Let’s face it, liking a legendary group’s most popular song can make you come across as an unseasoned veteran of a band’s fandom. It’ll look like you just started listening to them last week when in reality you got into them a few months ago. That’s why claiming Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” is their best song is socially risky and a major anthropological faux pas. Luckily, we’ve compiled an esteemed list of tracks you can pretend to like better in order to score those precious Fugazi points we all strive for culturally. (Read along while listening to the playlist, click here)
30. “Bad Mouth” (1989)
The verse on “Bad Mouth” almost feels “Waiting Room” adjacent, so if you’re trying to distance yourself from Fugazi’s most heralded track, this might not be the best option for playing make believe. Too suspect for our purposes, but you could do worse.
29. “KYEO” (1991)
Many consider “A Steady Diet of Nothing” to be Fugazi’s weakest release, which means you can just write all the track names down on little pieces of paper, blindfold yourself, and throw a dart to pick which one is better than “Waiting Room.” We hit “KYEO” on our first try.
28. “Back to Base” (1995)
One of the most effective ways to find your favorite non “Waiting Room” track is to skim every song in their discography for a good 15 seconds to get the gist. That being said, one-seventh of this song definitely rules.
27. “Facet Squared” (1993)
We can thank bassist Joe Lally for presumably coming up with that catchy “Waiting Room” line. It’s so good it almost makes you want to check out their other stuff, like whatever this song is. Your friend that really hates the “Fast & Furious” franchise probably loves this song
26. “Bed For The Scraping” (1995)
One of the core tenets of Fugazi is that their shows only costs five bucks. If anything, this band should reunite so people can have an affordable thing to do on a Wednesday night. In the meantime, we will all have to pay $50 just for socializing outside and pretending “Bed For The Scraping” is their pinnacle. Thanks, Fugazi.
25. “Full Disclosure” (2001)
Many will tell you that Fugazi’s last album is their best, which is rare for a band with six studio albums and a bunch of EPs. This is not something you have to worry about though since we’re only pretending that this is their best release and not whichever one has “Waiting Room.”
24. “Turnover” (1990)
Like “Waiting Room,” this song is the first track on “Repeater.” If you’re trying to look like a real fan by knowing their lesser known songs, the ones that open an album are probably not your best bet. We’re trying to make our musical taste look sophisticated and refined here.
23. “Margin Walker” (1989)
Perhaps more importantly than pretending to like any song better than the main one is the ability to pronounce Guy Picciotto’s last name correctly. Be sure to work on that before starting any Fugazi-related conversations.
22. “Reclamation” (1991)
While we’re on the topic, you should also know that Guy was also in a band called Rites of Spring. That one is pronounced like “Rights of Spring,” presumably.
21. “Bulldog Front” (1989)
This song comes immediately after “Waiting Room” on their creatively titled compilation “13 Songs.” It’s a little too obvious for what we’re going for here, but it’s still better than looking like “that” guy during Fugazi-based discussions.
20. “Repeater” (1990)
This track has the same name as the album it’s on. There are probably more mysterious Fugazi songs to pretend you prefer more than “Waiting Room,” but it’s difficult to choose from looking at song titles alone. This one is still solid though.
19. “Cashout” (2001)
“Waiting Room” is the “Love Will Tear Us Apart” of Fugazi. Characteristically, to be a respected fan of a band, you want to avoid saying your favorite song is their most popular one. That’s why Nirvana’s best song is a demo version of a B-side that was an exclusive bootleg in Japan that only 12 people have actually heard, not “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
18. “Merchandise” (1990)
Fugazi was notoriously against selling merch, so you can’t even really buy a legit shirt of theirs to bypass listening to any of their actual music. Think about us posers for a change, Ian.
17. “Epic Problem” (2001)
Since Fugazi shirts don’t exist, the best you can do is write their band name on a Gildan and call it a day. They really dropped the ball by not having an iconic logo like the Misfits, so those of us that don’t know them can actually look like a fan to strangers by wearing their official apparel.
16. “Styrofoam” (1990)
People seem to love this album, but let’s face it, it’s difficult to make time to listen to all 40 minutes of it when you have all of these Spotify Daily Mixes to catch up on.
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