fugazi - red medicine (1995)

does sound like some sort of alt reality energy drink tbf lmao

That’s what this album has over all the others. The best, most special, alt reality form of energy, in abundance

I’ve said this on the internet too many times but this is one of my favorite albums by anyone (and frankly it’s my favorite Fugazi record)

“ Anyways yeah, I started with this album too early and it ruined all other fugazi for me. This is the album and whatever, the other stuffs good but it never got better than this”

HP OTM, this is exactly what happened to me

I wonder how “weird” this seemed at this time? On the other end of 00’s “alternative”, it feels almost by the number? I can respect in 1995 though, and for previous fugazi fans, there were probably a lot of “wait, wtf is this” moments throughout. Those first 50 seconds set the stage for a lot of what you’re going to find on this album I.e. weird-ass sonic variety for a punk (let’s just call it energy?) record

Repping this as a favourite album commands respect 🫡

the hardcore kids interviewed in the instrument film seemed to think it was shit but hardcore kids have very particular standards. time flattens things and it doesn't strike me as all that weird or inaccessible next to other 90s alt/indie albums (including mainstream stuff)

the noise at the beginning is my favourite thing fugazi ever did the rest of it is pretty great too and probably their best work

That podcast that focuses on every single Fugazi track, one at a time, ending with an interview with Guy and Ian, iirc spends some time on those noisy interludes.

the one called the alphabetical fugazi? I'll give it a listen

Yeah, that's the one. I've only listened to the final episode, though, with the interview, but it was honestly pretty illuminating.

I wonder how “weird” this seemed at this time? On the other end of 00’s “alternative”, it feels almost by the number? I can respect in 1995 though, and for previous fugazi fans, there were probably a lot of “wait, wtf is this” moments throughout. Those first 50 seconds set the stage for a lot of what you’re going to find on this album I.e. weird-ass sonic variety for a punk (let’s just call it energy?) record

― Peach’s burner account (H.P), Thursday, 19 October 2023 11:00 (three hours ago) link

There were always these pockets of people who seemed to think that Fugazi was still the same band they were circa "Waiting Room" or were actually Minor Threat (I remember being so embarrassed when people yelled out Minor Threat song titles at shows) and so there was some talk about how weird or "what a sell out" (?) Red Medicine was but they probably hadn't listened to a Fugazi record in yrs or heard anything that was coming out on Dischord around the time (Lungfish, Hoover, Smart Went Crazy, etc). The movie captures this very well. End Hits was much more polarizing iirc

I loved it the second it came out, even though I was thinking I was kind of over them at the time, I didn't really love In On the Killtaker, maybe the Fugazi record I've listen to the most? Maybe

Another thing is that even though really didn't do any interviews or ads to speak of they where generally accessible to a wide grass roots audience (all-ages, cheap tickets, tons of gigs, cheap records, word o' mouth) there were a ton of people who I knew who were into Fugazi but wouldn't listen to say Sonic Youth or Pavement for any reason and also had deeply strange takes on them, I knew this girl who heard that Ian was a drug user and cleaned up for tour but totally did drugs and I remember just being "c'mon you don't actually believe that" but she did.

The 90s were weird.

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