Why isn’t every Led Zeppelin lover in the world all over this masterpiece.  Issued in 1998 after the well received collaboration No Quarter (also awesome!).  Jimmy Page and Robert Plant take the idea a step further and begin writing more new material, much of it pretty great.  The rhythm section is adept, the drummer hitting hard and bass player leaving plenty of space.  Which leaves a wide open stage for the skeleton of Led Zeppelin to show its bones.  The riffing is classic and the vocals are expressive and Steve Albini’s production captures every detail.  This is future blues played by old metal wizards…you need this.

November 13, 2009

The Daily Swarm Interview: Steve Albini on Recording 2,000 Albums, Nirvana, How Geffen Tried to Put Him Out of Business, & Disregarding the Listening Audience… ‘I’ll Literally Work With Anybody’…

Steve Albini is likely your favorite rock band’s favorite producer. However, you better not call him a producer as he prefers to receive no credit on album sleeves or if he is required to be credited at all, he simply prefers “recording engineer.” Also, despite common industry practice, Albini accepts no royalties for his contributions.

Nonetheless, since he began recording in the late 1970s, artists have flocked to him to make albums with a visceral sonic impact that they can’t seem to get with anyone else. By his own estimation he has recorded nearly two thousand albums including some of the most influential music by Nirvana, Pixies and PJ Harvey, plus classic albums from Urge Overkill, Pussy Galore, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Breeders, Jesus Lizard, Superchunk, Jawbreaker, Pansy Division, Oxbow, Neurosis, High On Fire, Will Oldham, Robbie Fulks, Dirty Three, The Ex, Gogol Bordello, Mogwai, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Electrelane and Cheap Trick, plus the most recent records for Mono, Om, The Stooges, Joanna Newsom, Manic Street Preachers and Jarvis Cocker.

50 Ft Queenie – PJ Harvey

He got his start as a punk rock fanzine writer and to this day he continues to be an outspoken presence in the music press. Meanwhile, he has also been a member of such controversial bands as Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac in addition to currently running his own recording studio, Electrical Audio, based in Chicago.

The Daily Swarm: It’s been known that you don’t like to be called a producer. Yet even if you don’t consider yourself actually to be one, how would you define what a record producer actually does and how does it differ from what you do?

Steve Albini: The technical job description of what a record producer does is the guy that makes the final procedural and creative decisions in making a record. In my case, the band I’m working with makes those decisions.

In a conventional producer arrangement, the producer would be making the decisions regarding play it faster, play it louder, let’s put fiddles on it, change that part, add another chorus, crap like that. I’m not smart enough to make those types of changes in other peoples music. I’m barely capable of making decisions regarding my own music. I don’t adopt that kind of responsibility. I feel I would do a bad job if I did and also I feel like it’s presumptuous for anybody to tell a band what their music should sound like.

Did you ever try to act as the traditional producer and it not work out?

Uh, no. I haven’t actually tried to do that. I guess when I first started I may have been a little more headstrong so I may have been a little more snide in the studio and that might have had a chilling effect, which might have turned into a production effect by default.

There have been some instances when a band has been in a complete quandary on how to finish something and everyone in the room is spouting off suggestions off the top of their heads and I’ll join in just like the wives and girlfriends. I have an opinion just like anyone else but it’s not an ambition of mine to put my fingerprints on other people’s records. I have my own band and if I want to express myself I have that as an avenue.

Has there ever been a problem when an artist really wanted your continual guidance on a record and you were not willing to offer it?

There are some people who are used to being bossed around and those that are simply neophytes in the studio. In both of those cases, I find that if you demonstrate some options or talk about some possibilities, they can always come to a conclusion on their own.

However, even as an engineer, some people believe that you do in fact have a signature sound. Do you think you have a signature sound and if so and how would you describe it?

It’s a bit of misnomer since I’ve worked with quite a few bands that have similar aesthetics so it sort of makes sense those bands will gravitate toward similar sonics. If those records have anything in common you can hear a natural relationship between the instruments where you can imagine a live performance. Quiet things sound quiet, loud things sound loud, drum kits sound like drum kits, guitars sound like guitars, singers sound like singers. So I guess it’s about a lack of stylization.

I understand there is an aesthetic of abstraction that some people want to bring to bear on their music and I’m comfortable with that but I feel like it’s applied externally to a lot of music where it’s inappropriate. A lot of bands left to their own devices would not have records that are as abstract as they end up with.

In a lot cases, I find bands have to justify their own aesthetic within their own records and I find that offensive. When a band goes into the rehearsal room and works on their music everyday for a year they are making a lot of concrete decisions on what their music sounds like. I feel those decisions have merit and ought to be reflected in the band’s record. And when the production is brought to bear on it in a way that thwarts those decisions in favor of a stylized version of it, some abstraction of it, everyone involved is being cheated.

So do you require a band be well rehearsed before they come in the studio with you?

No. I’m comfortable making any kind of a record. If a band wants to come in and fly by the seat of their pants and knock shit off the top of their head, that’s totally fine by me. I don’t have an absolute of what constitutes a good or bad record. I have a very wide window of acceptability.

Some of my favorite records in fact are total train wrecks. They are records that are a product of a sort of mania. I enjoy the open frame of mind that allows things like that to happen.

Hellbound – The Breeders

Lots of people travel to record with you in Chicago but you also travel around the world to other studios to work. How important is the studio environment in your process?

The biggest consideration regarding a studio is that the technical capabilities of a studio affect what’s possible. I’ve gone on record as saying if I have working tape machine and a band that has their shit together, I could make a record in a coalmine because the studio is not a limiting factor.

But there are a lot of studios where the fuckin’ tape machine doesn’t work, the mic lines are half kaput or the console is on the fritz. I do find myself in some very famous studios wondering where they get the balls to charge money for a bunch of broken down shit.

How far do you go to make a band comfortable in the studio?

The majority of the bands I work with are independent bands and don’t have to be pampered. They don’t have the budgets to blow and they are more concerned with getting the job done efficiently and expediently. Creature comforts be damned.

Most of the time I feel like people are most comfortable if you are honest with them. They can tell if you are concerned with getting the job done rather trying to establish dominance.

You make it clear that they have to hold up their end and you’re going to hold up your end. What makes bands comfortable is not being bullshitted.

