| Red Medicine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 12, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | January–February 1995 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:48 | |||
| Label | Dischord | |||
| Producer | Fugazi | |||
| Fugazi chronology | ||||
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Red Medicine is the fourth studio album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on June 12, 1995, by Dischord Records. It is the band's most commercially successful album, peaking at number 126 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart.
On Red Medicine, Fugazi began to move into more experimental styles of music, including noise punk, psychedelia ("By You") and dub ("Version"). [4]
The group began work on Red Medicine in 1994, after touring in support of In on the Kill Taker . The writing of the album involved several months of jam sessions and recording at Guilford House, a secluded country estate located in Guilford, Connecticut.
The album's recording sessions took place from January to February 1995 at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia. The band worked with the engineer Don Zientara, but did not choose to work with the producer Ted Niceley again. Fugazi opted to retreat from the in-your-face production values of In on the Kill Taker and instead worked to create an ambient sound which would display greater depth. To achieve this, the band handled the production themselves and, in doing so, became more confident with in-studio experimentation. [5] This is evident in the incorporation of short, sampled segues, ("Do You Like Me", "Birthday Pony"), instruments such as the clarinet (as heard on "Version"), and alternate tunings used on songs such as "Latest Disgrace" and "By You". [4] Footage of the band both writing and recording the album can be seen in the film Instrument .
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Chicago Tribune | [7] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [8] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 6/10 [9] |
| MusicHound Rock | 3/5 [10] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [11] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
| Spin | 7/10 [13] |
| Uncut | 8/10 [14] |
The album was a critical success: Mark Kemp of Rolling Stone called the album "rock solid". [4] Andy Kellman of AllMusic wrote, "With more drive and playful goings-on, the arrangements sound much looser than on Kill Taker , while remaining just as gut-kicking and brainy." [6]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitchfork | US | Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s | 1999 | 64 [15] |
| 2003 | 42 [16] | |||
| LostAtSea | US | 90 Albums of the 90s | 2000 | 25 [17] |
| Music Underwater | US | Top 100 Albums 1990-2003 | 2004 | 85 [18] |
Fugazi embarked on an extensive worldwide tour in support of the album, performing a total of 172 dates between March 1995 and November 1996. [19] [20]
Dennis Lyxzén of Refused considers Red Medicine to be his favorite Fugazi album and admitted that the band were influenced by it while recording Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent and The Shape of Punk to Come . [21] Mike Sullivan of Russian Circles cited the album, alongside Shellac's At Action Park , as a major influence on his guitar-playing, noting that they "literally changed the way [he] looked at music". [22] John Frusciante described the album as a "masterpiece". [23] Pelican's Trevor de Brauw included Red Medicine among the 10 albums that influenced his guitar-playing, praising the harmonized guitar-leads on the track "Long Distance Runner," calling them "so sparse but...so emotionally effective. Paired with the lyrics, it packed a real wallop." [24] Travis Shettel of Piebald listed Red Medicine as one of three albums (the others being Frame and canvas by Braid and Here's Where the Strings Come In by Superchunk) that had a profound influence on their music-making, even admitting that they "stole more bits and pieces and ideas from these three albums than I would like to admit." [25]
Both Refused [26] and No Knife [27] covered "Bed for the Scraping". Red Hot Chili Peppers for many years have played "Latest Disgrace" as the introduction to "Parallel Universe" and it has appeared on their Live at Slane Castle video. [28]
All songs by Guy Picciotto, Ian MacKaye, Joe Lally, and Brendan Canty.
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Do You Like Me" | Picciotto | 3:16 |
| 2. | "Bed for the Scraping" | MacKaye | 2:50 |
| 3. | "Latest Disgrace" | Picciotto | 3:34 |
| 4. | "Birthday Pony" | MacKaye | 3:08 |
| 5. | "Forensic Scene" | Picciotto | 3:05 |
| 6. | "Combination Lock" | 3:06 | |
| 7. | "Fell, Destroyed" | Picciotto | 3:46 |
| 8. | "By You" | Lally | 5:11 |
| 9. | "Version" | 3:20 | |
| 10. | "Target" | Picciotto | 3:32 |
| 11. | "Back to Base" | MacKaye | 1:45 |
| 12. | "Downed City" | Picciotto | 2:53 |
| 13. | "Long Distance Runner" | MacKaye | 4:17 |
Technical
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC) [29] | 18 |
| US Billboard 200 [30] | 126 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [31] | 2 |
Fugazi was an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consisted of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transcending music, DIY ethical stance, manner of business practice, and contempt for the music industry.
