''Instrument Soundtrack'' is a 1999

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

by American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

band

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transc ...

. It serves as the score for Jem Cohen’s documentary film '' Instrument'', which follows the band.

Background

It is a mainly instrumental soundtrack for '' Instrument'', the

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the band produced by the band and

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

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 Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label, and the frontman of hardcore pu ...

, which is a significant departure from Fugazi's usual

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.

Covers

"I'm So Tired" has been covered by Fog Lake, Gengahr, Jennylee, Lala Lala, Ultimate Painting, and

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

. The song was also covered by Kiki and Herb in their 2016 cabaret show ''Kiki & Herb: Seeking Asylum!'' at Joe's Pub.

Reception

Brent DiCrescenzo of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' gave the album a positive review, describing it as "sound ngremarkably ''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." 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." '' 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." 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.

Track listing

Personnel

Fugazi *

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

(1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 15–18), keyboards (4),

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(11),

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

(12),

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(7, 10, 12, 17) * Guy Picciotto – guitar (1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13–16, 18),

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

(2, 7),

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

& bass drum (3), bass &

dehumidifier A dehumidifier is an air conditioning device which reduces and maintains the level of humidity in the air. This is done usually for health or thermal comfort reasons or to eliminate musty odor and to prevent the growth of mildew by extracting wate ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

(13), thumb piano (17), vocals (13, 17) * Joe Lally – bass (1, 2, 4–6, 8–10, 15, 16, 18) * Brendan Canty –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(1–4, 6–11, 14–16, 18), guitar & bass (3, 14),

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

(5), vocals (17) Technical personnel * Engineer: Fugazi (1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18), Brendan Canty & Guy Picciotto (3, 14), Don Zientara (9, 17) * Mixing: Fugazi (2, 4, 6, 10, 16, 17), Guy Picciotto (1, 5, 8, 13, 15, 18), Brendan Canty & Guy Picciotto (3, 14), Brendan Canty & Ian MacKaye (7, 12), Fugazi & Don Zientara (9), Brendan Canty (11) * Graphic design: Fugazi, Jason Farrell (cover help) * Photography: Jem Cohen (cover), Guy Picciotto (insert)

References

{{Authority control Fugazi soundtracks 1999 soundtrack albums Documentary film soundtracks Dischord Records soundtracks Albums produced by Ian MacKaye