In my experience if the band has good sightlines and a good headphone mix and can play normally and naturally then they will be comfortable. Shit like whether there is incense burning or mood lights that’s Hollywood and that doesn’t have anything to do with making a record.

However, I have heard people make an argument for the “vibe” aspect. But if you think of the records that have super-heavy vibe like Beatles records and Pink Floyd records and Studio One Jamaica records, people wearing neckties and lab coats made those records on the clock 9–5 under fluorescent lights. There is no vibe external to the band or the music. The band brings the vibe with them.

How has your experience being in a band informed your abilities recording other people’s bands?

By me having been in a band I totally understand the internal band dynamics. I totally understand that the new guy is gonna be kind of ginger about voicing his opinion but he might very well have a perspective that’s valid one because he’s a fan of the band first.

And just the day-to-day slog of being in a band. I’ve had to haul my shit up the stairs for the opening slot gig and then haul it back down and go to work in the morning.

I feel like my sympathies being with the band go a long way towards me helping bands get to where they want to go in the studio because they don’t have to explain much to me. On first listen I get it.

You’ve been making your own music while simultaneously helping other people with their records. What motivated you to want to help people with their careers while yours was in progress?

Nobody ever thought of it as a career when I first got into a band. Nobody had any commercial aspirations. I was participating in ‘band culture.’ It was a social thing like being on a bowling team. The same way that if I friend was having a cookout and needed to borrow your grill, of course you’d let him borrow your grill and of course you’d go to the cookout and of course he’d offer you a hot dog.

How did you get start recording bands?

I got recording in the late 1970s when I was in garage band in Montana and we wanted to make a demo recording of ourselves and somebody had to figure out how to do that. I knew that the guitar shop would rent a 4-track machine for $25 for the weekend. So I screwed my balls on and I rented the 4-track machine and I starting to learn how to use it.

Once my band had made a demo, I moved to Chicago and I was comfortable with how to do that and then I started doing it for all my friend’s bands. It was a very natural development for me. I never had aspirations to run a recording studio, to be an engineer or to have this be a profession.

Shortly after leaving college, I had a regular straight job. I’ve always had sort or straight job in addition to being band member. I was able to buy a house and as a matter of convenience I built a rehearsal room in the basement of that house for my band, and then as an extension of that I built a small recording studio.

Once I had done it, it become more useful for other bands as well. And once it became useful to other bands and it began to eat more of my time. Eventually it generated enough money that it allowed me to create a business and move the studio out of my house to where it is today.

Without any aspirations to make music a career, is the way your career has turned out something that you’re happy with?

Well I put a stick in the sand 14 years ago when I bought my studio. I kind of committed. I said for the next 20–25 years I’m gonna be here doing this. So once I committed to doing that, it would cease to matter if I had any regrets, so I decided I wouldn’t have any.

However, I don’t consider myself to be a particular good businessman. I don’t like being responsible for having to generate thirty grand a month to pay the costs of running this business and it weighs very heavily on me. If we don’t do well, the employees here might not be able to make their rent and the bank will come take all of out stuff and I don’t like that aspect.

But in terms of the process of making records, I couldn’t be happier. The kinds of bands I get to work with cover a wide margin of styles. Generally speaking, musicians are the nicest people you encounter in the music scene. There’s a great satisfaction that comes with working on something that is someone else’s fondest dream. Like getting to see somebody realize his life’s ambition is really a satisfying thing. There’s something really gratifying about being part of that. That will never get old and I’ll never tire of that.

Just being in the company and culture of bands, I feel like they’re my comrades and we’re all sort of brothers in arms in this culture war. The fact that I can still do it and it still gives me the same sense of community is a worthwhile thing.

Was there an artist or recording that inspired you to make music your life?

I did have a light bulb moment when listening to the Ramones as a teenager. It was kind of a slow motion epiphany. It took about two weeks of constant immersion with the first Ramones record when I realized virtually any kind of music could be made incredible. That record was really a defining artifact of my mental state.

Chain Saw – The Ramones

When I first heard the first Ramones record I thought it was hilarious. It seemed like an inept band trying to play bubblegum music. The more I listened to it the more I realized it was actually its own unique thing and not only that, it was probably the best record ever.

That’s when I realized it was possible to make something that was both absurd and awesome and in the process carve out a unique space. I think that gave me a lot of confidence to do things my own way in the future.

I’ve read that you’ve recorded around 2000 albums. To prevent burnout do you ever take a few months off?

I don’t have that luxury. The bills don’t stop coming if I decide I’m tired. If you hold your breath and dive under water and you have to pick something up off the bottom of the pool, you can’t think I’d like to take a breath right now. It’s just not a possibility so it doesn’t cross your mind.

Steve Albini’s Blues – Songs:O…

However, a few years ago we decided that I was going to take one day off a week so I no longer work on Tuesdays and that’s worked out great. The other thing is that if you pace the sessions so that you’re not grinding a way everyday and stop at a reasonable hour that helps too.

I used to be able to pull out multiple all-nighters to get through with a session. But then I realized I wasn’t gaining anything from it, as I’d have to redo a lot the next day anyways.

While you’ve never stopped recording, you are most associated with the late 80/early 90s alternative rock of Pixies, Nirvana and PJ Harvey. Why do you think music of this era continues to resonate with new audiences?

Where Is My Mind? – The Pixies

Every year there’s another generation of older brothers going to college and either handing their records to their kid brothers or their kid brothers have to go and buy those records again. That’s how Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Black Sabbath got popular when I was a teenager. When my brother went to college, that’s how I picked up on all that music.

Another thing is that when you think of the kind of music that has a lot of shelf life, it’s music that doesn’t have a lot of gimmick. It’s a straightforward presentation of the music “as performed” rather than stuff that’s all dolled up and fancy.

The sort of straightforward performance based rock music is structurally very similar to the things that have endured on their own for a long time. It’s the sound of a band playing their songs. There are no gimmicks that require you to have a decoder ring to get into them. What I feel is true about any durable music is that it could be from any era.

Scentless Apprentice – Nirvana

I’m sure you always get asked about what it was like to work with Nirvana. What are your feelings on being so personally associated with Nirvana and their legacy?

