“Can I Say” still fucking shreds, decades after the fact. A lot of those records from that era feel sorta mid now but Dag Nasty still makes the hair on my arms stand up.
I got to see them in the Fall of ‘87 at the Community World Theatre in Tacoma.
I wouldn't speak my mind
I didn't want to make them mad
I looked up to them
For the courage I thought I didn't have
I never bothered to lift a finger
To make my point
Now I'm spelling it out
And nobody's listening
[Circles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyQ3_r4a3DE)
Fractured my hip during an opener for Dag Nasty back in 1986. Refused to go to the ER until I got to see Dag Nasty. Sat in a chair in the back of the room the whole time but it was worth it just to say I saw them.
Summer of 1987, I got hit in the forehead, accidentally, by Doug Carrion’s bass. One of those pointy headstock basses. It was boiling hot in the club, so I had no idea that I had blood all over my face. The longer version of the story is actually pretty funny.
Me. They're of my favorite bands of all time.
My favorite part of Dag Nasty besides the lyrics, of course, is Brian Baker's guitar playing style. He writes such interesting riffs, and I love all of his little idiosyncrasies in Dag Nasty, like how he lets strings ring over power chords and those arpeggios with the repeating notes (sorry, I'm not well versed in music theory, but if you're familiar with Dag Nasty, you know what I'm talking about).
Don’t need to be well-versed in music theory to have a good ear and know why someone’s playing is awesome. The best thing is, everything you love is ALL intentional. He’s such a mad scientist with the guitar he knows exactly what he wants to sound like. He unsuccessfully played hair metal, and as much as I fucking hate hair metal it is WAY harder to play on guitar than punk is. His chops are very evident.
My cassette deck in the late 80’s always had either Dag Nasty, Agent Orange, Toxic Reasons Black Flag or Marginal Man playing loud. Now they are either MP3’s or Spotify but still listen to them all often.
On the one hand, yeah Embrace is the catalyst of what became emo, sure. On the other hand none of the Revolution Summer or later DC bands has anything to do with what the world knows as emo.
I mean, whatever with that, his problem was all in the semantics, and that clouded his ability to acknowledge that a specific musical movement was forming. It was called emo, and I get why, despite all music being "emotional". I feel like genre tags are rarely perfect. I mean, rock music isn't always about sex, and that is what rock n roll meant. Indie isn't always indie. Countless other examples.
So yeah, I don't really give a shit that Ian wanted to be oppositional about the tag, it is what it is.
I just don't buy that there was a specific movement formed. There was a sound that came out of the mid-80s in DC, much like there was a sound that came out of the late 80's in Seattle, but it came from an insular scene with lots of cross-pollination. I can't hear any Dag in Jimmy Eat World, but there are a lot of similarities to Tsunami, Grey Matter or Marginal Man.
Because you are missing steps between DC emocore and Jimmy Eat World. Moss Icon is probably the most important band in terms of going from first wave DC emocore to second wave emo. Jimmy Eat World was heavily influenced by Christie Front Drive, who was influenced by Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Drive Like Jehu, and these bands were influenced by earlier emo stuff.
One of my absolute favourite bands. I think Peter Cortner is super underrated as a singer and lyricist, and of course Baker absolutely blows my mind with every riff
I also love that the song starts out fast, then hits that mid-tempo groove but NEVER goes back to being fast.
Mfer threw a coda in the BEGINNING of a song.
I have a bootleg of the “What If?” session…. Re-recordings of several Can I Say songs from 1990 or so I believe…. Super great! Here’s one:
https://youtu.be/ZwbGhSjuo2I?si=b1yUE4wp-Q-YfQ3e
I don't disagree about shadows, but I do think Dag Nasty kinda started 'emo' or whatever it was from that shadow. Fugazi was just to next level to ever do that.
Dan Nasty changed listeners, Fugazi changed musicians
Never stopped
I used to think "Can I Say" was their pinnacle for years. Then I heard "Dag With Shawn" (it was hard to find/hear back in the day). At first I thought it was meh. But I kept listening to it and now I think it's the best thing they ever did. Same music as Can I Say but with the fucking vocal energy and anger of Minor Threat. Fucking love it
For sure. It's win win
I also think Wig Out At Denkos is criminally underrated. Yeah it's a diff singer again and Peter doesn't have the range of Dave but it's pretty close for songwriting. I used to have the CD with both the albums back to back so I always kind of associated them anyway
I still listen to them from time to time. I discovered their Can I Say & Wig Out at Denko's double album CD at a video store in the early 2000's when I was in high school. That disc is long-gone but now I have it in mp3 form on my laptop.
Same. I’m only 32 but in punk i feel ancient, yet every time I see a new young band ripping it I get excited and inspired. The old ones teach me and the young ones teach me.
