
Don't concern yourself with others' opinions of you
It's nothing
Again, life's problems are not that significant in the grand scheme of things
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
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