I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: FUCKED UP-Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009 (2010).

I knew of Fucked Up from a cover shoot on Chart Magazine. Clearly, they are aiming for major pop success and massive radio airplay.

Their live shows sounded amazing.  And, of course, everything about them seemed unpredictably wonderful.

This is a collection of singles (although not singles in the “pop chart” sense).  Fucked Up released more singles than anything else.  In fact their discography is borderline impossible to keep straight, they have so many small releases on so many small labels.

There is definite growth over these two discs (maybe not maturity, but growth).  The first track, “No Pasaran” is an ugly shouty noisy mess (pretty much straight hardcore). Over the course of these singles, Pink Eyes, the singer, refines his voice and he sounds a bit like Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones (still rough, but more melodic).  The music on the other hand pretty well stays in the hardcore mold.  But by the end (and it is most notable on disc two) the band’s energies branch out into guitar riffs and notable melodies.

The rest of the band includes Concentration Camp and 10,000 Marbles on Guitars, Mr Jo on Drums and Mustard Gas on Bass.

This collection of singles includes most of their shorter tracks (since they were on 7″ vinyl).  But on their 2006 release Hidden World (which I have not heard), most of the songs are over 5 minutes, with one reaching 9.  So they’re even fucked up by hardcore standards.  Cool.

This collection is definitely not for everyone, but it’s worth checking out if you like your core hard and weird.

[READ: May 27, 2010] Wet Moon 5

Holy cow!  This book ends on an amazing cliffhanger!  Beloved Trilby is put in mortal danger, and from what we see, I can’t imagine how she’ll survive.  Gasp!

By this time, Campbell is well on his way to a long, twisted epic series.  One only wonders how long he has this story arc planned out.  It seemed so simple at first: a buncha goth girls hanging around a college, with the worst thing that happens is someone puts up a flier about you or your cat goes missing.

Now the stakes are higher.  I’m not entirely sure that I like the path that this story is following.  I mean, don’t get me wrong it is super exciting.  I just don’t want Wet Moon to turn into Friday the 13th or some other kind of “crime & superhero” story.  What happens to Trilby is pretty intense.  I just hope it won’t destroy all of the characters.

But really, I have no reason to doubt Ross Campbell.

Some minor threads that I’m still very curious about: “cleo eats it,” Meiko’s other cat friend.  Fern’s sleepover.  Gosh, I can’t believe so much happened in Book 5 that these issues didn’t get addressed at all!

It probably goes without saying that the artwork is still pretty amazing.