13 Songs is a compilation album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on September 1, 1989 by Dischord Records. The album consists of all the songs from the band's first two EPs, Fugazi and Margin Walker.
Rites of Spring was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in late 1983. Along with Embrace, and Beefeater, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene.
Guy Picciotto is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer from Washington, D.C. He is best known as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist in Fugazi and as lead vocalist of Rites of Spring.
The Argument is the sixth and final studio album from the post-hardcore band Fugazi released on October 16, 2001, through Dischord Records. It was recorded at Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA and the Dischord House between January and April 2001. It was the band's last release before going on hiatus in 2003, until the release of First Demo over thirteen years later.
End Hits is the fifth studio album by American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released on April 28, 1998, by Dischord Records. It was recorded at Inner Ear Studios from March 1997 to September 1997 and produced by the band and Don Zientara, and saw the band continuing with and expanding upon the in-studio experimentation of their previous album Red Medicine (1995). Due to the title, rumors began circulating at the time that it was to be their last release.
Joseph Francis Lally is an American bassist, vocalist and record label owner, best known for his work with Fugazi.
State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C., in October 1980, and active until July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield.
Repeater is the full-length debut studio album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was released on April 19, 1990, as Repeater on LP, and in May 1990 on CD bundled with the 3 Songs EP as Repeater + 3 Songs. It was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, and produced and engineered by Don Zientara and Ted Niceley.
Steady Diet of Nothing is the second studio album by American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released in July 1991 by Dischord Records. Although a persistent rumor alleges that the title is an allusion to a quote by the late American stand-up comedian Bill Hicks, the album title predates the Hicks quote by several years and was actually thought up by bassist Joe Lally.
One Last Wish was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. It was formed in May 1986 by members of Rites of Spring and Embrace, and split up in January 1987.
In on the Kill Taker is the third full-length studio album by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was released on June 30, 1993, through Dischord Records and was recorded at Inner Ear Studios and produced by Ted Niceley and Don Zientara. In on the Kill Taker captured the aggressiveness of the band's earlier releases while displaying a more diverse range of influences.
DC EP is the third EP by John Frusciante, released on September 14, 2004 on Record Collection. Produced by Ian Mackaye, of Fugazi, the EP is the third recording in a series of six, released from June 2004 to February 2005, by Frusciante.
Fugazi, also known as the EP 7 Songs, is the debut eponymous release by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. As with subsequent release Margin Walker, Guy Picciotto did not contribute guitar to this record; all guitar was performed by Ian MacKaye. It was originally recorded in June 1988 and released in November 1988 on vinyl and again in 1989 on the compilation release 13 Songs along with the following EP Margin Walker. The photo used for the album cover was taken on June 30, 1988 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Margin Walker is the second EP by the American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was originally released in June 1989 on vinyl and again in the same year on the compilation release 13 Songs along with the debut EP Fugazi. The 12" vinyl went out of print, but was remastered and reissued by Dischord Records in October 2009.
Furniture is the fourth and most recent EP released by American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was recorded in January and February 2001, the same time that the band was recording their last album, The Argument, and released in October 2001 on 7" and on CD.
3 Songs is a 7-inch EP by Washington, D.C., post-hardcore band Fugazi. It was originally released in a collectors edition of 2,000 copies by Sub Pop Records as the December 1989 issue of their Singles Club. Dischord Records gave the record wider release one month later with different cover and label art. Later that year Dischord coupled the 3 Songs EP with the LP Repeater to make up the Repeater + 3 Songs CD.
The discography of Fugazi, an American post-hardcore band, consists of six studio albums, four EPs, a compilation album, a soundtrack album, a demo and a series of hundreds of live recordings. All of the band's releases have been published by Dischord Records, the independent record label co-owned and operated by Fugazi singer and guitarist Ian MacKaye.
Don Zientara is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and various other Dischord Records artists.
First Demo is a demo album from the post-hardcore band Fugazi released on November 18, 2014 through Dischord Records. It was recorded at Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA and the Dischord House in 1988. It is the band's first studio release in over thirteen years, since the release of The Argument in October 2001. First Demo was released on LP, CD and Digital Download.
