Repeater (album)
Encyclopedia
Repeater is the debut full-length studio album
by the American post-hardcore
band Fugazi
. It was released on April 19, 1990 as Repeater on LP
, and in May 1990 on CD
bundled with the 3 Songs EP as Repeater + 3 Songs. It was recorded at Inner Ear Studios
in Arlington, VA and produced and engineered by Don Zientara
and Ted Nicely
.
Repeater is often regarded as a definitive album for the band and has been described as an "angrier American update of Gang of Four
's Solid Gold
," it has also been noted for its complex guitar and rhythm section interplays. It is included in the book 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die
.
on and writing new material as a band as opposed to playing songs composed solely by singer/guitarist Ian MacKaye
. After the completion of several lengthy U.S. and European tours in support of the group's previous EPs, they began to work on new material as well as refining songs that they had already been performing live, such as "Merchandise" and "Turnover"
The band once again chose to work with both Don Zientara
and Ted Nicely
as they had previously, and entered Inner Ear Studios
in July, 1989 to begin the recording process. The group was only able to record with Nicely present between the hours of 9 A.M. and 1 P.M. because Nicely was splitting his time between the studio and culinary school. Recording for the album was completed in September, 1989.
The album's subject matter addresses a wide variety of themes such as greed, violence, sexuality, privacy, drug abuse and death. MacKaye told Guitar World
that the album title "Is loaded on so many levels. It's actually about how things in life repeat over and over. But the title is also a rather obscure nod to The Beatles
' Revolver
. A record revolves and it also repeats. A revolver is also a gun, and so is a repeater. The title track is about kids repeatedly shooting each other. In Washington, DC in the Eighties, about 700 kids got killed during this crazy crack war."
, Repeater did not initially reach the Billboard 200
charts or become a commercial success. However, the band spent most of 1990 and 1991 touring behind Repeater and routinely selling out 1,000+ capacity venues. By summer 1991 the album had sold more than 300,000 copies, a large number for a label that relied on minimal promotion. While major labels began to court Fugazi, the band decided that Dischord
was distributing their records well enough and refused the offers. Repeater went on to sell over 1 million copies in the US alone, and has sold more than 2 million worldwide. The album was also critically well received and featured an alternative rock
sound that pre-dated significant releases such as Nirvana
's Nevermind
and Pearl Jam
's Ten
, which would unexpectedly go on to break the genre into the mainstream.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by the American post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band Fugazi
Fugazi (band)
Fugazi is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C. in 1987. The band's continual members are guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty....
. It was released on April 19, 1990 as Repeater on LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, and in May 1990 on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
bundled with the 3 Songs EP as Repeater + 3 Songs. It was recorded at Inner Ear Studios
Inner Ear Studios
Inner Ear Studios is a recording studio founded in Arlington, VA by musician and recording engineer Don Zientara. Hundreds of albums, including both independent and major label releases have been recorded at the studio. It has been in continuous operation for over 25 years.- See Also :Don Zientara...
in Arlington, VA and produced and engineered by Don Zientara
Don Zientara
Don Zientara is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside of Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and various other Dischord Records artists.-Production...
and Ted Nicely
Ted Nicely
Ted Nicely is an American record producer. He is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Jawbox and Tripping Daisy among others.-Production credits:Select production/engineering/mixing credits include the following:...
.
Repeater is often regarded as a definitive album for the band and has been described as an "angrier American update of Gang of Four
Gang of Four (band)
Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
's Solid Gold
Solid Gold (album)
Solid Gold is the second album by the British post-punk band Gang of Four, released in 1981. Two of its tracks, "Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time" and "He'd Send in the Army", are re-recordings of songs previously released as a single in the UK....
," it has also been noted for its complex guitar and rhythm section interplays. It is included in the book 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die
1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die
1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book written by Tom Moon, published in 2008.It consists of a list of recordings, mostly albums, arranged alphabetically by artist or composer, starting with ABBA's Gold and concluding with ZZ Top's Tres Hombres...
.
