Steve Albini, musician and producer has died
May 8, 2024 11:15 AM Subscribe
Steve Albini, lengendary producer (engineer) and musician has died of a heart attack at age 61. He worked with everyone from Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to Nirvana, Pixies and The Breeders.
Christ. 61. People aren't supposed to die of heart attacks at 61 anymore. Fuck.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:20 AM on May 8 [21 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 11:20 AM on May 8 [21 favorites]
He recorded Neurosis and Joanna Newsom, jfc.
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posted by MisantropicPainforest at 11:23 AM on May 8 [6 favorites]
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posted by MisantropicPainforest at 11:23 AM on May 8 [6 favorites]
Steve Albini, musician and producer recording engineer has died.
FTFY. (In a snotty, antagonistic manner that the man himself would likely have employed.) ;)
posted by barrett caulk at 11:24 AM on May 8 [31 favorites]
FTFY. (In a snotty, antagonistic manner that the man himself would likely have employed.) ;)
posted by barrett caulk at 11:24 AM on May 8 [31 favorites]
*sigh*
Big fan of his work, as musician and engineer. It was also nice to see him walk back a lot of his asshole edge-lord behavior in the 90s and do some real work on himself.
Here he is giving Bub the cat (also r.i.p.) a tour of his studio.
posted by indexy at 11:25 AM on May 8 [33 favorites]
Big fan of his work, as musician and engineer. It was also nice to see him walk back a lot of his asshole edge-lord behavior in the 90s and do some real work on himself.
Here he is giving Bub the cat (also r.i.p.) a tour of his studio.
posted by indexy at 11:25 AM on May 8 [33 favorites]
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posted by limeonaire at 11:27 AM on May 8
posted by limeonaire at 11:27 AM on May 8
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posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:28 AM on May 8
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:28 AM on May 8
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Well, fuck. 61.
In the '80s being introduced to Big Black's Atomizer had a profound impact on me; I did not know the music could sound like That.
An amazing legacy, and an integrity to his approach that all artists could respect, admire, and learn from.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 11:28 AM on May 8 [7 favorites]
Well, fuck. 61.
In the '80s being introduced to Big Black's Atomizer had a profound impact on me; I did not know the music could sound like That.
An amazing legacy, and an integrity to his approach that all artists could respect, admire, and learn from.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 11:28 AM on May 8 [7 favorites]
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I met Albini about 20 years ago, when I lived in Chicago as a journalism student working on a school assignment. Believe it our not I wasn't writing about music - I was writing about baseball.
I had decided to write about my neighborhood park on the north side of Chicago - Winnemac Park - kind of a slice of life/history/John McPhee-type attempt. Anyway, there's a baseball field there and I'd noticed that these men's league teams played there and so I set up shop by the field on Memorial Day weekend to watch the game and talk to these guys.
The guys come filtering in on this Saturday morning, hungover 20-somethings, school teachers, bartenders etc., in full baseball kit with a lowercase "e" logo on the jerseys and hats. And then after a little bit a skinny older guy comes riding up on a bicycle wearing a full coverall suit, also emblazoned with "e."
It's Steve Albini, and this is his baseball team - the Winnemac Electrons! (the "e" is for Electron" of course) Named after his recording studio Electrical Audio.
Like imagine if - like the billionaires buying NFL and NBA teams - the local smaller-time celebs all had their own beer league teams. That's exactly what this was. And he did it - or so he told me - because he loved baseball and thought it would be fun.
I ended up writing the piece - probably not at all successful as a John McPhee homage - and eventually published it on a site I used to run. It's about the park more than it's about Albini, but that felt right to me - in the environment where I met him and in my couple subsequent phone conversations with him, he was just a local guy who loved baseball, not an untouchable legend of the music biz.
(Feel free to remove this link if not allowed but if's ok and you want to read that old piece - written in 2005 and published in 2009, here it is.)
posted by cmaxmagee at 11:30 AM on May 8 [108 favorites]
I met Albini about 20 years ago, when I lived in Chicago as a journalism student working on a school assignment. Believe it our not I wasn't writing about music - I was writing about baseball.
I had decided to write about my neighborhood park on the north side of Chicago - Winnemac Park - kind of a slice of life/history/John McPhee-type attempt. Anyway, there's a baseball field there and I'd noticed that these men's league teams played there and so I set up shop by the field on Memorial Day weekend to watch the game and talk to these guys.
