Day After Day #40: Waiting Room

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Waiting Room (1988)

When it comes to punk credibility, I have exactly zero. I grew up a suburban metalhead, about as uncool as it gets. I was one of those suburban dorks that Rush sang about in "Subdivisions. But as I grew older, I started expanding my musical world view. It actually started out pretty wide, contracted for a few years and then started to widen. 

My introduction to punk was the Clash's "Train in Vain," which got a decent amount of airplay in Toronto in '79-'80. And I saw a few things on TV about the Sex Pistols and punks in general, but at the time I thought they were dumb. Then I would hear bands like the Ramones and Suicidal Tendencies and dig them, and I eventually got into alternative/college rock, but I really didn't start listening to punk until after I graduated from college. 

That also coincided with my brother going to college in '89 and making me tapes of bands like Husker Du, Nirvana and Fugazi. I borrowed a bunch of CDs, including pretty much the entire Fugazi catalog to that point and that's when I really started doing deep dives. I didn't turn my back on mainstream music, but by '91, I stopped listening to metal and got into the heavier alternative and indie scene. It's not like I changed my lifestyle or anything: I was still living in the burbs and working as a reporter at a local newspaper. But I definitely enjoyed hearing bands sing about sticking it to the Man.

Fugazi came together in '86 in Washington, D.C., after legendary hardcore act Minor Threat broke up. Singer-guitarist Ian MacKaye started the band with Joe Lally on bass and Brendan Canty on drums, and later brought Guy Picciotto in at first to be a Flavor Flav-esque backup singer; eventually, Picciotto joined as a full-time member on vocals and guitar. The band released its self-titled EP, also known as 7 Songs, in November 1988 (it was later combined with the EP Margin Walker to form the 1989 release 13 Songs).

"Waiting Room" is the opening track on the debut EP and is probably the best-known song in the Fugazi catalog. It featured the band combining a lot of different influences, including funk, hip hop and ska, as well as their trademark post-hardcore punk fury. Lally starts the song with an insistent bass line before the drums and guitar kick in and then there's a pause before the band starts again. MacKaye sings about being patient and waiting for his opportunities before the band lurches into a thrashy racket at the 1-minute mark.

"I am a patient boy/I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait/My time is water down a drain/Everybody's moving Everybody's moving/Everything is moving/Moving, moving, moving/Please don't leave me to remain/In the waiting room."

With Picciotto egging him on, MacKaye resolves to get his act together. "But I don't sit idly by/I'm planning a big surprise/I'm gonna fight for what I want to be/And I won't make the same mistakes ('cause I know)/Because I know how much time that wastes (and function)/Function is the key/To the waiting room."

He wasn't kidding. Fugazi became the standard-bearers for DIY post-hardcore, releasing excellent albums like Repeater, Steady Diet of Nothing and In on the Kill Taker and touring relentlessly. They never jumped to a major label, staying on Dischord Records (the label run by MacKaye), and tried to keep prices down for concerts and albums. They didn't sell merch and would routinely stop concerts if attendees were fighting or slamming into others; I never saw them (regrettably) but good pal Dave Brigham has noted that the show interruptions bordered on the annoying at times. 

Fugazi went on hiatus after their 2002 tour. They've refused countless offers to reunite and play festivals and the like. The members have all played in various side projects. MacKaye has released albums with his wife Amy Farina in the Evens and most recently, Coriky. 

"Waiting Room" has been covered by numerous bands, including the Arcade Fire, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ryan Adams, Atom and His Package, and TV on the Radio. Often bands touring through Washington, D.C., will play the song. And I've even seen occasional clips of high school acapella groups singing it. 

"Waiting Room" is a song and Fugazi is a band that I'll never get sick of, no matter how many times I hear them.