Deathfix goes 5 for 20

When you’re an influential musician, people tend to ask you what you’ve been listening to lately. Here at 5 for 20, we’re just as keen to find out what records loom large in our favourite artists’ memory banks. So, we’re asking folks for their top five records of the last 20 years.

This week we hear from Deathfix, a Washington, D.C., band comprised of members of Fugazi, Medications and Bob Mould’s touring band. As we mentioned last month, Deathfix's new self-titled debut is out now on Dischord Records and their current tour finds them playing Toronto on March 12, Montreal on March 13 and Vancouver on March 21.

Originally, singer/guitarist Brendan Canty was going to give us his own personal 5 for 20 but, realizing that it wouldn’t properly reflect Deathfix, he changed his mind and recruited two of his four bandmates to join him with their own selections. So, in keeping with their democratic ideals, Deathfix gives us its 5 for 20.

Tortoise by Tortoise (1994)

“This is the record that connected all the dots for me,” drummer Devin Ocampo says. “Jazz, punk, art-rock, kraut, prog — it had everything. Having come from a punk
background, I had spent the early '90s feeling almost guilty for having such deep affection for jazz and '70s progressive rock. I longed for something that had more of a serious musical statement to match the power and raw emotion that punk had shown me."

“The moment that I heard the distorted AM radio-like production of the drum intro to ‘Magnet Pulls Through,’ I was hooked,” he continues. “Probably as responsible for my own drumming style as the Who records that I soaked up at a young age, this was an important album because it captured something new and yet familiar. It even sounded different than everything else and reminded me of recordings that I was able to get on my own, making it seem accessible and intimate at the same time. This record proved to me that it was possible to still be a punk and make thought-provoking music in any style.”

Dubnobasswithmyheadman by Underworld (1994)

“In the mid-'90s, Underworld dropped Dubnobasswithmyheadman,” keyboardist/vocalist Rich Morel recalls. “With a combination of stellar production and the mixing of acid house with techno/dub, Underworld defined the next five years of house."

“This record and the following single, ‘Born Slippy,’ made texture and emotion second to songwriting,” Morel explains. “In the process, they made electronic music both sexy and visceral. The lyrics become the beat and the beat becomes the message. Stunning. ‘Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You’ still sounds like heaven.”

“Music Sounds Better with You” by Stardust (1998)

“It was just a 12" single but what a single,” Morel gushes. “I still remember the first time I heard it. It was a one-off side project of Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter, Alan Braxe and vocalist Benjamin Diamond. It exploded in the same way that the Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations,’ New Order's ‘Blue Monday’ and the Smiths’ ‘How Soon is Now’ did. One of those music-defining singles that mark a change in both writing and production. With an over-compressed pumping mix, a quarter-note kick-drum fill and hyped funk guitar sample, they mixed the line ‘Ooo baby music sounds better with you.’"

“That simple lyric with the deep groove makes it a perfect love song,” he adds. “And if I remember correctly it also spawned the first white label mash-up with Madonna's ‘Holiday.' And all of this before music blogs.”

“I'm not mentioning Radiohead, who should be mentioned, as OK Computer really is the best record of the last 20 years,” Canty disclaims before offering up his contributions. “But I'm sure everyone has used that one.” [Editor's note: Yes, many people have.]

Dusk by The The (1993)

“This is the only one of their records that I could fit in the 20-year time span,” Canty says. “But I loved it nonetheless. Really, Matt Johnson's production ethic is really intoxicating. I really fell in love with them when they put out Infected and Mind Bomb and continued up to Dusk. Fugazi listened to Mind Bomb almost every day while making Repeater."

“I still go back and try to steal his ideas!” Canty adds. “Plus he kept Johnny Marr employed for a while, so you know he's got good taste!”

Punch-Drunk Love (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)by Jon Brion (2002)

“I picked this because I do a lot of soundtrack work and Jon Brion is my hero,” Canty explains. “This record has so many percussion freak outs next to Harry Nilsson remixes and atmospherics that all work together to create a mood of manic sentimentality. Hats off to PT Anderson as well.”