The guys come filtering in on this Saturday morning, hungover 20-somethings, school teachers, bartenders etc., in full baseball kit with a lowercase "e" logo on the jerseys and hats. And then after a little bit a skinny older guy comes riding up on a bicycle wearing a full coverall suit, also emblazoned with "e."
It's Steve Albini, and this is his baseball team - the Winnemac Electrons! (the "e" is for Electron" of course) Named after his recording studio Electrical Audio.
Like imagine if - like the billionaires buying NFL and NBA teams - the local smaller-time celebs all had their own beer league teams. That's exactly what this was. And he did it - or so he told me - because he loved baseball and thought it would be fun.
I ended up writing the piece - probably not at all successful as a John McPhee homage - and eventually published it on a site I used to run. It's about the park more than it's about Albini, but that felt right to me - in the environment where I met him and in my couple subsequent phone conversations with him, he was just a local guy who loved baseball, not an untouchable legend of the music biz.
(Feel free to remove this link if not allowed but if's ok and you want to read that old piece - written in 2005 and published in 2009, here it is.)
posted by cmaxmagee at 11:30 AM on May 8 [108 favorites]
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posted by dogstoevski at 11:30 AM on May 8
posted by dogstoevski at 11:30 AM on May 8
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the most opinionated man in the game. also, the best. an artist in his own right.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:37 AM on May 8 [4 favorites]
the most opinionated man in the game. also, the best. an artist in his own right.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:37 AM on May 8 [4 favorites]
61? Damn. I thought for sure he was older than me.
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posted by Thorzdad at 11:38 AM on May 8 [2 favorites]
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posted by Thorzdad at 11:38 AM on May 8 [2 favorites]
The Evolution of Steve Albini (Guardian)
“When you realise that the dumbest person in the argument is on your side, that means you’re on the wrong side.”
posted by indexy at 11:45 AM on May 8 [52 favorites]
“When you realise that the dumbest person in the argument is on your side, that means you’re on the wrong side.”
posted by indexy at 11:45 AM on May 8 [52 favorites]
Preserved by The Baffler, here is Albini's 1993 essay "The Problem With Music".
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 11:47 AM on May 8 [23 favorites]
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 11:47 AM on May 8 [23 favorites]
I've said this in a bunch of places, but his death is hitting me like Anthony Bourdain's did. In addition to being an incredible producer, Albini was also saying some important things in language that people like (and I say this with love) my meathead younger brother would understand.
I'm thinking a lot about the organizations he helped with his fundraising and the families he looked after at Christmas.
RIP, Steve. We're going to miss you.
posted by pxe2000 at 11:47 AM on May 8 [23 favorites]
I'm thinking a lot about the organizations he helped with his fundraising and the families he looked after at Christmas.
RIP, Steve. We're going to miss you.
posted by pxe2000 at 11:47 AM on May 8 [23 favorites]
Oh, woof, fuck. What the fuck.
RIP to the greatest to ever eat an L'Patron burrito with a fork
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:48 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]
RIP to the greatest to ever eat an L'Patron burrito with a fork
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:48 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]
from the grauniad article:
He has not exactly become mild-mannered with age – “However you define ‘woke,’ anti-woke means being a cunt who wants to indulge bigots,” he wrote recently
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posted by lalochezia at 11:51 AM on May 8 [44 favorites]
He has not exactly become mild-mannered with age – “However you define ‘woke,’ anti-woke means being a cunt who wants to indulge bigots,” he wrote recently
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posted by lalochezia at 11:51 AM on May 8 [44 favorites]
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posted by Press Butt.on to Check at 11:51 AM on May 8
posted by Press Butt.on to Check at 11:51 AM on May 8
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posted by brachiopod at 11:51 AM on May 8
posted by brachiopod at 11:51 AM on May 8
goddammit. This sucks.
Great artist, and I very much appreciate the work he did to call out the bullshit and take responsibility for his own earlier edgelord comments.
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posted by chbrooks at 11:52 AM on May 8 [6 favorites]
Great artist, and I very much appreciate the work he did to call out the bullshit and take responsibility for his own earlier edgelord comments.
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posted by chbrooks at 11:52 AM on May 8 [6 favorites]
That's too bad. That sucks. His commitment to the punk spirit and his loathing of corporate rock culture were refreshing.