I wasn’t really part of their fan base before I started working with them. They were one of a bunch bands from Seattle or the Pacific Northwest who had a very similar aesthetic and they weren’t really big on my radar. I knew they were popular but beyond that I didn’t really think about them very much.

Having gotten to work with them, I came to respect them quite a bit. I think they were a solid band. I think Kurt was an interesting and unique songwriter. He had a fantastic voice and his attitude about his band at the time, who knows what happened before and after, but at the time his attitude toward his band, the music, the way they wanted to make a record was totally solid. I had no reservations about him.

I am flattered to be associated with a band that is that important. I feel like I did the band a solid job by doing the record the way they wanted to. I got beat up by their management and their record label after the fact. Geffen tried to put me out of business afterward. They were offended by the work. I think they felt I conspired with the band to thwart their managerial aspirations towards the band and made a point of waging a publicity war against me.

I am pleased that it didn’t have that big of an effect. My core clientele survived and I was still able to carry on. However, they did actually have a pretty significant impact with my client base for a while. I kind of went broke shortly after doing that record but I was able to rebound from that.

It’s a complicated issue for me. I felt like Nirvana were a band like any other band that I dealt with but they were under unusual circumstances. When anyone is under that kind of pressure, they are going to behave erratically, like anything under extreme conditions. So I don’t really have a clear perspective on that band.

I feel like my relationship with that band was an honorable one. I feel like I tried to do right by them and I felt like under different circumstances we probably would have had the same sort of relationship as I’ve had with a lot of the bands I’ve worked with. I don’t know if we would have done more records or what. However, I do feel like during the period I worked with them, I thought everyone involved behaved honorably and I thought they made an interesting record.

Growing up on punk rock in the 70s and 80s, could you ever have imagined that what was once considered alternative culture would be so readily adopted by the mainstream?

Certain stylistic elements have been adopted by the mainstream but you’re not going to hear Throbbing Gristle used the sell Volvos. This notion that the underground or the extreme becomes the norm is actually kind of a mistake.

The bands that get adopted by the tools of commerce as soundtrack music, they are not being used for their cultural importance. They are just being used because they are recognizable music.

You hear Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” being used by Carnival Cruise Lines and that’s a song about heroin and butt-fucking in Berlin and it’s been turned into the family-friendly shuffle board music. It’s beyond ironic. It’s kind of the dulling effect of time on something that was once shocking.

The fact that the Jonas Brothers occasionally have power chords that sound like The Ramones or The Clash doesn’t really mean anything. That’s not the same thing. It comes across as a stylistic affectation through several generations of filtering.

Certain stylistic elements have been appropriated by the mainstream but the content, that which makes it interesting, hasn’t been. I don’t think there’s a significant difference between being in the underground today from being in the underground 20 years ago.

To The Wind – Neurosis

However, perhaps since Nirvana many bands and artists that are celebrated in the mainstream culture make music that at one time would have been considered completely underground.

There are some bands that have aspirations to become part of the mainstream culture and they are going to participate in it one way or the other when those opportunities pop up for them. However, some people are actually comfortable in the underground. And if you’re comfortable in the underground, moving into the mainstream doesn’t have any appeal.

If you see it as somewhat of an irony that someone from your background would be in the mainstream, you’re more inclined to participate in it. My experience has been that the more comfortable that outsiders get saying and doing stupid shit, the more the ironic distance narrows. And the ironic distance eventually narrows to a point of nothing. Then you have this sort of ascendancy where something from the underground, by ironically adopting the mannerisms of the mainstream, becomes the mainstream.

And there’s an ironic defense that people use who want to maintain some perspective on themselves of being outside of mainstream culture that allows them to do crass, gross, grasping things with the idea that “it’s O.K. because it’s me doing it because I’m doing it for all the right reasons. I’m doing it for our team” as it were. That’s the point when the ironic distance narrows and the person becomes the thing he was previously a parody of.

With the presence of MySpace and Facebook it seems that more people are starting bands, recording bands and putting out music than ever before. Do you see the outpouring of so many new bands as a positive development?

The saturation of bands seems to have dulling effect. But what’s awesome about that is that by its ubiquity, this band culture has created a noise level by which bands only of real interest get to pop their heads now. There is something awesome about a band that can make a splash now because you know they had to fight their way through so much crap to get there.

As someone who has been very critical of the business practices of record companies over the years, are the economic struggles of labels something that you perhaps not only anticipated but something that you are pleased about?

It doesn’t particular bother me that record companies are going out of business. But with certain smaller independent labels that were culturally quite important it bothers me they are having a hard time.

But by the same token, the independent labels are surviving better than their major label counterparts because they operate more efficiently. The independent labels have back catalogs that are going to continue to sell, their relationships with their bands are more fraternal and the bands cut them more slack. Those relationships will survive.

How does the changing economics of the music business affect you as someone who runs a studio and makes records?

It sucks because as a recording studio owner you’re not competing with other studios, you’re competing with ‘free’ because just about anyone can do some type of recording on his laptop. So as a studio you have to provide an order of magnitude beyond what people can get for free.

We survive by having repeat business and sort of a wide client base. We’re not limited just to bands that have substantial budgets. We’re available to bands that have virtually no money. Because I’m comfortable working a lot, instead of making one or two records a year for a ton of money, I make quite a few records every year for a little money each.

Heathen Blood – Zeni Geva

Even though you’ve personally resisted using digital software in your recordings, what advice would you give a kid today that is interested in making records for a living when the cost to get started on his laptop has become so much more affordable than it ever has been?

If I were just getting started today I’m absolutely sure I’d get a computer and a software program and a couple of mics and maybe wing it from there. I think that’s a perfectly reasonable way to teach yourself to do stuff.

Is analog recording becoming a lost art?

I think that the analog method is valuable to learn because it teaches you a lot of fundamental things about how recording works which then you can apply to the digital domain. However, there are fewer and fewer people that use it everyday on every project but I don’t think we’ll see the end of it in my lifetime.

The Valleys – Electrelane

When you make an album for yourself or someone else, do you keep the expectations of your audience in mind?

As an engineer, the only people I’m concerned about are the other people in the room, the band members. I mean literally everyone else in the world can go fuck themselves.

I honestly don’t care at all what some abstract listening audience would say about listening to a record. They’re not in the band. They’re not there helping us make the record right now.