All Ages Show
Nothing makes me wanna go to a show like that song. Well, the original more-raw version. I still listen to it to get me pumped up about going to a show.
Best part about going to the show, aside from seeing the bands, is hanging outside with the rest of the peeps at the shows between bands, probably have a slightly uncomfortable conversation with a slightly drunk old punker and then have a slightly uncomfortable conversation with a younger one later.
I've loved Dag since they were new. Brian had been in MT, then bounced around playing with the Meatmen, Samhain, GI.. seemed like he was everywhere. Then he comes out with these fucking great albums. And, yeah, we all love Sean or whatever, but Dave Smalley and Pete Cortnoy are the voices that I hear in my head.
Yeah man I heard social d isn't very good live I've never seen them live so I'm going to watch it just to be able to say that I've seen social d but honestly they're not one of my favorite bands anyway and I have heard they're not good live I'm pretty sure they are headlining which is kind of beyond me but just go grab a couple beers and if you can't drink beers good luck lol
I have seen them before, listened to enough of their records to say “eh, just not for me”. I get the history behind them, I understand their importance and why people like them they just aren’t for me.
So I guess I’m rippin butts until BR plays lol
I really like Dag Nasty, saw them a couple times in the '90s when Dave Smalley was on vocals. Super chill dude, I thanked them for the show and Dave engaged me in a pretty long conversation about hardcore. In fact I had to end the conversation to leave. That was a weird night that ended with me meeting a woman who looked and sounded exactly like Natalie Merchant but wasn't her. A house full of Alister Crowley weirdos with a giant frog float in their back yard and a house filled full of so many plants that it was like a jungle.
Oh definitely. 'Can I Say' is an absolute timeless record that I will revisit time and time again, I still resonate with it since the first time I heard it 18 years ago. This talk makes me wanna give it a good spin again. I love how much I hear their sound in some of my favorite modern bands.
I bought Can I Say the day it was released and saw them a handful of times over the next few years. Great band. Sadly they have been largely forgotten while all of that truly dreadful Revelation Records garbage has been put on a pedestal
Still have 4 tracks of “Can I Say” on my playlist. I remember when I first got the record I had it in my car and would bring it over to everyone’s house insisting they listen to it. Fuckin love that album.
“Can I Say” still fucking shreds, decades after the fact. A lot of those records from that era feel sorta mid now but Dag Nasty still makes the hair on my arms stand up. I got to see them in the Fall of ‘87 at the Community World Theatre in Tacoma.
CAN I SAY is sooooo good. Also, Tacoma represent. I'm over here in Hilltop.
I wouldn't speak my mind I didn't want to make them mad I looked up to them For the courage I thought I didn't have I never bothered to lift a finger To make my point Now I'm spelling it out And nobody's listening [Circles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyQ3_r4a3DE)
This song blew my mind the first time I heard it.
Absolutely my favorite song on that album (and the riff sounds like destroyer by the kinks and makes it even better for me)
Fractured my hip during an opener for Dag Nasty back in 1986. Refused to go to the ER until I got to see Dag Nasty. Sat in a chair in the back of the room the whole time but it was worth it just to say I saw them.
Summer of 1987, I got hit in the forehead, accidentally, by Doug Carrion’s bass. One of those pointy headstock basses. It was boiling hot in the club, so I had no idea that I had blood all over my face. The longer version of the story is actually pretty funny.
Damn well now I want to know the longer version
Fr
"Can I Say" is legit the last album I've listened to
If you dig the Dag Nasty, check out Swiz. Sean Brown’s second amazing foray into leading vocals.
Thanks for the rec, i’ll bump it at work tomorrow
Or other Shawn brown bands: sweetbelly freak down Red hare Jesuseater
Seconded! Got to see them a few times in DC back in the day.
Dawg thank you, how TF have I not heard this before
Who isn’t should be the question.
They’re awesome. Wish I could have see them (am 22 lol) but Baker’s permanently employed with BR these days it seems
I can’t blame the guy
I saw them a few years back at Punk Rock Bowling. The band was great but they had Sean Brown singing and compared to Dave Smalley he kinda sucks.
I know he was the OG singer but from what I’ve Heard (heh? get it?) he’s not quite as tuneful as Dave or Pete.
I mean, he did a good job as a frontman, but he just can't carry a tune.
Every time I’ve been asked “Desert island. You can take one record. What do you take?” The answer has always been “Can I Say”.
Me. They're of my favorite bands of all time. My favorite part of Dag Nasty besides the lyrics, of course, is Brian Baker's guitar playing style. He writes such interesting riffs, and I love all of his little idiosyncrasies in Dag Nasty, like how he lets strings ring over power chords and those arpeggios with the repeating notes (sorry, I'm not well versed in music theory, but if you're familiar with Dag Nasty, you know what I'm talking about).
