Steady Diet of Nothing
| Steady Diet of Nothing | ||||
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| Studio album by Fugazi | ||||
| Released | July 1991 | |||
| Recorded | January–February 1991 | |||
| Studio | Inner Ear Studios, Arlington, Virginia | |||
| Genre | Post-hardcore, alternative rock, experimental rock | |||
| Length | 36:20 | |||
| Label | Dischord | |||
| Producer | Fugazi | |||
| Fugazi chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| Robert Christgau |  |
| Spin |   |
| MusicHound | |
| Martin C. Strong | 7/10 |
| Stylus | (very favorable) |
Steady Diet of Nothing is the second full-length studio album by American post-hardcore band Fugazi, released in July, 1991. The title is an allusion to a quote by the late American stand-up comedian Bill Hicks.
Although well received and popular at the time of its release, Steady Diet is often overlooked by many music journalists when writing about Fugazi's career, but remains a favorite among fans of the band.
Steady Diet of Nothing was recorded during January and February 1991 at Inner Ear Studios and is notable for being the group's first self-produced release. As a result of not having an outside producer besides engineer Don Zientara, the album's recording and mixing sessions were tough on the band. Guy Picciotto said of making the record, "[it] was a tough record for us to make. It was our first attempt at producing and mixing by ourselves, and we didn’t feel like we had a really good handle, technically, on what we wanted to do. And we were also pretty fried from a shitload of back-to-back touring. I appreciate Steady Diet for a lot of things, but there was a flatness to both the performances and the sound that was weird to us." Singer/guitarist Ian MacKaye explained, "It was like we were walking on eggshells, trying not to offend each other. No one would say, "Turn your guitar down," or, "Turn the drums down." So we ended up getting a democratic mix, and a lot of times democratic mixes equal bad mixes. And I feel Steady Diet is a classic example of us being very conservative, although a lot of people think it's our best record."
The lyrical content of Steady Diet is more overtly political than any other record Fugazi has released. This is most evident on "Dear Justice Letter" which was inspired by Supreme Court liberal stalwart William J. Brennan, who had recently retired. While obviously emotional, the language of the "letter" is more than a little obscure. Brennan's politics and defense of individual rights were largely quite in tune with Fugazi's so "Dear...", on one level, can be read as a rant against abandonment of duty to the liberal block of the Supreme Court. "Here comes the kiss off.."
The band addressed the subject of personal freedom on "Reclamation" and Ian also dedicated "KYEO" to Rodney King during the 'Steady Diet' tour.
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