Occasionally someone in a band, when they are in quandary about what to do, they’ll say “what will people think when they hear this?” My response is generally, “fuck ‘em.” They’re not here right now. If they mattered if they really cared they would be here helping us make the record. If you guess what those people would say, you are going to be wrong because there is no unified opinion in the outside world.

You can only satisfy yourself in the studio and I am also of the opinion that decent records are made with almost total disregard to the listening audience. My favorite records are records that were utterly unique statements and that were the product of some kind of mania. That doesn’t happen by committee or test marketing or focus groups.

You distill the idea behind what you are trying to do down to an action and then you do that action. That’s the only way to go about it.

Did starting your career as a music journalist affect your approach to making records?

Well a big part of being a fanzine writer is thinking you’re right about everything and spouting off the top off your head. But there’s a pretty big difference between being a fanzine writer and working in the studio.

When you’re working in the studio, you’re rooting for the band that you’re working with. It doesn’t matter what kind of music they make. They could be making music I would never buy as fan and it doesn’t matter. I am 100% rooting for them. I want their record to totally kick ass in the way that they perceive kicking ass.

It’s an odd situation to be in but when you’re in the studio working on a record you almost cannot form an opinion about the music, whether you like it or not. If you do, that prevents you from being professional about trying to conclude the session in a way that satisfies the band.

If I allowed myself to care whether or not I like the music I’m working on, I’m going to be miserable because I’m going to be thinking I’m working on this terrible record and I won’t necessarily do a good job because I’ll be distracted by the fact that I’m judging this music, which is absurdity. It’s unprofessional.

There are so many things that I have to do, that I have to get right in order to satisfy the band and their aspirations that I have no business forming an opinion about their music. That’s so far down the list of priorities.

That being the case, do you regularly work with bands you don’t like?

I suppose. Yeah. I’ll literally work with anybody who calls on the phone. Find a band I don’t like, have them call me on the phone and ask to book a session and in five minutes we’ll book a session.

“Further Complications.” – Jar…

Los Angeles-based writer/musician, Sam J.C. has written for Filter, Vapor,, Buzzbands LA and Variety. He can be contacted at samjcmusic [at] gmail.com.

En inscrivant « Recorded By Steve Albini » sur chaque disque où il a officié en tant qu’ingénieur du son, Steve Albini se place dans une logique artistique plutôt louable en se contentant d’enregistrer les groupes qui viennent le voir et en leur laissant carte blanche pour leurs compositions. L’exact contraire du producteur influent qui s’implique dans la réalisation du disque, dont l’exemple le plus probant serait Nigel Godrich. Pourtant si l’on se replonge dans la discographie de Steve Albini, notamment celle de son premier groupe punk Big Black, difficile de ne pas y voir un rapprochement avec son travail sur la production de certains groupes comme The Jesus Lizard.

Bien sûr, à l’époque ces groupes faisaient tous partie de la même scène hardcore et s’influençaient entre eux, mais avec la récente réédition des albums de The Jesus Lizard j’ai été frappé par la ressemblance et la cohérence que l’on pouvait entendre sur le premier EP de Big Black « Lungs » et « Pure ». Même si Steve Albini a plus ou moins renié son premier effort, car trop imparfait dans sa production, je trouve pour ma part cet étrange disque de post-plein-de-choses légèrement industriel comme l’un des meilleurs disques de punk, notamment grâce à son esthétique dérangeante et DIY. A l’époque, Albini enregistre ce disque tout seul dans son appartement, en s’équipant d’un quatre-pistes portatifs prêté contre un pack de bières, d’une guitare électrique assez cheap, d’une basse abimé, d’un sale clavier et d’une boîte à rythme Roland TR606 qui restera le batteur de Big Black, dénommé « Roland ». Les six titres de « Lungs » sont enregistrés en une semaine et comportent déjà toute l’agression de l’Albini’s touch : Rythmes martiaux, basse lourde mixée très en avant, guitare aigue très agressive, et une voix étranglée, noyée dans le mix. Dead Billy, mon morceau préféré, tourne sur une sorte de groove tordu où on a l’impression de voir s’écrouler devant nous le tas d’os d’un GI mort au Vietnam. Les textes sont punks, politiques, dérangeant et gorgés d’humour tordu. Pour moi ce premier disque est l’un des plus beau et violent qu’a réalisé Steve Albini, presque un manifeste punk et DIY à lui tout seul …

« Pure », le premier EP de The Jesus Lizard reprend peu ou prou la même formule, à la différence prêt qu’il est enregistré en groupe, avec David Yow, David W. Sims et Duane Denison. En l’absence de batteur, le bassiste David W. Sims avait ramené et programmé une boîte à rythmes, on retrouve donc avec bonheur des cadences martiales particulièrement agressives. Je reste assez soufflé par le mix, où l’on entend encore la patte d’Albini : Basse très en avant, tempo militaire et guitare violente. La voix est encore en retrait, sauf que cette fois-ci c’est David Yow qui chante, pardon hurle. Ce dernier donne l’impression de se débattre face à la musique que joue le reste du groupe, en hurlant, criant, déglutissant, gesticulant, aboyant tout ce qu’il a au fond de ces tripes. Sur scène c’est le croisement d’Iggy Pop avec Lux Interior, et je me mords d’ailleurs les doigts de n’avoir pas vu The Jesus Lizard en mai dernier au festival Villette Sonique. L’étape suivante sera franchie sur le premier LP de The Jesus Lizard, « Head », où Albini semble avoir littéralement bâillonné Yow,  qui continue de beugler et brailler envers et contre tous.

La suite on l’a connaît, Steve Albini a enregistré des groupes de plus en plus connus (Pixies, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Dionysos, Low, …), ce qui lui permit d’avoir un studio un peu plus gros, équipé de matériaux analogiques qui attirent encore des groupes de plus en plus connus … Un jour, il faudra aussi parler de Bob Weston, qui a aussi produit des groupes du même genre, qui tient la basse pour Shellac, le dernier groupe de Steve Albini, et avec qui il a collaboré pour remasteriser toutes les rééditions des albums de The Jesus Lizard. En attendant, je vous ai mis une vidéo de Dead Billy joué en live, que l’on peut entendre sur “PigPile” dans une version plus musclée que sur “Lungs”, ainsi qu’un live de Bloody Mary de The Jesus Lizard.