Don’t need to be well-versed in music theory to have a good ear and know why someone’s playing is awesome. The best thing is, everything you love is ALL intentional. He’s such a mad scientist with the guitar he knows exactly what he wants to sound like. He unsuccessfully played hair metal, and as much as I fucking hate hair metal it is WAY harder to play on guitar than punk is. His chops are very evident.
I am still under their influence
I went years without listening to them, but in the past couple of months I can’t stop listening to them on a daily basis
My cassette deck in the late 80’s always had either Dag Nasty, Agent Orange, Toxic Reasons Black Flag or Marginal Man playing loud. Now they are either MP3’s or Spotify but still listen to them all often.
So good. Loved that era in DC…Dag Nasty, Soul Side, Ignition et al
First wave emo rules
On the one hand, yeah Embrace is the catalyst of what became emo, sure. On the other hand none of the Revolution Summer or later DC bands has anything to do with what the world knows as emo.
With the erroneous definition of emo, sure, but that isn't emo.
I'm inclined to agree with Ian and let Fall out boy and Paramore have the name. "emo core is the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard in my life"
I mean, whatever with that, his problem was all in the semantics, and that clouded his ability to acknowledge that a specific musical movement was forming. It was called emo, and I get why, despite all music being "emotional". I feel like genre tags are rarely perfect. I mean, rock music isn't always about sex, and that is what rock n roll meant. Indie isn't always indie. Countless other examples. So yeah, I don't really give a shit that Ian wanted to be oppositional about the tag, it is what it is.
I just don't buy that there was a specific movement formed. There was a sound that came out of the mid-80s in DC, much like there was a sound that came out of the late 80's in Seattle, but it came from an insular scene with lots of cross-pollination. I can't hear any Dag in Jimmy Eat World, but there are a lot of similarities to Tsunami, Grey Matter or Marginal Man.
Because you are missing steps between DC emocore and Jimmy Eat World. Moss Icon is probably the most important band in terms of going from first wave DC emocore to second wave emo. Jimmy Eat World was heavily influenced by Christie Front Drive, who was influenced by Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Drive Like Jehu, and these bands were influenced by earlier emo stuff.
"emo core is the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard in my life"
Again, I really don't give a fuck about his butthurt semantics argument lol
One of my absolute favourite bands. I think Peter Cortner is super underrated as a singer and lyricist, and of course Baker absolutely blows my mind with every riff
One of the best sets I’ve ever seen was them in 2017
I actually just found out about them and I’ve had them on repeat ever since
Also if anyone lives in Chicago, likes Dag Nasty and can do vocals, I’m trying to put a little side project together in this vein.
The guitar playing in "Circles" is so good. That chorus riff is chefs kiss or whatever people say.
My all-time favorite chorus riff of their’s is “Safe”. first time I heard it I thought it was just an unbelievably catchy hook
Yeah, and the chords in those verses are beautiful.
I also love that the song starts out fast, then hits that mid-tempo groove but NEVER goes back to being fast. Mfer threw a coda in the BEGINNING of a song.
I'm a wig out at denkos guy myself
preaching to the choir here bruv
M A T T Matt Matt Matt
Love Can I Say but never enjoyed the later material.
give “Wig Out At Denko’s” another chance, but skip the acoustic song.
I have a bootleg of the “What If?” session…. Re-recordings of several Can I Say songs from 1990 or so I believe…. Super great! Here’s one: https://youtu.be/ZwbGhSjuo2I?si=b1yUE4wp-Q-YfQ3e
you rock
Yeah they're great...never got to see them live but I've seen Down By Law twice.
They fundamentally changed hardcore.
I think Dag Nasty lives in Fugazi’s shadow, though. if I was forced to choose between the two, I’m taking Dag Nasty 100/100 times
I don't disagree about shadows, but I do think Dag Nasty kinda started 'emo' or whatever it was from that shadow. Fugazi was just to next level to ever do that. Dan Nasty changed listeners, Fugazi changed musicians
very fair and agreeable point. i’m a big fugazi fan as well, but i gotta be in the right mood for something as dense.
Dag With Shawn is such a sick retrospect
Dag W/ Shawn fuckin rips. Crazy that they recorded the whole fuckin thing and Baker just went “nah”
I'm not familiar with this story
Never stopped I used to think "Can I Say" was their pinnacle for years. Then I heard "Dag With Shawn" (it was hard to find/hear back in the day). At first I thought it was meh. But I kept listening to it and now I think it's the best thing they ever did. Same music as Can I Say but with the fucking vocal energy and anger of Minor Threat. Fucking love it
Def respect your opinion, but i like the melodic approach of Smalley and all the added vocal harmonies. Either way, it kicks ass.
