NME 'Hot 50' Piece: Fucked Up

Piece for the NME's 'Hot 50' list on Cannuck HC firebrands Fucked Up.

Fucked Up

Fucked Up are more than a band. They forgo MySpace for an incessantly updated blog. They forgo formulaic hardcore clichés for political polemics and triestes. They are punks who are as happy to incorporate krautrock and techno in their sound as they are three chords and a d-beat. They forgo standard output for a bewildering array of limited vinyl releases on more labels than you ever knew existed including their ongoing year of the Zodiac 12” series the last of which was the 18 minute Pink Floyd meets Poison Idea epic ‘Year Of The Pig’. Their live show is so untamed that vocalist Pink Eyes invariably ends up beneath a heaving pile of sweaty kids, blood pouring from his forehead. They single-handedly sparked an already near-legendry riot during an impromptu show on a bridge at SXSW last month that saw Texas state troopers stand down helpless and kids plummeting into the river below.

Fucked Up are more than a band. They are an unstoppable force of nature existing outside of every rule that the contemporary industry writes. They personify punk in its truest DIY form. They are not only redefining what it means to be a hardcore band in 2008. They are redefining what it means to be a band in 2008.

We spoke to Fucked Up singer Pink Eyes (Damian to his ma) about what makes the band so goddamned great.

What do you think sets Fucked Up apart from the generic lumpen mass that hardcore has become in 2008?
The aim was, between the five of us, to make this band that if we weren’t in it we would want to be a part of. Because we are five totally different people pulling in five totally different ways it just came out unlike anything we had envisioned.

You have put out your stuff on a maze of independents. Are the majors even relevant anymore?
To us in no way whatsoever We have control over output from start to finish.We are also all massive record nerds so it appeals to have this big sprawling discography.

You guys passed on MySpace for a blog. How important is technology to the band?
As a means of communication invaluable but records still come out on vinyl you know.