Par Mathieu

What a great album.  I kept reading all this great press about The Forms, but no review could have prepared me for how much I enjoyed this.  This band seems to be some weird hybrid of Sunny Day Real Estate and Pinback.  Imagine the vocal acrobatics of Jeremy Enigk juxtaposed on top of the instrumentation of the first two Pinback records.  That is essentially The Forms.  Very creative looping vocals, far out drumming, and guitar textures that veer between the desolate ringing of a Slint riff to the insane applications found on MBV’s best songs.  Despite how melodically pleasing and linear these songs are  these guys keep everything pretty abstract like a modern day Gentle Giant.  If any of the above mentioned bands are up your alley do not hesitate to check these guys out.   Oh yeah, and Steve Albini also did the recording.  Exactly…

Steve Albini interviewed in Sounds 1988…this was just as he was getting Rapeman together. I had met Steve when Big Black had played Manchester in 1986/87 and had heard he had liked what I was doing with the Membranes. We got him to record our third album, ‘Kiss Ass Godhead’ just as he was starting out as a sound recordist. This interview was done just as he was about to take off in the studio with the Pixies album about to come out and the Slint record recorded but still unknown and putting his new band, the controversially titled Rapeman together after Big Black had imploded……

WHEN NOISE terror gods Big Black finally imploded last year, it was the inevitable culmination of several years of a blistering, snowballing intense noise assault. The unbelievable hype generated by the band and their gradual rise to flavour of the month left a bad taste in the operatives’ mouths. Big Black were one of the key bands in America in the post hardcore period. They took music to a logical extreme and created a small visceral catalogue of powerful music that was on the verge of breaking big but in punk rock style they backed away from the success.

With perfect timing the three-piece split. Leaving guitar-abuser and “singer” Steve Albini free to roam the planet producing a ragbag collection of combos while simultaneously welding together a new upgraded model together- a new upgraded model of his fearsome machine with ex-Scratch Acid rhythm section David Sims on bass and Rey Washem on drums. The group then carelessly saddled themselves with the monicker Rapeman.

Albini is a hyperactive cranefly from hell, spit-buzzin’ with an internal energy that keeps him locked in the studios for days on end without sleep. At the time of interview he was putting together parts of the upcoming Rapeman LP in his cellar studio and at other locations in Chicago. Two tracks culled from these sessions have already been released into America’s Midwest heartland as an almost anonymous 7-inch single. I had just been to the studios in the cellar recording the membranes ‘Kiss Ass Godhead’ album. It was set in the suburbs in one of those typical American wooden bungelows ina sleepy street. Quite how he managed to record such a  fearsome racket down there and not get lynched was amazing. Sharing the house was Nate from Urge Overkill who was away on tour giving us more space to sleep. Steve showed me copies of my fanzine, ‘Rox’ which he had picked up in Rough Trade and we started working on the album using the Big Black drum machine because Coofy Sid, the membranes drummer, had been refused a visa.

the band kicked up a storm in the cellar whilst Albini mixed on the 8 track in his back room- it sounded amazing.

He also talked about his new band, Rapeman and how to to get back into being in a band with punk rock dignity.

“We wanted to sneak out a low key single and try to deflate this pompous idea of being in a supergroup. I wanted people to buy the record on its own merits – the only problem is that collector scum have got hold of it and are charging ridiculous prices.”

The single, a two-track advert for band, grinds away in a Big Black style but there is a greater emphasis on the rhythmic melodic undercurrents than ever before.

This is no surprise as Rey Washem is using the biggest sticks since Zep’s Bonzo took his hammer to the gods, pumping the snare with a pair of regular oak trees that rip the skins apart every few songs. Yet this brute force does not impede the man’s skill and dexterity. He’s reaching out for a new distinctive style of rock drumming and he’s bang on course for smashing his way in there.

His partner in Scratch Acid and Rapeman, David Sims, is a musically fluent and gifted bass player, and the pair are well versed in musicology, as Albini proudly points out.

“Rey can watch a cartoon on TV, write down the backing music and score it for a string section. Rey and David got into the punk rock thing first and then started learning about musical theory afterwards, whereas I was excited about the about thing, but don’t really give a shit about music.”
THE TWO-track single is a fine introduction to the band, one of the two oddly-named songs being ‘Hated Chinese’

‘It’s is an abstraction on the life of a Chinese immigrant worker pre-1940 slaving on railway construction. They were not treated like human beings. The immigrant laws prevented their women from joining them, so all they had to do was to get stoned and masturbate a lot. At the time the idea was that you could kill a Chinaman but not a human being,” Albini chillingly adds, a stark reminder of how close the US moved towards an embarrassing South African-style apartheid situation.

‘Marmoset’ concerns a certain member of the band’s failed attempt at oral sex in the Nocturnal Animals section of Chicago Zoo, a cavernous place, dimly-lit with deserted winding corridors and tiny cages where the animals shuffle around. Needless to say the escapade was an alcohol-induced failure.

Does this band member know what you have been writing about him?

“Yes, I know,” chuckles Albini, adding, “and I certainly have not been back in that capacity since.”

Albini enjoys employing his dark sense of humour, combined with his acid and opinionated tongue it’s got him into a lot of trouble over the years, it’s the kind of trouble that he enjoys. ruffling feathers, grossing out and bad taste are part of the assault. This jolt to the system sense of humour was very much part and parcel of punk rock and it’s one that Steve attempts to try and keep in control.

Noticing that this human stick insect rarely imbibes alcohol, I ask if this is because the demon drink dries up the creative juices that race through his bloodstream.

“I found that when I got drunk I was being totally obnoxious and going up to people and telling them exactly what I thought of them. This caused problems – most people drink so that they become less self-conscious, but as I am not self-conscious to start with then the alcohol tends to have a different and more exaggerated effect.”

Listening to tracks from the forthcoming Rapeman Budd EP you can’t help but notice that whereas Big Black’s brutal treatment of guitar, bass and drum machine took rock to a new violent frontier, Rapeman tend to stand back a little, utilising the sound for whatever they want to say. Only Albini’s guitar sound links the formidable trios.

