In a season when consumerism is running rampant with packed shopping malls, ridiculous traffic jams, and long lines everywhere, it's good to be reminded that our way of life is hollow. "Merchandise keeps us in line, common sense says it's by design. What could a businessman ever want more than to have us sucking in his store? We owe you nothing. You have no control. You are not what you own!"

Fugazi is nothing short of amazing on all levels. Their music was innovative and powerful, their lyrics were packed with intelligence and emotion, and the way they conducted their business was absolutely respectable and ethical. There will never be another band like them.

"Repeater" is known as Fugazi's defining moment. They still had the youthful energy that defined the hardcore punk scene, which band member Ian MacKaye embodied with his band Minor Threat, but more skill and broader talents.

Everything magically falls into place for them. The noisy elements make it so incredibly abrasive that they can slow down without losing any intensity. When they rock, it's so well constructed one could not possibly sit still.

When I first heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana I thought they ripped-off the soft to loud dynamics in the songs "Blueprint" and "Eight Beats Off" (turns out that Nirvana was ripping-off the Pixies instead). Unlike Nirvana, Fugazi had more than one trick to fuel this true classic of the `90's. The whole record is constantly shifting in tone and pace without seeming like it follows some formula.

Maybe you had to be there to "get" this record, and if you were it's a part of your soul. It's tough to explain why this record sends chills up and down your spine, makes you feel like shouting out the lyrics, and thrashing around like a crazy person, but it does.

you said it all yourself, listen to the bands they influenced. fugazi are important precisely because they have influenced so many bands, be they indie or emo or punk or alternative or whatever you want to call it. it's easy to hear a lot of bands that sound like this today, but 10 years ago when this cd came out? i also strongly urge you to check out their later albums, especially "red medicine", fugazi just keep getting better with age.

but why is this a good album? there are so many reasons. the songwriting never ceases to amaze me every time i listen to this album. the foundation of all the songs is the absolutely rock solid rhythm section. joe and brendan are one of the best rhythm sections of the past decade. from the opening track, turnover, they lay down a groove so tight it grabs you and won't let go. and the guitars...they're simply amazing! listen to the squealing line at the beginning of reapeater, or the way ian and guy interweave their lines in shut the door, both with each other and with the bassline. this album contains so many hidden facets and subtleties i find something new each time i listen to it...

When I was in school, all of the hip kids listened to Fugazi, so I picked up this CD. I didn't like it. Now, ten years later, I bought an ipod. I was going through all of the boxes of CDs that I have bought over the years, putting songs on my new toy. I decided to give Repeater another listen before I sold it to a used CD store, and suprise, I love the album now. It is really weird how your tastes in music change over the years. That was about 2 months ago and it is still all I listen to. I think I am going to pick up 13 Songs tommorow, because if I remember correctly, that was the album that all the hip kids had. At the age of 30, maybe I'm finally a hip kid.

Ok at first listen I didn't understand Fugazi at all. It seemed chaotic, too slow to be punk too fast to be pop/rock. But on the second listen...I got it. Brilliant! Its a mesmorizing journey through the minds of possibly two of the greatest lyricists ever. Totally contrasting styles clash between Guy and Ian lyrically, yet they fit together in perfect cohesion throughout the album. Turnover starts the album with a slow building guitar with one of the best drum and bass copliments ever behind. Guy's voice comes pounding through and you feel that you've entered a new world. Then there's the title track a blazing, rip roaring, swell of agnst punk. As you progress further into the album you discover Fugazi is not the typical punk band. With influences in everyother genre imaginable it comes through tride and true on Repeater. Easily the best Fugazi album ever done. True it may lack on certain tracks but be sure to give it a listen or two, and you will be back for three, four, and one hundred twenty seven.

Sure hits: Repeater, Greed, Shut the Door.

Possibly Misses: None.

Refusing to charge more than $5 entry to concerts, which they stipulate must be all-age shows; refusing to make music videos or sell merchandise; freezing the prices of their albums at $10; and belonging to an independent record label, Dischord, (created by Fugazi singer Ian MacKaye) that distributes its profits to various charities, Fugazi are the ultimate punk band.

Despite their staunch anti-commercial stance however, the band has managed to amass record sales of over 3million units.

Fugazi's first L.P. Repeater showcases everything that is great about the band: anthemic vocals; politically-charged lyrics; innovative yet underrated guitar interplay between singer/guitarist-frontmen Ian MacKaye (formerly of seminal yet short-lived hardcore band Minor Threat) and Guy Picciotto; and an unrivalled rhythm section in bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty.

MacKaye and Picciotto question everything in contemporary society in Repeater's 42 minutes: the military and the motives of governmental militarism ('Turnover'), consumerism (everywhere), drugs ('Shut the Door'), yet never come across as pious or sanctimonious.

Repeater is artfully aggressive, clinical yet abrasive, completely cohesive and almost unparalleled.