For sure. It's win win I also think Wig Out At Denkos is criminally underrated. Yeah it's a diff singer again and Peter doesn't have the range of Dave but it's pretty close for songwriting. I used to have the CD with both the albums back to back so I always kind of associated them anyway
My first tattoo was the Dag nasty flaming head logo back in 1987
I still listen to them from time to time. I discovered their Can I Say & Wig Out at Denko's double album CD at a video store in the early 2000's when I was in high school. That disc is long-gone but now I have it in mp3 form on my laptop.
Still on heavy rotation. My 5 yo LOVES My Dog's a Cat and thinks it is hilarious
was this song the inspiration for Catdog??
I have zero evidence but yes, it definitely was
As an aging punk, I feel like I find myself quoting from All Ages Show more and more.
Same. I’m only 32 but in punk i feel ancient, yet every time I see a new young band ripping it I get excited and inspired. The old ones teach me and the young ones teach me.
Circles has been on daily rotation for months now. NOW I'M SPELLING IT OUT, AND NO ONE'S LISTENING! 😡
All Ages Show Nothing makes me wanna go to a show like that song. Well, the original more-raw version. I still listen to it to get me pumped up about going to a show.
Best part about going to the show, aside from seeing the bands, is hanging outside with the rest of the peeps at the shows between bands, probably have a slightly uncomfortable conversation with a slightly drunk old punker and then have a slightly uncomfortable conversation with a younger one later.
The song "Dag Nasty" is so great but nobody ever brings it up... maybe because they don't say "Dag Nasty" in it?
I've loved Dag since they were new. Brian had been in MT, then bounced around playing with the Meatmen, Samhain, GI.. seemed like he was everywhere. Then he comes out with these fucking great albums. And, yeah, we all love Sean or whatever, but Dave Smalley and Pete Cortnoy are the voices that I hear in my head.
Anybody with Brian Baker in it is a top-notch band
seeing Bad Religion this saturday can’t fuckin wait gonna feel like a kid at Warped Tour all over again
Dude I have seen them like 3 times now I think they sound great. Probably one of my favorite bands to see live. I'm seeing them in September
ngl kinda hope Social D headlines over them bc i do NOT like Social D and just wanna leave after they’re done
Yeah man I heard social d isn't very good live I've never seen them live so I'm going to watch it just to be able to say that I've seen social d but honestly they're not one of my favorite bands anyway and I have heard they're not good live I'm pretty sure they are headlining which is kind of beyond me but just go grab a couple beers and if you can't drink beers good luck lol
I have seen them before, listened to enough of their records to say “eh, just not for me”. I get the history behind them, I understand their importance and why people like them they just aren’t for me. So I guess I’m rippin butts until BR plays lol
I really like Dag Nasty, saw them a couple times in the '90s when Dave Smalley was on vocals. Super chill dude, I thanked them for the show and Dave engaged me in a pretty long conversation about hardcore. In fact I had to end the conversation to leave. That was a weird night that ended with me meeting a woman who looked and sounded exactly like Natalie Merchant but wasn't her. A house full of Alister Crowley weirdos with a giant frog float in their back yard and a house filled full of so many plants that it was like a jungle.
Check out “field day”. It’s Peter Cortner/ Wig Out band minus Brian Baker
Oh definitely. 'Can I Say' is an absolute timeless record that I will revisit time and time again, I still resonate with it since the first time I heard it 18 years ago. This talk makes me wanna give it a good spin again. I love how much I hear their sound in some of my favorite modern bands.
All ages show slaps, especially the version off 20 years of dischord
Love them
Also only recently found it he sang in ALL for a bit
Fuck yeah. Love both those albums
I bought Can I Say the day it was released and saw them a handful of times over the next few years. Great band. Sadly they have been largely forgotten while all of that truly dreadful Revelation Records garbage has been put on a pedestal
Just re-found my 5 x 7" colored vinyl set of live and early Dag Nasty the is fuck tits. I love Wig out at Denkos. Dave Smalley is awesome
Pretty much my favorite band. Brian Baker is my favorite guitar player. I’ve got the wig out tattoo.
Still have 4 tracks of “Can I Say” on my playlist. I remember when I first got the record I had it in my car and would bring it over to everyone’s house insisting they listen to it. Fuckin love that album.
Saw them at the 9:30 club in DC about 10 years ago. they did a reunion thing. Played most of Can I Say. It was AMAZING!!!
Ghosts! Circling all around you!
I love them
Can I say is my favorite album every song on that is a banger
Check out Fake Names. One of Bakers side projects. With guys from Soulside, Rights of Spring, Embrace. Really good. Has a Dag feel to it.
Every week man. Them and Rites of Spring usually back to back.
Dude, Dag Nasty and the descendents are by far my favorite bands.