I’m sure that’s fine with Ian, Guy and the other

two in the band, whoever they are. I think they pretty much dig making weird,

vaguely punk-related rock music and keeping mainstream popularity at arm’s

length. And by the same token I think that’s what continues to make them so

popular. Along with Minor Threat.

Violent, loud and short, Minor Threat’s

self-titled release is a fantastic punk album. I wish I had had a copy of

it back when I was trying to break my neck during my Vision Street Wear days, but I was much less cool

than I aspired to be. Most people associate Fugazi with MacKaye and Minor

Threat, but the band really owes just as much if not more to Rites of Spring,

the more obscure and weirder

post-punk band of singer and guitarist Guy Picciotto.

As far as Fugazi’s overall popularity

goes, though, I think Minor Threat’s status in the canon locked in place what

people would feel about everything Fugazi

would put out later. In other words, in private you may not have understood

how anyone could listen to “End Hits,” but in a court

of law you’d still testify that the dudes who made it are rad.

I think people are also in love

with their style — their lifestyle, the way they tour, their mini DIY empire

and record label, Dischord, and the way they maintain an iron grip of control

on it all. The $5 shows, the cheap CDs through Dischord, the
style=’font-family:GriffithGothicBlack’>refusal to sell out to a bigger

label — those kinds of things are a big part of the mystique. Even though

I’m tired of hearing the same story of how they threatened to stop a show

at some venue or another for some reason or another, it’s good to hear that

somebody’s doing it.

By the way, they’re coming to Richmond

for a free show this

Friday at the University of Richmond’s Greek Theater. I’m going. Everybody’s

freakin’ going. You can find a cool Fugazi photo and show info in the calendar.

— Wayne