Man, that bass line at the start of Waiting Room never fails to please me. The whole song is perfect. I once saw a band cover it and it made me want to learn an instrument so that I could have as much fun as they were having playing it. I'm struggling to write this because all I want to do is drum along on my laptop.
My records are currently (lamentably) spread across two locations because I move too often to drag them all around. The ones I have here are generally the ones that I've bought in the last two years and the ones at my parents' house are the older ones that I mostly have mp3s of (not that mp3s are any sort of consolation). Anyway, this is one that was at my parents' but I brought back with me because it's just too good not to play all the time. I think I'd been having cravings for it so picked it up the next time I went back. It's probably the oldest one I have with me at the moment so it's going to be a good test of my memory to see if I can remember the details of when I bought it!
I bought it in a record shop in Manchester, although I have no idea if I could find that store again. I'd been at uni a few months and my friend Hugh had come up to visit. I'd given him the task of bringing up my record player that I thought I wouldn't miss whilst at uni. I was wrong, but he forgot so I went the entire first term without a turntable. Needless to say that didn't stop me buying vinyl. On the Saturday afternoon we decided we should explore the record shops of Manchester, only an hour away by train (no time by northern standards). After the Friday night out, we made a fairly late start to our record shopping, but found a street with a few places on. I reckon if I was in Manchester again I could find that road, but looking at it from above on Google, I have no idea. I think it was a second hand place, but my copy is mint (I say that based on the other record I bought that day, and the fact this one only cost me £4.50, less than the usual Dischord asking price). And what a classic sleeve it is. I do enjoy an excited live shot on a record sleeve.
I'd been wanting to get some Fugazi for a while. I'd known Minor Threat for a while; I think you absorb a lot of music knowledge without realising and there are some bands who I feel like I've always known about somehow - there was no point when I suddenly learnt about them. Minor Threat, and to a lesser extent, Fugazi were bands like that. I had a cover of "Minor Threat" by Silverchair and eventually bought a cd of the First Demo Tape. I knew what to expect from Fugazi a little because of this, but knew there was more going on musically. By the time I actually got round to listening to the record, I'm not sure what I was expecting. It was a grower, which amazes me given how immediately exciting it is as a record now. Maybe I just wasn't quite ready for it. I still struggle with some of the later Fugazi records. I guess it doesn't really matter that I didn't get it at first. This one and Repeater are among my all-time favourite records and I think that's what matters.
Musically there's little I can say that hasn't been said before. Fugazi is a stunning record. Short and to the point. How about this: in the time it's taken me to write this the record has finished and I want to listen to it all over again. That doesn't often happen. Once again "Waiting Room" has put a grin on my face.
Format: 12", picture inner sleeve
Tracks: 7
Cost: £4.50 second hand
Bought: Manchester
When: 15/11/03
Colour: black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
