I Can’t Hear What You Are Saying, I Can Only Fear

Fugazi “Suggestion” (Live in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada 7/24/98) – This is taken from Volume 19 of the Fugazi Live CD Series, which I received in the mail earlier this week. I’m not sure how happy I am with the show that I purchased – it’s a pretty great concert and all, but I really think that they should have made some effort to master these things before selling them. They certainly weren’t kidding around when they say on the site that they didn’t alter the source tapes at all. The levels are all over the place throughout the show, and there are some major mixing blunders. On a few tracks, the guitars are way too loud in the mix, drowning out the vocals and percussion, and during the performance of one of my favorite songs, “Target,” the treble suddenly shoots up and the bottom end almost completely drops out at the start of the first verse. I’m wondering if all of the discs in this series have similarly erratic sound, or if I ordered a show with more quirks than others.

This version of “Suggestion” is a highlight from this show, though it’s probably a highlight from just about any concert in which it is performed. I don’t think that Guy’s vocals during the conclusion of the song were meant to be so high in the mix, but I like the sound of it being foregrounded as Ian’s voice recedes to the background as he moves away from his microphone and sings from the audience.

Stripsearch w/ Emily XYZ “Hey Kid!” – This is a selection from the Hyped 2 Death Homework series of compilations, which collect obscure American D.I.Y. 45s from the late 70’s through the mid-80’s. “Hey Kid!” is by far one of my favorite songs from this series; a perky art-punk number by a pick-up band from No Wave-era 1982 NYC including performance artist Emily XYZ on this song, and GG Allin on their only other single. Both songs appear on the Homework Vol. 1 cd.