Fucked Up
Year of the Pig
Tracklisting:
1. Year of the pig
2. The Black Hats
Starting in 2006, Fucked Up began putting out a
pretty-much-yearly 12 inch single (with b-side) centered around the Chinese “Year
of the ____” zodiac calendar. Starting
with Year of the Dog, these annual
releases usually go far beyond Fucked Up’s already bizarre musical purview,
regularly resulting in long instrumental sections, 15+ minute tracks, and esoteric
lyrical content. In other words, these
zodiac releases are where Fucked Up, an already weird and enigmatic band, gets
to be more bizarre than usual.
While some might find the above description
less-than-favourable, I actually mean it in the most endearing way. These ‘Year of the...’ releases often result
in some of the most interesting and enjoyable output by these Toronto
legends. While I regularly hunt down
each of these releases, Year of the Pig
has always held a special place in my musical heart. Not only was this the release that solidified
Fucked Up as one of my favourite all-time bands, but proved that you could add
melodic female vocals and piano interludes to a 18 minute song and still
rightfully call it ‘hardcore’.
The lyrical subject matter of the title track deals with
Robert Pickton (a notorious serial killer, who fed his prostitute victims to
his pigs to dispose of evidence) and the chronic mistreatment of sex workers in
Canada. With guest vocals by Jennifer
Castles (Castlemusic), the group is able to present a haunting and compelling
composition about an important and often overlooked social matter. It’s proof that there truly isn’t anything
that this band can’t do. Oh ya, and it’s
a 18 minute song that never gets boring, and I don’t think I’ve ever willingly
skipped over in favour of a shorter song....and this coming from a guy who
prefers grindcore and powerviolence to most other forms of music.
As if that wasn’t enough, the 12” single also comes with an
original b-side called “The Black Hats” which is a pleasant mix of old/hardcore
and new/progressive Fucked Up. In fact,
it’s one of those songs that I always secretly hope they play live and scream
myself horse whenever they do.
Do yourself a favour and pick up all of Fucked Up’s zodiac
records, but especially this one. Get it
here.
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