“That’s because I am a bit of a guitar cripple. I’m limited to making noises, I get no joy from playing a lot of little notes. It’s more satisfying to all of us to have the guitar jumping off in all directions, sounding like a blender, making cool little exploding sounds. It certainly keeps my interest up more.”

This new found overall subtlety is best explored in the lead track, ‘Budd’, a slow, live eight-minute crawl that reeks of sadness and compassion: a brilliant staccato snare drum punctuates the pain-ridden guitar riff which perfectly complements Albini’s tense, hoarse, half-spoken, half-whispered vocal.

“‘Budd’ is a song about two people, one of whom was Budd Dwyer, the treasurer in Philadelphia who blew his brains out on live TV after he had been caught embezzling state funds.” explains Steve showing the video of the precise moment when the gun went off which was live on the local news., where the soon-to-be retired Dwyer calmly reads out a press statement absolving himself from all responsibility.

The tension mounts as he reaches inside a brown paper bag as if rooting for his sandwiches or groping around for cold metal. Producing a gun, he places it into his mouth and, despite horrified screams from the onlooking press, he blows his brains out, slumping to the floor with a torrent of blood running from his nose. A disgusting and depressing piece of video to watch over and over.

“By blowing his brains out he still got a state funeral and pension as well as several other benefits that he would have lost had he been busted. He also got to be shown on nationwide TV reading out a little defence that he had written for himself.”

Beats getting a lawyer, cheaper too!

“I tied this together in a song with another Budd, a Budd that used to live in this house before I bought it. When I first moved in here there was a period when I felt very bad about living here, I felt like some sort of intruder and it was this that I tried to document.

“Budd had lived here for years. It was kinda sad the way he had lived out his life, his home was his own little piece of America. He had his own collection of personalized can-openers and comedy coffee cups. He brought his children up here, they left him and then his wife died, leaving him alone.

“The first time I moved in here I felt like a complete squirt, a 25-year-old kid with poop in his diapers who turned the place into a gross punk rock dungeon, which is how my neighbours envisage it.”

You can imagine the neighbours’ drop jawed expressions as they survey the front room, littered with sleeping musician bodies, as likely as not belonging to the freaked-out muthas in the Butthole Surfers or some tawdry English punk rock outfit. They all snooze away beneath the “Elvis In Vegas” tea towels that adorn the walls, oblivious to the huge stuffed cat that snarls from the top of the TV set, the gynecologist’s kit that spills out from beneath the settee, maybe its the half read book of botched operations or sexual diseases lying open on the table or the porn movies which include the classic Santa Claus indulging in fellatio with his favourite dwarf assistant. Steve, though, still feels bad about the previous tennent.

“Specific things made me feel really awful, like just after we moved in a bunch of friends came round and we were rummaging through Budd’s stuff laughing at it, a bunch of little squirts poking away through this man’s life and laughing at it…”
WHILE ALBINI’s sentimental raw nerve is exposed in this grinding avalanche of sound, the other tracks on the EP are in a more traditional Big Black mould. The remaining up tempo spurts of violence muscling their way around the grooves include the demon seed of ‘Super Pussy’, again a live cut, where the band’s fascination with comic book personae takes on a three dimensional role.

“If superheroes really existed smashing their way through windows and zapping things up with laser beams, then there would have to be pretty broad spectrum of characters to balance things out, so we thought this drug addict, cannibal, lesbian character with a lustful kick ass attitude would be interesting.

“I have a really good friend who is a hell-raising, beer-drinking lesbian. We go out and get lustful at the same type of women, she has the same sort of character as ‘Super Pussy’.”

Another live track is ‘Log Bass’, which definitely benefits from the crackle of performance being one of the live tracks on the EP.

“There’s no balls to the stuff in the studio. I like the live material better. It’s played faster when the band’s jumping up and down getting off on the song. ‘Log Bass’ is about a small town mayor in Indiana who was interviewed onThe David Letterman Show. Apparently, the mayor was also an Elvis Presley impersonator who would drive to gigs in his pick up truck dressed in a cheapo homemade Elvis costume.

“One night, on the way to a gig, he was called out (on one of his civic duties!) to unblock drains. This he did dressed in his Elvis get up, pulling out from the drains what he termed a log bass, ‘Bass’ as in the fish and ‘Log’ as in poop. From this stupid story we added a few of our own, like the Aztec birth ritual where the father takes his newly arrived offspring and holds it up to the sun, just like the Elvis mayor holding up his log bass.”

The only studio track is ‘Dutch Courage’, which seems to be about Albini’s roommate’s alcohol-induced trouble making lust for life more than anything else.
*

THE MOST contentious thing about Rapeman is obviously the clumsy moniker. The name was picked up from an obscure sicko Japanese comics mag, where the hero rapes women who have misbehaved. This seems to be one of those lurid Japanese comics that mix rock’n’roll, porn and gory violence in a perverse quest for visual kicks.

Although Rapeman’s nom de plume remains acceptable to the USA, the more politically-charged UK atmosphere is already buzzing with a static anger. people are not happy with the name. Out of context you can see why.

“I was asked by Paul Smith (the band’s UK label manager) to prepare a statement explaining the motives behind the naming of the group. It was for record pressures and people at the company who felt uncomfortable handling the name of the band, and although I was loathe to do it, I sent one off anyway, and of course it made no difference. In the UK we seem to be having some difficulties with getting the records pressed and distributed.

“It’s only the people in the company that seem to be annoyed. Her Majesty’s Government have had no difficulties in issuing work permits to a group of this name. Anyone who does not want to be involved with the record, I have no gripe with, and anyone who wants to object, then go ahead, make a stink.”

Is the group name not in some sense trivialising rape by reducing it to a crass showbiz level?

“That’s obviously stupid. I mean, were Joy Division glorifying Nazism with their name, or are Napalm Death, who by the way are excellent, an endorsement of the use of Napalm upon people? Rape is a feminist issue, it’s an offensive crime, and no one except for a total dork is pro-rape.”

Now that the Rapeman machine is finally out and running. Albini’s production work is going to have to rest for a few months, and in some cases this is a great relief to the man. the pixies album has made him better known as a recorder of sound.

“I liked working with Pixies and I admit that the record is OK. But the problem is that there are now bands who try to imitate them and want me to produce them, total morons, gushing on about how good Pixies are. I get no satisfaction from ‘pussy’ bands.”