Background
By 1989 Fugazi had made the transition into jammingJam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
on and writing new material as a band as opposed to playing songs composed solely by singer/guitarist Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
. After the completion of several lengthy U.S. and European tours in support of the group's previous EPs, they began to work on new material as well as refining songs that they had already been performing live, such as "Merchandise" and "Turnover"
The band once again chose to work with both Don Zientara
Don Zientara
Don Zientara is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside of Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and various other Dischord Records artists.-Production...
and Ted Nicely
Ted Nicely
Ted Nicely is an American record producer. He is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Jawbox and Tripping Daisy among others.-Production credits:Select production/engineering/mixing credits include the following:...
as they had previously, and entered Inner Ear Studios
Inner Ear Studios
Inner Ear Studios is a recording studio founded in Arlington, VA by musician and recording engineer Don Zientara. Hundreds of albums, including both independent and major label releases have been recorded at the studio. It has been in continuous operation for over 25 years.- See Also :Don Zientara...
in July, 1989 to begin the recording process. The group was only able to record with Nicely present between the hours of 9 A.M. and 1 P.M. because Nicely was splitting his time between the studio and culinary school. Recording for the album was completed in September, 1989.
The album's subject matter addresses a wide variety of themes such as greed, violence, sexuality, privacy, drug abuse and death. MacKaye told Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
that the album title "Is loaded on so many levels. It's actually about how things in life repeat over and over. But the title is also a rather obscure nod to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' Revolver
Revolver (album)
Revolver is the seventh studio album by the English rock group The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin. Many of the tracks on Revolver are marked by an electric guitar-rock sound, in contrast with their previous LP, the folk rock inspired Rubber...
. A record revolves and it also repeats. A revolver is also a gun, and so is a repeater. The title track is about kids repeatedly shooting each other. In Washington, DC in the Eighties, about 700 kids got killed during this crazy crack war."
Release & Reception
Released on April 19, 1990 through Dischord RecordsDischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
, Repeater did not initially reach the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
charts or become a commercial success. However, the band spent most of 1990 and 1991 touring behind Repeater and routinely selling out 1,000+ capacity venues. By summer 1991 the album had sold more than 300,000 copies, a large number for a label that relied on minimal promotion. While major labels began to court Fugazi, the band decided that Dischord
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
was distributing their records well enough and refused the offers. Repeater went on to sell over 1 million copies in the US alone, and has sold more than 2 million worldwide. The album was also critically well received and featured an alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
sound that pre-dated significant releases such as Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's Nevermind
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
and Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
's Ten
Ten (Pearl Jam album)
Ten is the debut studio album by the American grunge band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991 through Epic Records. Following the disbanding of bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard's previous group Mother Love Bone, the two recruited vocalist Eddie Vedder, guitarist Mike McCready, and...
, which would unexpectedly go on to break the genre into the mainstream.
Track listing
(Lead vocals in parentheses)- "Turnover" - 4:16 (Picciotto)
- "Repeater" - 3:01 (MacKaye)
- "Brendan #1" - 2:32
- "Merchandise" - 2:59 (MacKaye)
- "Blueprint" - 3:52 (Picciotto)
- "Sieve-Fisted Find" - 3:24 (Picciotto/MacKaye)
- "Greed" - 1:47 (MacKaye/Picciotto)
- "Two Beats Off" - 3:28 (Picciotto)
- "Styrofoam" - 2:34 (MacKaye)
- "Reprovisional" - 2:18 (Picciotto)
- "Shut the Door" - 4:49 (MacKaye)
Bonus tracks on Repeater + 3 Songs
- "Song #1" - 2:54 (MacKaye)
- "Joe #1" - 3:01
- "Break-In" - 1:33 (Picciotto)
Personnel
- Brendan CantyBrendan CantyBrendan Canty is an American musician, composer, producer and film maker, best known as the drummer for the band Fugazi....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Joe LallyJoe LallyJoe Lally is a bass guitar player, vocalist and label owner, best known for his work with Fugazi.-Fugazi:...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Ian MacKayeIan MacKayeIan Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Guy PicciottoGuy PicciottoGuy Picciotto is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer from Washington, DC.He is most widely known for his role as the guitarist and vocalist of Fugazi, as well as Rites of Spring.-Rites of Spring & Early Projects:...
– guitar, vocals - Ted NicelyTed NicelyTed Nicely is an American record producer. He is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Jawbox and Tripping Daisy among others.-Production credits:Select production/engineering/mixing credits include the following:...
– producer - Don ZientaraDon ZientaraDon Zientara is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside of Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and various other Dischord Records artists.-Production...
– engineer