Album Details

• Artist: Eugene Robinson
• Album: Fight
• Label: Hydra Head
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2008-04-02

At what point after eight grade does "I'll kick your ass!" stop being a good worldview? At best,  further need to keep fighting might hint at some serious .....issues; at worst, it is the physical equivalent of saying "Oh yeah?" when in a verbal hassle. Many fight because they can do little else to get their point across. That goes both for mental midgets as well as those who have more sublime reasons. The Irish boxer Sean O'Grady once said that he fought because he couldn't write poems. As long histories of marital arts, war and street gangs show, violence does have a heart that beats for stronger fare than just a jugheaded grasping for articulation ; it speaks to the discipline and desperation that makes us not only all too human, but all too animal in disguise.

Eugene Robinson surely can do more than fight. As lead singer for noise/metal/free whatchamacallit mavens Oxbow, he presides over some of the most ferocious and fearless music being made. The band's live shows are infamous as much, however, for Robinson's frequent trips into the crowd to inflict GBH on fans as for the daring of the tunes. So why does Robinson, writer, editor, artist, love to fight? And love to brag about it to the point of overkill?

Robinson, despite his bluster, is much more than a brawler out to justify his warped need to fight. He acknowledges it's warped, but engages you with his side trips into the sublime.

This two disc set features readings from the book "Fight: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Ass-kicking, But Were Afraid You'd Get You Ass Kicked For Asking", with some music to liven things up. We learn about everything from street to prison fighting, from how to kick ass to how to avoid getting your ass kicked. Robinson is by turns boasting, empathetic, annoying and riveting. Your enjoyment of bits like "My Shrink Asks A Few Questions In A Thinly Veiled Attempt At Seeing If He's Got The Stones To Take Me On,"  "So: You've Been Stabbed" or "Jailhouse Rock & Ass Banditry" may depend on your experience or mood. "Fight" does not give an inch in its exploration of why guys love to fight, and love to tell about it even when they've been ass-whipped.

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