I loved his work on Rid of Me by PJ Harvey. Her debut Dry was a work of genius, but the drum sound was so thin it drained a lot of the power out of frenzied rockers like "Joe." Albini took a lot of shit for his recording of Rid of Me, but he made the band sound awesome. "50 Foot Queenie" is a thrilling song.
posted by Fritz Langwedge at 11:53 AM on May 8 [13 favorites]
I loved his work on Rid of Me by PJ Harvey. Her debut Dry was a work of genius, but the drum sound was so thin it drained a lot of the power out of frenzied rockers like "Joe." Albini took a lot of shit for his recording of Rid of Me, but he made the band sound awesome. "50 Foot Queenie" is a thrilling song.
posted by Fritz Langwedge at 11:53 AM on May 8 [13 favorites]
It was also nice to see him walk back a lot of his asshole edge-lord behavior in the 90s and do some real work on himself.
I was really impressed with the level of honesty and clarity in his public statements and interviews about this stuff (previously).
And Albini made decisions about how he worked that were rooted in deeply-considered ethical stances on music, culture, and technology. I'm currently enjoying this interview.
posted by entropone at 11:57 AM on May 8 [10 favorites]
I was really impressed with the level of honesty and clarity in his public statements and interviews about this stuff (previously).
And Albini made decisions about how he worked that were rooted in deeply-considered ethical stances on music, culture, and technology. I'm currently enjoying this interview.
posted by entropone at 11:57 AM on May 8 [10 favorites]
A giant. R.I.P.
posted by AJaffe at 11:58 AM on May 8 [2 favorites]
posted by AJaffe at 11:58 AM on May 8 [2 favorites]
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As I said over on Blue Sky, sure he could be an asshole, but he did the work on owning his shitty past behaviour, which is more than you can say for the majority of assholes out there.
posted by Kitteh at 12:00 PM on May 8 [10 favorites]
As I said over on Blue Sky, sure he could be an asshole, but he did the work on owning his shitty past behaviour, which is more than you can say for the majority of assholes out there.
posted by Kitteh at 12:00 PM on May 8 [10 favorites]
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posted by misteraitch at 12:01 PM on May 8
posted by misteraitch at 12:01 PM on May 8
It was also nice to see him walk back a lot of his asshole edge-lord behavior in the 90s and do some real work on himself.
I am no prize, and when I look at how Albini got his shit together, it tells me that anyone can do it...and takes away my excuses.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:02 PM on May 8 [33 favorites]
I am no prize, and when I look at how Albini got his shit together, it tells me that anyone can do it...and takes away my excuses.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:02 PM on May 8 [33 favorites]
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posted by cooker girl at 12:04 PM on May 8
posted by cooker girl at 12:04 PM on May 8
I can't explain it, but Steve Albini always felt like one of us. I feel like if you were of a certain generation you were most likely one degree of separation away from Steve Albini. You knew someone who had known him, because he was everywhere. Steve Albini won a World Series of Poker bracelet while wearing a shirt advertising a band called Cocaine Piss who sounded exactly like what you think they would sound like. He experienced a remarkable amount of personal growth without ever losing sight of who he was. To his dying day, people kept trying to get him to see something good in the music of Steely Dan and the Grateful Dead and he shut them down every single time. Steve Albini was a genius and he was important and he changed the world. You can't replace a Steve Albini. There was just one of them.
posted by HunterFelt at 12:04 PM on May 8 [49 favorites]
posted by HunterFelt at 12:04 PM on May 8 [49 favorites]
When I first heard Kerosene it blew my mind.
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posted by The Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas at 12:08 PM on May 8 [11 favorites]
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posted by The Vice Admiral of the Narrow Seas at 12:08 PM on May 8 [11 favorites]
I feel like if you were of a certain generation you were most likely one degree of separation away from Steve Albini.
Yep, even more so if you're from/in Chicago - the indie music scene here is just small. Was just talking about this with a coworker and found out Albini always supported the band he was in, and they toured Europe with Shellac one year. My coworker said there was no way his band was big enough to play the Primavera festival, but that fest loved Shellac, so when Shellac said "we want this band to play the fest too" they just said ok, and my coworker/friend got to play the biggest festival his band ever did or will play.
