Cosa faceva Ian Mackaye prima di suonare nei Fugazi ma dopo aver sciolto i Minor Threat, prima però di fondare gli Egg Hunt e dopo aver militato nei Teen Idols? Intendo, dopo aver sciolto per la seconda volta i Minor Threat ma prima di rubare due membri ai Rites Of Spring per farli suonare nei Foo-Gazzy?
Ma è ovvio, ha scippato tre musicisti ai Faith (la band di suo fratello) ed ha formato gli Embrace.
...Con i quali ha registrato un disco stupendo!
Siamo lontani dalle rabbiose scariche di adrenalina dei Minor Threat, i ritmi sono rallentati e l'attenzione è concentrata maggiormente sulla melodia. Non abbiamo i cambi di tempo imprevedibili e la sezione ritmica ultraprofessionale dei Fugazi ma le canzoni (tra alti e bassi, per dirla tutta) sono coinvolgenti, la musica è interessante ed i testi fanno riflettere sui mali della nostra società, come spesso accade nei lavori del nostro ex-MinorThreat.
Volete qualche titolo? "Money" ha un ritornello memorabile degno dei Clash, "No More Pain" mi torce le budella per il dolore, "Dance Of Days" ha un ritmo e una melodia irresistibili; il meglio del meglio è "Building", che parte trattenuta mandando brividi lungo la schiena prima di esplodere nell'ultimo coro (!!!I'M A FAAILUURE!!!). Tutto bello, ma ciò che risalta maggiormente è l'interpretazione di Mackaye, mai così emozionante ed istrionico; un Jim Morrison del punk, tutto preso dai suoi problemi esistenziali. Non vi piace la sua voce? Lasciate perdere gli Embrace, la cui maggiore attrattiva è proprio il suono grezzo ma emozionale che fuoriesce dalla laringe (o faringe?) del nostro amato straight-edge (scherzo, scherzo, Ian odia questo termine tanto quanto la parola emocore).
Inoltre... no, aspetta! Qualcuno mi deve spiegare questa storia dell'Emocore. Emocore (per gli amici Emo) sta per Emotional Hardcore: perché i Rites Of Spring e i miliardi di gruppi che li hanno copiati (o hanno copiato i Fugazi) sono chiamati Emo? Perchè altri gruppi hardcore, tipo i Black Flag o gli Hüsker Dü, invece no? Forse Zen Arcade e Damaged sono meno emozionali/anti?
Beh, gli Embrace lo sono eccome e in questo senso è appropriato definirli Emo.
Se vi piacciono i Fugazi (E FATE BENE), probabilmente vi piaceranno gli Embrace; se non conoscete gli Embrace ma non vi piacciono i Fugazi, sono affari vostri; se non vi piacciono gli Embrace, ascoltate comunque i Fugazi!!
NOTA BENE: Questi Embrace non hanno niente a che vedere con l'omonimo gruppo Britpop che ha registrato album noiosi e poco innovativi (a mio parere, chiaramente) come "The Good Will Out" e "Out Of Nothing"
Elenco tracce testi e samples
04 Past (01:53)
I suppose I'm naive
But I find it hard to believe
A person could make
Life so cheap
It's worth nothing today
Because you threw it away
Self-indulgence took
You too deep
In a whole lot of nothing
You got up and went
Leaving behind all the
People you spent
I guess they could call you
A friend
You took them for a ride to
The very end
What a waste
So in the end you didn't have
No friends
Because they sat and watched
You die
A lot of bridges burned with no
Lessons learned
But plenty of reasons to cry
No communication
Complete separation
No talk, no chance to help
I am guilty
I failed you
As a person who should have cared
I shut my mouth
Because I was scared
I hid my feelings
When they should've been bared
I turned you off
And I, I should have cared.
07 No More Pain (03:11)
No more lying down
We've got to speak and move
No more righteousness
Everything is far too wrong
No more selfish tears
You haven't paid for them
No more dressing up
Please leave your costumes
Home
No more looking down
You might bump your head
The purpose is within yourself
The movement is within yourself
Your emotions are nothing but politics
So get control
No more alcohol
It's a Kool-aid substitute
No more heroin
Death is not glamourous
No more ruling class
You're a bunch of silly kids
No more image fight
It's just a sucker punch
Hurt wastes your energy
Suffering wastes energy
Your emotions are nothing but politics
So get control
No more number one
We've got to quit that game
No more attitude
Give it back to the TV set
No more tough-guy stance
I hear your mommy call
No more suicide
It kills everyone
No more petty love
No more petty hate
No more pettiness
No more pain
09 Said Gun (02:11)
Look what you've organized
Do you believe all those lies
There's no courage in hatred
Only in love
Look what you've organized
Attack, defend, you live a fantasy
Nobody wants anything that belongs to you
Sometimes I'd like to kick your fucking ass
But I guess you're just a human too
Why? Why are you here?
You're looking for a reason to hate
So you can fuck someone up
You'd hate yourself if you had the chance
I guess you already do
You fuck yourself up
Every night.
If you have to fight
Then fight the violence
That rules your life
Said gun, said knife
It's going to take your life
11 Money (02:37)
I can truly say I don't give
A fuck about your money
Because it means so much to you
(And all your money)
Why does it mean so much to you?
You speak the land of greed
I'm talking a world of need
Money has nothing to do
With the value of life
But that's just common sense
You call me up and talk
About money
I don't want to hear anymore
About money
Look what people do
Trying to get their money
To buy their fantasies based on
The book or the movie
Fortified cares
Modified principles
Convenience is the name of the
Game
Self-indulgence is the rule (selfish motherfucker)
There are no winners
We all lose
Thanks for nothing
You put yourself up for sale
You're all sold out
13 End of a Year (02:36)
I don't like parties
They avoid the truth
People lying
In search of a good time
We smile avoid
Unpleasant situations
Put it off, maybe
It will go away
Come together, divide by ages
We're always talking though
But nothing changes
It's the end of a year...
There's another one coming
There will be no victory
No progress made
If we do not stand apart
From the enemy
Oh weak foundations
That we've laid
Melt with the years
You are nothing
We don't move forward
But away
We distance ourselves from
Our history
We justify it with cheap cliches
We're just scared of dying
Words are not enough
14 Last Song (02:27)
I know this is the last time
Goodbye to you my friend
What you had to offer won't be
Seen around here again
And I almost find myself
Content
To let my quits come in, because
I know this is the last time
Goodbye to you my friend
Your demise is a reminder
To the truth that we all face
Nothing is forever
Our efforts can go to waste
But you haven't left me empty
Even if it was just a taste
Your demise is a reminder
To the truth that we all face
It makes me wonder when the
Time will come for me to stroll
When the feelings I embrace
Have nothing left to hold
And the life that I've worked for
Can be bought and sold
It makes me wonder when the
Time will come for me to stroll
Carico i commenti... con calma