Albini’s recent production work includes some devilish stuff with New York art garage renegades Pussy Galore and the grooves kicked together in these sessions already sound like some of the Galore’s best spuzz yet.

Another band that has seen the Albini touch is an oddball act called Slint, who sound like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon put through a liquidizer. Marvellous stuff, almost as entertaining as shoving the Floyd’s fat butts through the self same liquidizer. Steve plays back the Slint album and they sound amazing, hopefully they will get heard.

Rapeman are to tour Europe in October and will also, by then, be ready to unleash their debut LP.

“The LP will either be called ZZ Top’s First Album or Tres Motherf***ers“, avers Albini. “It’s an obscure Texan joke hatched by David and Rey and I very much doubt whether anyone else could understand it. It relates to ZZ Top’s best album, Tres Hombres, which features a gatefold sleeve showing a spread of Mexican food.

“We may go for the gatefold as well with a photo of a barbecue in my back garden,” he explains, being a battle-hardened veteran of this cooking feat that aroused the wrath of his neighbours and sent bemused policeman round to scold the dressing-gowned gourmet.

So the spirit of Big Black is back, agitating, irritating and thankfully kicking some ass.

And beneath the wire-rimmed frames that cling to Albini’s scalpel thin face beats a punk rock brain.

“I hope people react to my music in the way that I reacted to my favourite records, getting excited and jumping up and down. It’s all very big-eyed and punk-rock-inspired. I like playing a guitar, I like being in a band and like exploring specific types of sound.

“The other guys in the band have a different approach, though, in that they are trying to create something totally powerful and new within the punk rock framework.”

Rapeman have already shown that they’re twitching with potential, and when their UK tour and LP explode into action this Autumn, go grab yerself a slice of the action.

Dopo poco più di due anni dal suo primo, omonimo disco solista ritorna sulla scena uno dei capisaldi della musica pop inglese contemporanea, Jarvis Cocker ex cantante dei Pulp, compositore di quella “Common people” che ha fatto ballare tutto il Glasto Festival nel 95 e che verrà ricordato negli annali per essere salito sul palco del Brit Music Award in diretta durante la performance “messianica” di sua maestà Michael Jackson, gatecrashing polemicamente perchè infastidito dalla megalomania del king (evento peraltro quasi inesistente su youtube: boicottaggio?ndr).

“Cunts are still running the world” cantava polemicamente nella ghost track del suo primo disco contro i padroni del mondo: sono cambiate un pò di cose per questo skinny boy: lo stile in primis. Messi da parte giacca di velluto a coste, camicia scozzese rosso nera, moglie e viso sempre ben rasato, avanti barba, camicia azzurra e cravatta blu e vita da single, sempre dietro i suoi occhiali d’osso. Secondo, la musica e la location: Chicago, nell’ Electrical Studio di Steve Albini (Shellac, 2009) che, noto per tenere le frequenze voce equalizzate basse (vedi In Utero, Nirvana) predilige fare ascoltare ai suoi utenti una unica registrazione corale (live studio record) piuttosto che una serie di tracce assemblate. Il suono di questo disco, pop per l’accezione, è complesso e si muove dalle rock ballads (I never said I was deep) al blues elettrificato (Fucking song), fino a canzoni persino d’ambiente (Hold still, Slush) sostenuto dal classico scintillante suono della stratocaster (Caucasian Blues) supportata a sprazzi da sassofono che ricorda molto parte del rock dei 90s (Homewrecker), il classic rock della title track e Angela fino, infine, al pezzo conclusivo del disco, You’re in my eyes, una discosong che ricorda sprazzi di Gainsbourg.

Le parole utilizzate invece, hanno invece la solita acidità, ironia,pathos,  nel trattare elementi classici del repertorio di Jarvis: politica, l’amore per lo spirito femminile e per gli ultimi, la società dei consumi, il vuoto della cultura contemporanea di riferimento.

Sebbene in alcuni punti il nostro barbuto Jarvis sembri non riuscire ad entrare pienamente nella parte, la totalità del disco risulta impegnatatamente piacevole, spesso divertente, ma mai noiosa, qualità che certo non si addice per nulla allo skinny boy from Sheffield.

PS: Please, do not read the words whilst listening to the recordings.

Cheap Trick- He’s A Whore (1977) ORIGINAL

Big Black- He’s A Whore (1987) COVER

I’m a fan of both songs and both bands, but I’m a wayyy bigger fan of Big Black and their cover; it’s one of my personal favorites! Which version do you prefer?

Chris

Firewater [1996] <- Download

O Silkworm surgiu na pequena Missoula, no estado americano de Montana, em 1987. Antes de se mudar para Seattle nas primeiras semanas da década seguinte, a banda lançou alguns EPs, influenciada pelo Mission of Burma e pelo pós-punk inglês. Em meio ao furacão grunge, as raízes fincadas nos anos 80 os deixaram um pouco antiquados para o rock alternativo da época — o que não impediu que lançassem dois discos pela Matador e fossem produzidos por Steve Albini. E, como o mundo dá voltas cada vez mais rápido, a sonoridade oitentista permitiu que o grupo tirasse proveito dos anos 00’s, antes de declarar seu fim em 2005. Após o término, foi organizado um tributo ao Silkworm, intitulado An Idiot To Not Appreciate Your Time.

Firewater, de 96, marca a estréia na Matador. A abertura Nerves é densa e melódica, mostrando logo de cara que a sonoridade truncada e estridente de bandas como Gang of Four já não era a única referência. Apesar da estética 80’s ainda predominar, quase comprometendo o disco, ela é compensada por sempre bem-vindos flertes com os anos 90, como acontece em Quicksand, com guitarras soltas e vocais que remetem ao Pavement. Vale mencionar que, em 2001, três integrantes do Silkworm se juntaram a Stephen Malkmus para formar o Crust Brother. Qualquer dia falo mais sobre esta outra banda.