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posted by misskaz at 12:11 PM on May 8 [29 favorites]
Yep, even more so if you're from/in Chicago - the indie music scene here is just small. Was just talking about this with a coworker and found out Albini always supported the band he was in, and they toured Europe with Shellac one year. My coworker said there was no way his band was big enough to play the Primavera festival, but that fest loved Shellac, so when Shellac said "we want this band to play the fest too" they just said ok, and my coworker/friend got to play the biggest festival his band ever did or will play.
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posted by misskaz at 12:11 PM on May 8 [29 favorites]
Well that sucks, frankly. A basically decent person whose "edgelord" behavior, even when it happened, was at least genuine "edginess" rather than thinly disguised delight in hating marginalized people. It's true that he did always feel like one of us, a person from a bohemia that was available to everyone rather than a celebrity.
posted by Frowner at 12:11 PM on May 8 [10 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 12:11 PM on May 8 [10 favorites]
61 is too young, even for a curmudgeon. Gonna spin Surfer Rosa tonight and marvel at the mic placements.
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posted by joseph_elmhurst at 12:12 PM on May 8 [9 favorites]
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posted by joseph_elmhurst at 12:12 PM on May 8 [9 favorites]
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posted by Token Meme at 12:15 PM on May 8
posted by Token Meme at 12:15 PM on May 8
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posted by mcdoublewide at 12:17 PM on May 8
posted by mcdoublewide at 12:17 PM on May 8
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posted by kabong the wiser at 12:19 PM on May 8
posted by kabong the wiser at 12:19 PM on May 8
The angels are a little quieter in heaven tonight.
(Because Steve mixed them down in the vocals so you could better hear the drums.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:20 PM on May 8 [56 favorites]
(Because Steve mixed them down in the vocals so you could better hear the drums.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:20 PM on May 8 [56 favorites]
I knew a lot of Steve's friends but never had the chance to meet him. This sucks.
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posted by JoeZydeco at 12:24 PM on May 8
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posted by JoeZydeco at 12:24 PM on May 8
The nineties playlist is going to go hard tonight.
posted by Eikonaut at 12:29 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
posted by Eikonaut at 12:29 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
I met Albini about 20 years ago, when I lived in Chicago as a journalism student working on a school assignment. Believe it our not I wasn't writing about music - I was writing about baseball.
I'm so glad that you shared that story. Most everyone in this thread knows about him really only for his music so it's great that you brought up one of his other passions. Here is a great interview with Paul Lukas of Uni Watch with Mr. Albini. Talk about an intersection of shit that I love.
posted by NoMich at 12:30 PM on May 8 [18 favorites]
I'm so glad that you shared that story. Most everyone in this thread knows about him really only for his music so it's great that you brought up one of his other passions. Here is a great interview with Paul Lukas of Uni Watch with Mr. Albini. Talk about an intersection of shit that I love.
posted by NoMich at 12:30 PM on May 8 [18 favorites]
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posted by miles per flower at 12:30 PM on May 8
posted by miles per flower at 12:30 PM on May 8
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posted by but no cigar at 12:33 PM on May 8
posted by but no cigar at 12:33 PM on May 8
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posted by NailsTheCat at 12:33 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
posted by NailsTheCat at 12:33 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
Anyone else listening to Cordeilia's Dad's Spine?
posted by art.bikes at 12:36 PM on May 8 [2 favorites]
posted by art.bikes at 12:36 PM on May 8 [2 favorites]
I found this Life of the Record podcast describing the making of Surfer Rosa fascinating.
"Engineer, Steve Albini reflects on how this record marked the first time he worked with a band he didn’t know and how he set out to prove his value by making unique suggestions and how that impacted the finished product."posted by NailsTheCat at 12:36 PM on May 8 [5 favorites]
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I read the chapter about him in Our Band Could Be Your Life and concluded that he was unable to see the world from a perspective outside his own, and was pleasantly surprised by how much he grew as a person in the last two decades. It’s an important reminder for myself to examine my own biases and deal with them, but also that you can never write anyone off, because humans are complex and always capable of change.
Mind you, I always thought he was a brilliant musician, and would seek out albums he’d produced.
posted by Kattullus at 12:37 PM on May 8 [13 favorites]
I read the chapter about him in Our Band Could Be Your Life and concluded that he was unable to see the world from a perspective outside his own, and was pleasantly surprised by how much he grew as a person in the last two decades. It’s an important reminder for myself to examine my own biases and deal with them, but also that you can never write anyone off, because humans are complex and always capable of change.
