FUGS FILM: An Unofficial Soundtrack

Had an opportunity to see the new documentary Fugs Film, and it was fuggin' fantastic. It chronicles their beginnings on the Lower East Side in the early 1960's, and the formative inspiration to fuse poetry with rock & roll.  Free speech, free love, peace, psychedelics, and revolution were also fundamental Fugs values.  

They were primitive noisemakers and rabble-rousers on their earliest LP's, but the Fugs quickly evolved to incorporate more accomplished musicianship and sophisticated arrangements (sometimes still in service to the crude humor that first brought them notoriety).  There was also an omnivorous intellect at work that made fans of Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsburg, William S. Burroughs, Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Robert Crumb, Harry Smith, Lenny Kaye, and the Beatles.

Everything the Fugs released between 1965 and 1968 is essential listening, and many of their best-loved songs are featured in the film.  The documentary is also an opportunity to learn more about the members of the band as individuals, which in turn adds greater significance to songs like "Morning Morning", "The Garden Is Open" and "When The Mode Of The Music Changes".  It's a deeply moving and inspiring film.  

The documentary isn't just about the band; it's also about a period of incredible sociopolitical and cultural upheaval.  The Fugs were rooted in the Beat Poets, the Lenny Bruce obscenity trial, the Greenwich Village folk scene, the antiwar movement, the Sexual Revolution, drug culture, Dada, the Diggers, hippies, yippies, peaceniks, freaks, and the freedom to say Fuck You to any and every figure of authority -- from your parents all the way to the Pentagon.

Just as I did after watching the documentary about The Embarrassment, I made a list of all the songs that I remember hearing in Fugs Film and assembled an unofficial soundtrack.  If the Fugs are new to you (and especially if you get the chance to see the documentary), I recommend listening to the music first, as it will enhance your enjoyment of the film.  The last song (Greenwich Village Of My Dreams) is from 2010's Be Free: The Fugs Final CD Part 2.

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB:  Fuck You: A Magazine of the Arts.