Quicksand
Nerves

genial essa capa de “further complications”, disco novo do gênio jarvis cocker. aliás, esse disco é bem bom. produzido pelo steve albini, o disco mostra um jarvis mais seco, mais direto, mais voltado para o rock. não é a toa que, nessa sua nova fase, ele vem tocando “purple haze” nos shows.

o álbum é cheio de rockões com pitadas de glam rock e guitarras com pegada a la pj harvey como, por exemplo, em “fuckinsong”, “caucasian blues” e na canção título. ainda conta com participação do saxofonista steve mackay (aquele mesmo de “fun house” dos stooges) em “homewrecker”, além de abrir espaço para o lado serge gainsbourg de jarvis em canções como “i never said i was deep” e “hold still”, por exemplo. rola até uma brincadeira meio puxada para disco music em “you are in my eyes (disco song)”. mas se o disco tem um hit esse é, sem dúvida, “angela”. rock pegajoso e basicão.

isso tudo sem falar nas sacadas geniais do melhor letrista do rock (ao lado do morrissey) dos últimos trinta anos. como, por exemplo, em “leftlovers” onde ele diz: “I met her in the museum of paleontology/I make no bones about it”. gênio.

vi gente dizendo que “further complications” está no mesmo patamar de “parklife” e “definitely maybe”, só que com 15 anos de atraso. não chega a tanto, está beeem longe disso, muito longe mesmo. mas é bom.

vai que é quente, eu garanto.

”Deeply felt, brooding songs rich in imagery… he has the tools to make a huge impact.”

The Guardian

Shoreline is Sheffield-based Neil McSweeney’s second album. Wider in scope and execution than its predecessor (2007’s Remember To Smile), Shoreline harbours a grand palette of raw, affecting songs and subtle, multi-layered arrangements. McSweeney cites influences for the album as ranging from New York folk scene queen Nina Nastasia (and her long-term producer Steve Albini) to Belgian art-rockers dEUS.  

 The two Shoreline Launch Parties take place on:

Thursday 8th October 2009 @ Plug, Sheffield with special guests Woodenbox

Friday 16th October 2009 @ The Luminaire, Kilburn, London with special guests Little Lost David, Georgia Ruth Williams and Ben TD…

Tickets for both gigs are available for the princely sum of £5. We’d be very pleased to see you there!

Listen to Standing Still from Shoreline by Neil McSweeney

Listen to Side to the Sun from Shoreline by Neil McSweeney

Here’s Rope to Hang (recorded at Granada studios back in 2007). A new version of the song features on Shoreline. The video was directed by Sat Johal.

Release date:

26th October 09

Shoreline is Sheffield-based Neil McSweeney’s second album. Wider in scope and execution than its predecessor (2007’s Remember To Smile), Shoreline harbours a grand palette of raw, affecting songs and subtle, multi-layered arrangements. McSweeney cites influences for the album as ranging from New York folk scene queen Nina Nastasia (and her long-term producer Steve Albini) to Belgian art-rockers dEUS. To launch the album, the man Richard Hawley described as ‘one of the best’ will be playing two very special shows…

“Deeply felt, brooding songs rich in imagery… he

has the tools to make a huge impact.” (The Guardian)

The Shoreline Launch Parties take place on Friday 8th October (The Plug, Sheffield) and Friday 16th October (The Luminaire, London). Tickets are available from the venues for the princely sum of £5. We’d be very pleased to see you there!

Listen to Standing Still

Listen to Side to the Sun

Here’s a version of Rope to Hang (which features on Shoreline) recorded at Granada Studios. The video was directed by Sat Johal.

The first time I heard Nirvana was during two weeks just outside Bordeaux on a french exchange where they were constantly being played on the radio. I wasn’t even consciously listening and it was only when my exchangee’s sister asked me if I liked them that I realised I’d been wondering round humming Rape Me all day. Timing wise I now understand the reason they were all over the radio was because of Kurt’s death a few months prior and people kept ringing in to request them. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to them properly, the last time would have been around the release of With The Lights Out but a recent announcement from Sub Pop about a Bleach reissue had me looking around for preorders and I found that Nevermind, In Utero and Unplugged in NY are also being reissued at the end of this year.

So why have I just gone out and bought a copy of In Utero when I could have waited on what should have been a better version a few months later? Reading through various forums about the ORG reissues I heard about a German press of the album that was supposed to feature Steve Albini’s original mix of the album before it was tampered with on record label/band authority depending on whose story you choose to believe. So after looking up thrilling facts about the matrix numbers (A33 9124 536 S1/S2 320) it appears that the album was mis-pressed twice, once in 1993 and again in 2008 which may explain why the 60th vinyl anniversary ‘Back to Black’ version I picked up is listed as only being available in Germany.

Is it worth rushing out to buy? The only apparent differences to my ears are Heart Shaped Box which now has a cool effect over the solo and All Apologies which seems to feature both the cello and vocals lower in the mix but it’s well known that these were re-mixed by Scott Litt as stated in the liner notes, all the other songs sound the same to my memory although a full back to back listen against the cd would prove this. The cover seems to have been blown up from a low resolution copy and doesn’t look as good as it should, especially the back, plus the inlay notes still credit Gallons Of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through The Strip despite it not featuring on the vinyl, hopefully the new versions coming will be done with a bit more care. Other than that, it’s a nice black 180g version with a download coupon for mp3 versions and still widely available so quite cheap.

Joyce Carol Oates recalls the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s “unconscionable, despicable, unmanly and inexplicable behaviour” at Chappaquiddick, and questions whether decades of good behavior as a senator atones for it. This is the “WORST THING I HAVE EVER READ” in the eyes of some, but hey, 26 comments.

The great Jack Pendarvis on how Woody Allen shaped his identity—until he discovered Roy Blount Jr.

Jonathan Lethem tells the Jewish Daily Forward that he’s working on a novel set in Queens during the 50s and 60s.

A brief guide to academic revenge novels.

News to me: Steve Albini writes short stories. He certainly knows how to write a strong opening to an article.

Kevin Canty explains why so many of his story titles are taken from songs. “Nothing mysterious about this,” he says. “I just stink at coming up with titles and somebody’s already done the work for you when they write the song. Why work when you can steal?”

Colum McCann is heading off on a European tour to promote his new novel, Let the Great World Spin, along with musician Joe Hurley, who’s written an EP of songs based on characters in the novel.

Nelson Algren’s first meeting with Simone de Beauvoir.

Lastly, is your last name Portnoy? Do you have a complaint about something Dan Froomkin wrote? Hoo boy, does Froomkin have a comeback for you!