Mind you, I always thought he was a brilliant musician, and would seek out albums he’d produced.
posted by Kattullus at 12:37 PM on May 8 [13 favorites]
I remember rolling my eyes whenever my mom used to say 'So young!' of anyone dying in their sixties. Well, now that I'm past my 60s, I'm not rolling them anymore these days. Might sprain them and end up all Jack Elam, for one thing...
"When you realise that the dumbest person in the argument is on your side, that means you’re on the wrong side.”
Which reminds me of Timothy Olyphant's line in Justified --
'If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole.'
posted by y2karl at 12:42 PM on May 8 [16 favorites]
"When you realise that the dumbest person in the argument is on your side, that means you’re on the wrong side.”
Which reminds me of Timothy Olyphant's line in Justified --
'If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole.'
posted by y2karl at 12:42 PM on May 8 [16 favorites]
KEXP is doing a tribute, playing Big Black's "Kitty Empire" right now.
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posted by credulous at 12:48 PM on May 8 [9 favorites]
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posted by credulous at 12:48 PM on May 8 [9 favorites]
It's a slow day at work, I wanted to hear "Kerosene" and then saw this great cover by St. Vincent.
posted by indexy at 12:51 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
posted by indexy at 12:51 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
I feel like if you were of a certain generation you were most likely one degree of separation away from Steve Albini.
Truth! I'm not even in the music business, but during my bookstore-clerking years one of my co-workers (who'd been in a local alternative/punk band in the '80s) told me that he had literally slept on Steve Albini's couch back in the day.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:58 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
Truth! I'm not even in the music business, but during my bookstore-clerking years one of my co-workers (who'd been in a local alternative/punk band in the '80s) told me that he had literally slept on Steve Albini's couch back in the day.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:58 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
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posted by youknowwhatpart at 1:10 PM on May 8
posted by youknowwhatpart at 1:10 PM on May 8
🎵
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:11 PM on May 8
posted by grumpybear69 at 1:11 PM on May 8
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posted by pianoblack at 1:13 PM on May 8
posted by pianoblack at 1:13 PM on May 8
If there was an internet Historical Landmarks Commission, "The Problem With Music" would be among the first things slated for preservation.
too soon, man.
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posted by bashos_frog at 1:28 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
too soon, man.
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posted by bashos_frog at 1:28 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
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He and the remaining members of Nirvana did a series of interviews with Conan O'Brien about the recording of In Utero last year and the story Albini told about prank calling Gene Simmons and pretending to be Kurt Cobain made me laugh until I cried, I wrote a quote from it on my whiteboard at work and it's kept me cracking up during a terrible year. Also, I had no idea until today that any of my friends knew him. What a big loss.
posted by Tesseractive at 1:29 PM on May 8 [17 favorites]
He and the remaining members of Nirvana did a series of interviews with Conan O'Brien about the recording of In Utero last year and the story Albini told about prank calling Gene Simmons and pretending to be Kurt Cobain made me laugh until I cried, I wrote a quote from it on my whiteboard at work and it's kept me cracking up during a terrible year. Also, I had no idea until today that any of my friends knew him. What a big loss.
posted by Tesseractive at 1:29 PM on May 8 [17 favorites]
RIP, a legend in his own time.
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:50 PM on May 8
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:50 PM on May 8
Holy shit. Come on, he was younger than me.
....and a gigantic influence. And perhaps an asshole, from some accounts that I only vaguely remember, which just might have been a bit biased.
Damn.
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posted by jokeefe at 1:51 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
....and a gigantic influence. And perhaps an asshole, from some accounts that I only vaguely remember, which just might have been a bit biased.
Damn.
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posted by jokeefe at 1:51 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
this hurts. i read his article The Problem with Music as a college freshman and radio DJ and it changed my life.
posted by oogenesis at 1:56 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
posted by oogenesis at 1:56 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
As a deeply weird kid growing up in Missoula, Montana in the 80s, I cannot tell you how much it meant to have someone who came out of the same quiet little, white-bread, redneck mountain town be Steve Albini. He may have tried too hard for a little too long to be Steve Albini, but he started to figure himself out lately. He made great music, he recorded great music, and the world is poorer for his absence.
posted by BReed at 1:56 PM on May 8 [9 favorites]
posted by BReed at 1:56 PM on May 8 [9 favorites]
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posted by Joey Michaels at 2:03 PM on May 8
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:03 PM on May 8
One more person here who got so much out of him both in terms of the music and of all the work he did emotionally, acknowledging that he was always a work in progress. A real role model in terms of not being complacent, and of facing "aging" as "growing." Fuck.
