LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Fugazi: Guy Picciotto
built 187 days ago
To inspire their lyrics, Fugazi have apparently been looking to the video store instead of The Nation. The protagonist who's "paid to stand around" in "Public Witness Program" could come straight out of GoodFellas, and "Walken's Syndrome" concerns a character based on Diane Keaton's demented brother in Annie Hall, who wants to "steer into the headlights like the dead light of the last sun you'll see." On "Cassavetes," Fugazi ... add Hollywood, that "poor city of shame," to their list of bankrupt American institutions. Over screaming guitar and an almost bluesy funk-bass vamp, co-singer-guitarist Guy Picciotto berates a "sad-eyed mogul" for not supporting adventurous filmmakers willing to "bust a genre," like maverick director actor John Cassavetes. Despite this unexpected cinematic obsession, Fugazi still haven't forgotten the polemics, attacking the ban on gays in the military in "23 Beats Off," a raging tale of a gay soldier who "never thought he'd be an exclamation point/A demonstration of his disease/A punctuation mark/A household name with HIV." And in spite of the claim that "irony is the refuge of the educated" on "Facet Squared," there's even a little humor mixed in with Fugazi's protest, best exemplified on "Great Cop," where MacKaye proffers the ultimate post-Rodney King insult: "You'd make a great cop."
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Fugazi's music blends elements of punk rock, hardcore, soul and noise with an inventively syncopated rhythm section often steeped in dub or reggae influence. Notable is MacKaye and Picciotto's inventive, interlocking guitar playing, which often defies the traditional notion of "lead" and "rhythm" guitars. They often feature unusual and dissonant chords and progressions, sometimes reminiscent of the Tom Verlaine/Richard Lloyd pairing from Television, though filtered through a hardcore punk lens. Comparisons of guitar style have ... been made to early Gang of Four. Most of their albums have featured an instrumental song or two.
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Fugazi's early tours earned them a strong word-of-mouth reputation, both for their powerful performances, and for their eagerness to play in unusual venues. They sought out alternatives to traditional rock clubs partly to relieve the boredom of touring, but ... hoping to show fans that there are other options to traditional ways of doing things. As Picciotto said, "You find the Elks Lodge, you find the guy who's got a space in the back of his pizzeria, you find the guy who has a gallery. Kids will do that stuff because they want to make stuff happen."[13]
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End Hits sent shudders of dread and rumor through the punk community — was Fugazi announcing its demise? (Was Ian the walrus, or was it Guy?) The title, as it turns out, signaled an end to the old way of doing things, of crankin' out "the hits." Here, Fugazi continues down the evolutionary sonic path first carved out on Red Medicine, except with more focus and even less reliance on the formulaic punk chug of their own invention. Sure, there are still occasional forays into more or less standard Fugazi: "Five Corporations" features familiar MacKaye vitriol, thick syllables barely spat through gnashing teeth over a propulsive palm-muted string-driven thing. But that track is the exception. The beginning of "No Surprise" is more typical here: several chords ring out, building momentum until MacKaye looses an epic scream and then….a drum hit, a snaky guitar line, drums that swing.
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Guy Picciotto