Instrument Soundtrack

Instrument Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Fugazi
ReleasedMarch 23, 1999
Recorded1989–1997
Genre
Length45:37
LabelDischord
ProducerFugazi
Fugazi chronology
End Hits
(1998) 		Instrument Soundtrack
(1999) 		Furniture
(2001)

Instrument Soundtrack is a 1999 soundtrack album by American post-hardcore band Fugazi. It serves as the soundtrack for the documentary film Instrument, which follows the band.

Background

It is a mainly instrumental soundtrack for Instrument, the documentary film about the band produced by the band and filmmaker Jem Cohen.

The soundtrack mostly consists of previously unreleased songs and studio outtakes culled from Fugazi's history to that point, as well as seven demo versions of songs from their proper albums (six from 1998's End Hits and one from 1993's In on the Kill Taker).

Of particular note is the song "I'm So Tired", a piano ballad played and sung by Ian MacKaye, which is a significant departure from Fugazi's usual post-hardcore sound.

"Shaken All Over" features the bassline of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over", as well as MacKaye briefly singing the chorus line with heavy dub echo.

The riff from "Lusty Scripps" was played in Fugazi's final live show, in the break between the main set and the encore.[1]

Covers

"I'm So Tired" has been covered by Fog Lake,[2] Gengahr,[3] Jennylee,[4] Lala Lala,[5] Ultimate Painting,[6] and Eddie Vedder.[7][8][9] The song was also covered by Kiki and Herb in their 2016 cabaret show Kiki & Herb: Seeking Asylum! at Joe's Pub.[10]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
Pitchfork Media8.0/10[14]
Rolling Stone[13]
Uncut7/10[15]

Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork gave the album a positive review, describing it as "sound[ing] remarkably playful" and concluding: "For all those who worry that the Fugazi story may be coming to an end, both Instrument and its soundtrack show a band still growing and, in some ways, just getting started."[14] Amy Sciarretto of CMJ New Music Report wrote: "Collecting 18 surprisingly ambient, previously unreleased Fugazi demos and practice tapes, [...] Instrument is Fugazi's most focused attempt at mellowness and subtlety."[16] The New Rolling Stone Album Guide called the album "mostly ragged and unformed, but for confirmed Fugaziphiles, it's a solidly interesting peek into the band's creative process."[13]

MacKaye later said of the album:

Instrument is sort of my favorite record, because those were recorded for us. So none of it was for public consumption. So when you listen back, it's just us practicing, us playing together, and it just sounds relaxed.[17]

Track listing

No.TitleNotesLength
1."Pink Frosty"(demo)3:47
2."Lusty Scripps" 3:42
3."Arpeggiator"(demo)2:54
4."Afterthought" 1:28
5."Trio's" 2:15
6."Turkish Disco"(Features as part of "Number 5")2:34
7."Me and Thumbelina" 0:45
8."Floating Boy"(demo)3:35
9."Link Track" 1:26
10."Little Debbie" 1:49
11."H.B." 1:19
12."I'm So Tired" 1:59
13."Rend It"(demo)3:32
14."Closed Captioned"(demo)5:50
15."Guilford Fall"(demo)3:29
16."Swingset" 1:37
17."Shaken All Over" 0:58
18."Slo Crostic"(Slow version of "Caustic Acrostic")2:41

Personnel

Fugazi

References

  1. ^ "Fugazi Live Series: London, England, 11/04/02".
  2. ^ "Fog Lake - I'm So Tired (Fugazi Cover)". Birp.fm. February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Day, Laurence (June 4, 2015). "Gengahr share cover of Fugazi's "I'm So Tired"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  4. ^ Daly, Rhian (March 6, 2020). "Warpaint's jennylee shares bewitching cover of Fugazi classic 'I'm So Tired'". NME. Retrieved April 22, 2020. I love, admire and respect Fugazi with my whole heart… always have. The sentiment of 'I'm So Tired' is deeply moving and extremely relatable. It was such a pleasure and a pleasant surprise I was able to pull this off. I hope I did it justice, it sure was FUN (and that's the point of it all). Big love and kudos to Fugazi forever.
  5. ^ "Lala Lala shares a crushed cover of Fugazi's "I'm So Tired"". The Fader. November 21, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  6. ^ "The Lagniappe Sessions : Ultimate Painting (Cover Fugazi, Times New Viking, Sheryl Crow & More...)". Aquarium Drunkard. December 2, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Helman, Peter (May 29, 2017). "Eddie Vedder's Amsterdam Tour Opener Was A Subtle Chris Cornell Tribute". Stereogum. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  8. ^ Colburn, Randall (May 30, 2017). "Eddie Vedder's cover of Fugazi's "I'm So Tired" is sad, pretty, and powerful — watch". Consequence. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  9. ^ Blais-Billie, Braudie (May 30, 2017). "Watch Eddie Vedder Cover Fugazi's "I'm So Tired"". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  10. ^ Stewart, Zachary (2016-05-03). "Kiki and Herb: Seeking Asylum!". Talkhouse. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
  11. ^ Modell, Josh. "Fugazi - Instrument". AllMusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  12. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Fugazi". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  13. ^ a b D.W. (2004). "Fugazi". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (Completely Revised and Updated 4th ed.). Fireside. p. 315. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  14. ^ a b DiCrescenzo, Brent (April 27, 1999). "Fugazi: Instrument Soundtrack Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  15. ^ "Uncut - April 2021".
  16. ^ Sciarretto, Amy (May 24, 1999). "Reviews | Fugazi - Instrument (Dischord)". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 58, no. 9 #619. CMJ. p. 26. ISSN 0890-0795.
  17. ^ Gross, Joe (2018). Fugazi's In on the Kill Taker. 33⅓. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1501321399.