I’m writing this before game five of the NBA finals.
If the Mavs win this series I promise to update this blog five times next week.
There, so if you don’t give  a shit about basketball and you like my blog then you should still root for the fall of LeBron James.
In order to hype myself up for the game I’ve been listening to Fucked Up all day. You should join me.
Fucked Up – Let Likes Be Cured By Likes
Generations
Colour Removal
Black Iron Prison
No Pasaran
The Light That Never Comes On
Last Man Standing
Circling The Drain
Zezozose
Police
Outro
Opening Reversed
Outro Reversed
Okay, this is a fucked up record…no pun intended.
It was originally released on Schizophrenic Records in 20o4 on a clear single-sided 12″ record. According to Dicsogs, this first printing was limited to a scant 444 copies.
Two years later, Schizophrenic re-released the EP, this time as black-and-blue marble colored record. There are only 400 copies of this one, making it oddly rarer than the first printing. Unlike the first printing, the second printing is double-sided, but the B-side is just a copy of the A-side.
This is a live album, recorded on 8-track in 2002. If you only know Fucked Up from their more recent releases, then the songs here might be a bit of a shock to you. While Fucked Up is still a hardcore punk rock band, in recent years they’ve shown they haven’t been afraid to embrace other genres and styles of music. The Chemisty of Common Life does open with a freaking oboe solo after all.
This shit is straight-up hardcore – and could stand up stylistically with Black Flag, Circle Jerks or early Bad Brains. Melody? Fuck that shit. This is as fast, loud and rough around the edges as punk rock gets. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you want 10 songs in 18 minutes delivered so fast that if you tried to headbang to them all you’d end up tearing your own head off, then this right up your alley. If you want (slightly) more polished versions of these tracks, most are available on Fucked Up’s two singles compilations Epics In Minutes and Couple Tracks.
Finally, there are two secret bits on Let Likes Be Cured By Likes, backwards messages both start and close the album. The last two tracks listed here are those backwards messages playing forward. So if your mom overhears you listening to this album and thinks you’re listening to music with hidden suicide instructions, you can set her straight.
Oh, and go buy Fucked Up’s new album David Comes To Life. It’s a fucking masterpiece.
And go Mavs!