I did a post on these guys a long time ago. I've decided to redo it, after finding a much higher quality video, plus adding some different commentary. If you don't like repeats, all I can say is, "Oh, well".
Before there was Nirvana, around the time Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, and other "alternative rock bands" were just beginning to be heard, there was Faith No More. Their first major label release, The Real Thing, managed to do well thanks to a popular video on MTV for the song "Epic", complete with a flopping goldfish out of water. Musically, however, this band had so much to offer. I think they were the best band to emerge in the late 1980's, and had radio, MTV, and the public paid attention to their second release (Angel Dust), they might have ushered in the end of crappy music far sooner than early 1992. Their mix of rap, heavy metal, funky grooves with a reggae-inspired drummer (complete with dreadlocks!) kept the music jumping and the listener guessing. Lyrically, their songs were far more intelligent than anything else that was "popular" at the time. Even their most popular song, "Epic", was an enigma to most listeners, even asking "What is it?" in the chorus.
The title track to the release is the most powerful description of heroin addiction I have ever heard. The music works with the lyrics, the opening bass glissando mimicking the insertion of a needle and the injection of drugs. It is not a "pro-drug" song by any means; it is just clear in its description of what it is like to be a junkie, including the constant belief that someday the monkey will leave one's back, and the final truth that it ends in death. Not cheery stuff, but the source of one of my favorite songs of all time. If you are interested, the lyrics appear below the embed.
I know the feeling
It is the real thing
The essence of the truth
The perfect moment
That golden moment
I know you feel it too
I know the feeling
It is the real thing
You can't refuse the embrace...
It's like the pattern below the skin
You gotta reach out and pull it all in
And you feel like you're too close
So you swallow another dose
The pinnacle of happiness
Filling up your soul
You don't think you can take any more
You never wanna let go
To touch the roots of experience
The most basic ingredients
To see the unseen glitter of life
And feel the dirt, grief, anger and strife
Cherish the certainly of now
It kills you a bit at a time
Cradle the inspiration
It will leave you writhing on the floor...
This is so unreal, what I feel
This nourishment, life is bent
Into a shape I can hold
A twist of fate, all my own
Just grit your teeth, make no sound
Take a step away and look around
Just clench your fist and close your eyes
Look deep inside, hypnotize
The whisper is but a shout
That's what it is all about
Yes, the ecstasy, you can pray
You will never let it slip away
Like the sacred song that someone sings through you
Like the flesh so warm that the thorn sticks into
Like the dream you know one day will come to life
Try to hold on just a little longer, stronger
It's the jewel of victory
The chasm of misery
And once you have bitten the core
You will always know the flavor
The split second of divinity
You drink up the sky
All of heaven is in your arms
You know the reason why
It's right there, all by itself
And what you are, there is nothing else
You're growing a life within a life
The lips of wonder kiss you inside
And when it's over the feeling remains
It all comes down to this
The smoke clears, I see what it is
That made me feel this way...
This is so unreal, what I feel
Flood, sell your soul, feel the blood
Pump through your veins, can't explain
The element that's everything
Just clench your fist and close your eyes
Look deep inside, hypnotize
Yes, the ecstasy, you can pray
You will never let it slip away
Like the echoes of your childhood laughter, ever after
Like the first time love urged you to take it's guidance, in silence
Like your heartbeat when you realize you're dying, but you're trying
Like the way you cry for a happy ending, ending...
I know
