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Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Last Night / ??!! / Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Refused Seems To Be a Big Deal, if You're 30
Posted by Mike Nipper on Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 12:25 PM
For last night's Refused show Megan "Ding Dong in a Cake" Seling wrote this:
Can I scream?! Because Refused, one of the most influential experimental hardcore bands of their generation...
Having heard Refused I can't imagine anyone from my generation, one which grew up on '80s hardcore, caring about Refused. Uh...mos def not like the kids did last night. Lordy...but that got me thinking, which '80s hardcore group would cause (ahem) "kids" like me, from the '80s, to get all excited? Like, what '80s hardcore band could be the equivalent to Refused's "generational" weight? Black Flag, perhaps? Articles of Faith? Void?! The Fix?!
1
See, this is what happens when we start categorizing art. We get hung up on what group of people would like what and what group of people wouldn't, and which group is more right and blah blah blah. I don't agree with Ding Dong either, but Refused was and still is one of the most influential bands of my musical career and that's all that matters to me.
4
Well said....when that came out, I thought sounds like a copy of Nation of Ulysses.....without any style, reference, or wit.
uh, Born Against ...anyone?
uh, Born Against ...anyone?
5
Stone cold fact: "Having heard Refused I can't imagine anyone from my generation, one which grew up on '80s hardcore, caring about Refused." Sorry, kids. Well, for me, if Bad Brains hadn't gone through so many weird changes musically in the mid-80s, or DOA broke up after Bloodied But Unbowed, or CRASS cut their losses after few LPs -- and all truly reunited for a tour, I'd be very fucking excited about all of 'em. (See also the DKs quitting after In God We Trust and then doing the same, The Ramones cutting out after Rocket To Russia then coming back, et al.) I have to admit though I've been enjoying the shit out of all the recent Sex Pistols reunion DVDs even though they bored me at Bumbershoot in the 90s.
6
Well, for me it was Naked Raygun, Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid and Big Black. When I found out Big Black was going to playing at Touch and Go 25- I went fucking nuts. One of the most amazing bands. Period. So I got to see them all, which is great.
9
i'm 35 years old. i remember when The Shape of Punk To Come came out. my band was supposed to play their NW shows on that last tour. my interest in hardcore was waning at the time, mainly because my musical tastes were evolving faster than the hardcore scene was. But that Refused album did a pretty amazing job at pushing that whole scene forward. it was a bold, unorthodox record for it's time, and it's damn catchy too. i was into it.
i do notice a profound age gap with that record though. Folks that are older than me tend to write it off completely. Folks younger than me elevate it a bit more than i think is really justified. defining hardcore record of the '90s? nah. i would vote for something by Antioch Arrow, Deadguy, Acme, Swing Kids, Unbroken, Rorschach, Born Against, Man Is The Bastard, or His Hero Is Gone over Refused. Still, it's a great and pivotal record
That said, my vote for '80s influential hardcore (not that i was around for it) would have to be one of the Revolution Summer bands. Embrace or Rites of Spring.
i do notice a profound age gap with that record though. Folks that are older than me tend to write it off completely. Folks younger than me elevate it a bit more than i think is really justified. defining hardcore record of the '90s? nah. i would vote for something by Antioch Arrow, Deadguy, Acme, Swing Kids, Unbroken, Rorschach, Born Against, Man Is The Bastard, or His Hero Is Gone over Refused. Still, it's a great and pivotal record
That said, my vote for '80s influential hardcore (not that i was around for it) would have to be one of the Revolution Summer bands. Embrace or Rites of Spring.
10
@9 Appreciate your POV. I have many good pals who love it, they're just a lot younger than me (but actually around your age, and even a little older). @6 Mmmmmm Big Black. Jealous as hell. Spot on. Paulus, you're fucking hilarious. Balls to the wall, my brother!!!
13
I had TSOPTC in college, but I honestly can't remember a single song from it. What was so special about it?
Rites of Spring was way more influential imo.
Rites of Spring was way more influential imo.
14
I saw Refused around '93 at a teen center in Belgium. They were on a bill with three or four unremarkable bands and they themselves were unremarkable, though they were probably the best band on the bill that night. I bought their "This Is The New Deal" CD at the show, gave it 2-5 spins, shelved it and didn't think much of the band for five or six years. Like #9 up there, my taste in music outgrew hardcore also, around '95 or '96 for me. Fast forward a couple years and I catch the "New Noise" video on MTV2. I was surprised to see it was the same band I'd seen years before and impressed by the video and song, I picked up "Shape Of Punk". Where most of their peers were stuck making the same record over and over (I'm looking at you, Earth Crisis), these dudes made a unique, well thought out, written and recorded, and catchy as fuck heavy rock concept record. It holds up to this day and is still in rotation on this guy's turntable/MP3 player. I also caught their show in Vancouver on Monday and they fucking killed.
So, one of the most influential? I dunno. I do know they made a kick ass record and put on a kick ass show. I think a lot of the deification comes from how they checked out in the first place with the heavy rhetoric, politics and "Refused are fucking dead" business.
And with that in mind my vote for 80's hardcore reunion that'd cause the most ruckus would have to be Minor Threat.
So, one of the most influential? I dunno. I do know they made a kick ass record and put on a kick ass show. I think a lot of the deification comes from how they checked out in the first place with the heavy rhetoric, politics and "Refused are fucking dead" business.
And with that in mind my vote for 80's hardcore reunion that'd cause the most ruckus would have to be Minor Threat.
15
hey, you guys remember when Universal Order Of Armageddon got back together for a few shows, including one in Seattle, and then didn't play? yeah. that fuckin' sucked.
I'm the target age for a Refused-nostalgia fan, and I just don't care they got back together. I remember younger kids in my high school being really into that album, but it never made an impression on me. I was more interested in shit like Discordance Axis and Depeche Mode by that point, so to see a band get all this lip service for just ripping off Nation Of Ulysses and every punk band from San Diego that existed from 1990-1996 was a little insulting. and they were fucking Swedish on top of everything. I mean... come on!
revisiting that record in my early 20's made me appreciate it a little more, but this was at the same time that I actually started appreciating some AFI, so I don't know how credible of an endorsement that is.
as far as bands I'd like to see from the 80's...Void seems like that energy could just never be recreated by a few dudes in their mid 40's. Rites Of Spring maybe? especially if spanned to One Last Wish/Happy Go Licky as well.
I'm the target age for a Refused-nostalgia fan, and I just don't care they got back together. I remember younger kids in my high school being really into that album, but it never made an impression on me. I was more interested in shit like Discordance Axis and Depeche Mode by that point, so to see a band get all this lip service for just ripping off Nation Of Ulysses and every punk band from San Diego that existed from 1990-1996 was a little insulting. and they were fucking Swedish on top of everything. I mean... come on!
revisiting that record in my early 20's made me appreciate it a little more, but this was at the same time that I actually started appreciating some AFI, so I don't know how credible of an endorsement that is.
as far as bands I'd like to see from the 80's...Void seems like that energy could just never be recreated by a few dudes in their mid 40's. Rites Of Spring maybe? especially if spanned to One Last Wish/Happy Go Licky as well.
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