Steady Diet of Nothing
Steady Diet of Nothing | ||||
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Fugazi chronology | ||||
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Steady Diet of Nothing is the second
Although well received and popular at the time of its release, Steady Diet is often overlooked by many music journalists when writing about Fugazi's career, but remains a favorite among fans of the band.[3][4]
Recording
Steady Diet of Nothing was recorded during January and February 1991 at Inner Ear Studios and is notable for being the group's first self-produced release. As a result of not having an outside producer besides engineer Don Zientara, the album's recording and mixing sessions were tough on the band. Guy Picciotto said of making the record, "[it] was a tough record for us to make. It was our first attempt at producing and mixing by ourselves, and we didn’t feel like we had a really good handle, technically, on what we wanted to do. And we were also pretty fried from a shitload of back-to-back touring. I appreciate Steady Diet for a lot of things, but there was a flatness to both the performances and the sound that was weird to us." Singer/guitarist Ian MacKaye explained, "It was like we were walking on eggshells, trying not to offend each other. No one would say, "Turn your guitar down," or, "Turn the drums down." So we ended up getting a democratic mix, and a lot of times democratic mixes equal bad mixes. And I feel Steady Diet is a classic example of us being very conservative, although a lot of people think it's our best record."[4]
Music and lyrics
Musically, the album is far more sparse than the band's other works, with the conservative, dry production serving to highlight the rhythm section of bassist
Release
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
Spin | 9/10[citation needed] |
Sputnikmusic | [17] |
Six months before the release, Dischord had pre-orders of over 160,000 for the album.[18] In August 1993, more than two years after the album's release, MacKaye told Billboard magazine that Steady Diet of Nothing had sold 215,000 units.[19] Both MacKaye and Picciotto would later attribute the album's relatively-mild response to the alternative rock boom heralded by the release of Nirvana's Nevermind two months after Steady Diet.[7][20] According to Picciotto (who was on tour with the band in Australia at the time): “It was like our record could have been a hobo pissing in the forest for the amount of impact it had, [...] Nevermind was so huge, and people were so fucking blown away. We were just like, ‘What the fuck is going on here?’ It was so crazy. On one hand, the shows were bigger, but on the other hand, it felt like we were playing ukuleles all of a sudden because of the disparity of the impact of what they did.”[7] Despite this, Steady Diet of Nothing was the band's first album to chart in the UK, where it peaked at #63.[21]
Critical reception
Steady Diet of Nothing received mostly positive reviews upon release. Steve Park of
A mixed review came from Robert Christgau, who simply awarded the album a "Neither" score, indicating a release that "may impress once or twice with consistent craft or an arresting track or two. Then it won't."[11][22]
Legacy
Lost At Sea ranked it the 84th greatest album of the nineties.[
Track listing
No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Exit Only" | Picciotto | 3:11 |
2. | "Reclamation" | MacKaye | 3:21 |
3. | "Nice New Outfit" | Picciotto | 3:26 |
4. | "Stacks" | MacKaye | 3:08 |
5. | "Latin Roots" | Picciotto | 3:13 |
6. | "Steady Diet" | 3:42 | |
7. | "Long Division" | MacKaye | 2:12 |
8. | "Runaway Return" | Picciotto | 3:58 |
9. | "Polish" | MacKaye | 3:38 |
10. | "Dear Justice Letter" | Picciotto | 3:27 |
11. | "KYEO" | MacKaye | 2:58 |
Personnel
Fugazi
- Joe Lally – bass
- Ian MacKaye – guitar, vocals
- Guy Picciotto – guitar, vocals
- Brendan Canty – drums
Technical
- Don Zientara – engineer
- Lucy Capehart – photography
- Adam Cohen – photography
- John Falls – photography
References
- ^ "Twenty Other Great Albums That Aren't Nevermind, 20 years later [Part I]".
- ^ Sheppard, Oliver. "Reappraising Steady Diet of Nothing - thebattleground". The Battleground. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Lee, Cosmo. "Stylus Magazine: Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing". On Second Thought Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ^ a b Perlah, Jeff. "The Independent". Guitar World. March 2002.
- ^ a b c "The Boston Phoenix January 3-9, 1992: Vol 21 Iss 1". Boston Phoenix. January 3, 1992 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c "Fugazi". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-316-06379-1.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
- ^ Kelley, Ken. "25 Years Ago: Fugazi Pursue Restraint With 'Steady Diet of Nothing'". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ISBN 1-888451-44-0. p. 304, 305
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Fugazi". robertchristgau.com, Retrieved on March 17, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ISBN 1-84195-551-5.
- ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ^ Claudio Lancia. "Fugazi". OndaRock. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan. "Fugazi". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 315, cited March 17, 2010
- ^ Jared W. Dillon (December 20, 2006). "Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing (album review)". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ISBN 1-888451-44-0. p. 304
- ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1993-08-14). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
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has generic name (help) - ^ Feb 2022, Oliver Sheppard / 16 (2022-02-16). "The Ian MacKaye Interview". The Battleground. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Artists". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG 90s: Key to Icons". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ Ellie Rogers (2022-10-10). "Bush's Gavin Rossdale on the 10 albums that changed his life, spending time with Prince and being inspired by PJ Harvey to buy Joe Walsh's Jazzmaster". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ^ "Exclusive Stream: Suuns' "Long Division (Fugazi cover)"". Alternative Press. April 14, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ "Yet Another Fugazi "Cover"". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
- ^ Hammerpublished, Metal (2021-08-06). "Listen to Shai Hulud cover Great Cop for new Fugazi tribute album". loudersound. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ "Couch Slut - "Full Disclosure" (Fugazi Cover)". Stereogum. 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
- ^ Fugazi – KYEO, retrieved 2022-06-04