fugazi - red medicine (1995)

lj if you love this one, i have great news about end hits and the argument

The only Fugazi record that's never vied for my fave is End Hits, but of course, some people love that one! Red Medicine rules, though. Kinda came out at the peak of post rock, so I've sometimes listened to it through that prism.

1995 is a (the?) year to beat in terms of killer LPs

I remember Ian did an interview in The Netherlands with an underground magazine after Red Medicine came out. He told the interviewer what a red medicine was after the interview - he didn't want it printed.

I bought a used CD of this in 2005, knowing only a handful of their songs, none of which I think were on this album. I was pleasantly surprised at how weird it was, and it remains my favorite Fugazi album.

Incidentally, I recently came across the phrase "red medicine" while reading Midnight's Children; it's a reference to mercurochrome. Naturally it made me wonder, but who knows?

End Hits is probably my favorite overall, but it is hard to choose, I really do love them all basically the same

I lived in a little bubble in the mid-90s as far as music is concerned. My friends and I fumbled around in the dark finding new bands and albums, so I wasn’t too aware of what other Fugazi fans thought of RM when it came out (though with in a year or two I’d start to get a better sense of that Minor Threat/13 Songs fan base).

I discovered Fugazi in 93 or 94 and basically ate up everything through Killtaker all at once. Loved them all head and shoulders above most other bands—all classic, no dud (even Steady Diet which gets unfairly shit on). Maybe that’s why I view those albums as one era of the group. You definitely see an evolution happening over those albums but they also have a consistent sonic quality.

Red Medicine was the first Fugazi album I bought on release, and it definitely to me felt like a level up. I LOVED all the adventurousness of it, and the variety. This was also the first album, for me, where I felt that Guy had become the best thing about the band. (I’ve since reconsidered and think he’s arguably been the best thing about the band all along).

Also agree with the above sentiment that End Hits was a lot more polarizing on release than this was. Even I didn’t love EH at the time. Looking back, I’ve forgotten why I felt that way. I was wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuHwmqb2asA

Red Medicine does seem like the start of their weird-out era