•
Rating: Punk is dead, punk is reborn, punk has understood, punk has changed, punk makes change, punk scares the grown-ups now... there are the Fugazi, there is "Repeater" that fuels the revolt of an attitude that became a lifestyle, a style that turned its back on the world and unintentionally changed it, that brings back to life Derby Crash, Syd Vicious and all those, artists or not, who for that attitude threw away their lives, those whose cries of pain were never heard because they were considered outcasts, society’s rejects, or at best, circus freaks.
"Repeater" is a generation becoming aware, one that doesn't want to be anyone's martyr, that has learned to express itself violently but with clarity, with intelligence, that knows society and knows where to strike, "Repeater" is punk growing up.
Musically, MacKaye, Picciotto, and company complete the lesson, started by the Minutemen and carried forward with their debut album, on how to embed the fervor and impetus of punk into songs with less rigid structures, more complex and varied, the rhythm section lays down imaginative and robust soundscapes on which the two guitarists can play incisively and perfectly complement each other, even in their vocals, one of the most powerful ever by MacKaye, more disorienting and conversational that of Picciotto.
Unlike the band of the late D.Boon, our heroes incorporate into their songs a denser and more imposing guitar work, an enormous subversive charge, and a declamatory tone of accusation, of strong social critique (the most recurring theme is the denunciation of consumerism as a form of control over our minds) that make them rightfully the prophets and champions of 90s alternative rock.
There's no need to highlight symbolic songs from an album that is already an emblem in itself, of a record that has shaken rock to its core, granite-like in its overall sound, revolutionary both musically and conceptually, made with the soul and artistic honesty of those who deeply believe in what they do.
"Repeater" is rebellion!
Thank you Fugazi.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Turnover (04:16)
Langour rises reaching, to turn off the alarm
And there's never so much seething
That it can't be disarmed
You just stop it up,
Pass it on
Shove it to shelf it,
To leave it off and turnover
Lounging against your weapons,
Until your muscles find lock
In the ease of that position,
A residue of tremor passes
As some cherie amour suggests
That maybe it was time to smash things up
But just stop it up,
Pass it on
Shove it to shelf it,
To lead it on and turnover
I'm only sleeping
02 Repeater (03:01)
You say I need a job,
I've got my own business
You want to know what i do?
None of your fucking business
But now I'm lying here
Knowing that business had a name,
But now I'm a number
1 2 3 repeater
Down by law, I've got this nasty habit
When I need something I reach out and grab it
Once upon a time I had a name I had a way
But to you I'm nothing but a number
1 2 3 repeater
Did you hear something outside?
It sounded like a gun
Stay away from that window boy
It's not anyone we know
Only about ourselves and what we read in the paper
Don't you know ink washes out easier than blood
But we don't have to try it
And we don't have to buy it
Repeater
04 Merchandise (02:59)
When we have nothing left to give
There will be no reason for us to live
But when we have nothing left to lose
You will have nothing left to use
We owe you nothing you have no control
Merchandise keeps us in line
Common sense says it's by design
What could a businessman ever want more
than to have us sucking in his store
We owe you nothing
You have no control
You are not what you own
05 Blueprint (03:52)
I'm not playing with you,
I'm not playing with you,
I'm not playing with you,
I clean forgot how to play.
But you can still come around,
In fact I invite you down,
Maybe together we can wipe that smile off your face.
'Cause what a difference, what a difference, what a difference
A little difference would make.
We'll draw a blueprint, it must be easy,
It's just a matter of knowing when to say no or yes.
Frustrating, frustrating, always waiting for the bigger axe to fall.
A patient game that i can't find my way to play.
Never mind what's been selling,
It's what you're buying
and receiving undefiled.
06 Sieve-Fisted Find (03:24)
Here comes another problem
All wrapped up in solution
It's ugly as it's strapped on
And twice as hard to get behind
Another sieve-fisted find
Lost, lost again. please, please let me get my hands on it.
Here comes that self-same problem
All stalled on same self again
It's as ugly as the last one and twice as
Far from unwound by this charged head
Standing on this thin base of neck
And now i'm pushing past the red
I said I'm pushing past the red.
Another sieve-fisted find
Lost, lost again
07 Greed (01:47)
You wanted everything
You needed everything
You wanted everything
You needed everything
Everything is...
Everything is...
Greed
08 Two Beats Off (03:28)
I cut my nails to the quick
But still i was caught with my hand in the till
Red-handed.
Give me something,
Give me anything
The threat of everything is when it becomes nothing at all
Fingers reaching, trophy swelling
That's when desire trips me up.
Got a new technique money let's the pieces fit where they fall.
Privilege - it sanctions everything.
Security - a net under it all.
My fingers reaching, the trophy swelling
That's when desire trips me up.
I cut my nails to the quick
But still I was caught with my hand in the till.
Red-handed
09 Styrofoam (02:34)
There are no more races to be run
There are no numbers left to be won
Everybody's down we pulled each other down
There never was a truth to be found
We are all bigots so full of hatred
We release our poisons
There are no more cultures left to slide
There are no more people to be tried
We're in our minds five billion pieces so defined
Read it in a book, it was underlined
We are all bigots so full of hatred
We release our poisons like styrofoam
10 Reprovisional (02:17)
Somewhere in these private minds,
The last one comes out just in time
To clear out the chambers and sew up the lips,
'Cause that's the price to pay for hoping every slip's not a slide.
In other words not to get it wrong,
It's pointless to walk when it's past time to run.
Secured under the weight of watchful eyes,
Lulled to sleep under clear expansive skies.
Somewhere in these prying hearts
Conflicting histories tear us apart
And we hope we don't get what we deserve,
Hide behind the targets in front of all the people we serve.
11 Shut the Door (04:49)
i broke the surface so i can breathe
i close my eyes so i can see
i tie my arms to be free
have you ever been free?
she's not breathing
she's not moving
she's not coming back
i burn a fire to stay cool
i burn myself, i am the fuel
i never meant to be cruel
have you ever been cruel?
she's not breathing
she's not moving
she's not coming back, back, back
shut the door
shut the door, so i can leave
shut the door
12 Song #1 (02:54)
Song number one is not a fuck you song
I'll save that thought till later on
You want to know if there's something wrong?
It's nothing
It's nothing
Everybody's talking about their hometown scenes and
Hurting people's feelings in their magazines and
You want to know what it all means?
It's nothing
It's nothing
Fighting for a haircut?
I say, grow your hair
Crying for the music?
Well, I doubt you really care
Looking for an answer?
You can find it anywhere
It's nothing
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
It's nothing
(repeat to end)
13 Joe #1 (03:01)
Living, in the past
For the future isn't here unless it is cast
Sullen nights on a screen
Searing through the break, the thoughts underneath
He is Joe, he is Joe
Joe #1
Our favorite son
Never once did you say
That I's have to pay for the reasons you'll never explain
Come down to the screen
Searing through the break, the thoughts underneath
He is Joe, he is Joe
Joe #1
Our favorite son
14 Break-In (01:32)
And he's happy because she's got skin
And she's happy just to let him in
When he asks will you let me in?
And from a place where they share skin,
They say come inside and he's happy because she's got skin
And it's sweet when she let's him in,
No sin but there's a time when the skin wears thin
And she's working on another skin deep inside deep inside break-in
And he wonders will my money, will it cover for me
Can i stay outside and let it cover for me?
She can't get outside, she can't get outside
She's the covering
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By NickGhostDrake
If ours were a better world, Fugazi probably wouldn’t be remembered solely for their political image.
Repeater is a monument of the decade we left behind, an anthem to the joy of shouting in the ears of then and today’s assholes.