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posted by queensissy at 2:07 PM on May 8 [5 favorites]
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posted by queensissy at 2:07 PM on May 8 [5 favorites]
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His work with Jason Molina is my guide through the darkness.
posted by Sreiny at 2:10 PM on May 8 [6 favorites]
His work with Jason Molina is my guide through the darkness.
posted by Sreiny at 2:10 PM on May 8 [6 favorites]
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He also produced the best album by The Wedding Present.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:10 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
He also produced the best album by The Wedding Present.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:10 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
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posted by extramundane at 2:22 PM on May 8
posted by extramundane at 2:22 PM on May 8
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posted by BlackLeotardFront at 2:42 PM on May 8
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 2:42 PM on May 8
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I was also very impressed with how he improved himself over the years. The small degrees of separation thing is real. I never knew him (though I did get in a few answers during the famous Shellac tuning Q&A's over the years), but I have multiple friends who have recorded with him.
Also, I used to avidly follow his (now-defunct) cooking blog, which was once at http://mariobatalivoice.blogspot.com/ but sadly no longer (archive link from 2012).
posted by deadbilly at 2:48 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
I was also very impressed with how he improved himself over the years. The small degrees of separation thing is real. I never knew him (though I did get in a few answers during the famous Shellac tuning Q&A's over the years), but I have multiple friends who have recorded with him.
Also, I used to avidly follow his (now-defunct) cooking blog, which was once at http://mariobatalivoice.blogspot.com/ but sadly no longer (archive link from 2012).
posted by deadbilly at 2:48 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
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posted by WalkingAround at 2:55 PM on May 8
posted by WalkingAround at 2:55 PM on May 8
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posted by apparatchik at 3:25 PM on May 8
posted by apparatchik at 3:25 PM on May 8
♪
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:27 PM on May 8
posted by Smart Dalek at 3:27 PM on May 8
Damn. I was a fan of his Big Black and R*peman stuff when I was a teen in the pre-grunge alternative music era, and love so many great albums he engineered through my 20s and 30s. Shellac was pretty damn good too, and I'm glad I saw one of their only two Canadian shows.
He was always generous with giving recording advice to internet strangers like myself, from the usenet days and up through the more recent Electrical Audio forums era.
As a man with a low tolerance for idiots and assholes, and a strong dislike for creative laziness and the stinking influence of money, he chose the wrong profession to devote his life to. But I'm glad he did. Thank you, Steve.
posted by Paid In Full at 4:04 PM on May 8 [8 favorites]
He was always generous with giving recording advice to internet strangers like myself, from the usenet days and up through the more recent Electrical Audio forums era.
As a man with a low tolerance for idiots and assholes, and a strong dislike for creative laziness and the stinking influence of money, he chose the wrong profession to devote his life to. But I'm glad he did. Thank you, Steve.
posted by Paid In Full at 4:04 PM on May 8 [8 favorites]
Slint, Pixies, Jesus Lizard, Wedding Present, PJ Harvey, and on and on and on. What a massive influence he had on 90s music. A master. And while the band name is terrible, I loved Two Nuns and a Pack Mule. RIP Steve.
posted by Elmore at 4:05 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
posted by Elmore at 4:05 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
Big Black played in my undergrad dorm's club around 1986. They plugged into the grid and immediately blacked out the building, appropriately. There was some technical work, and then... rock.
posted by doctornemo at 4:14 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
posted by doctornemo at 4:14 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
He helped out some folks I knew way back. Even though those bands didn't get far, the musicians in them did. Needless to say, they're paying their respect. What an amazing reach.
posted by mollweide at 4:16 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 4:16 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
I knew Steve a bit in college, He was *deeply* into being an asshole at the time, so it's good to read that he got over that some as he matured. He was extremely creative, and it was interesting to see what he would do next - he drew some cartoons for our humor magazine, he tried doing a comedy routine, and did a little musical act with a Casio keyboard, so you never knew what he might come up. When I learned after college that he had become a record producer (excuse me, engineer), it seemed pretty on-brand for him.
posted by briank at 4:33 PM on May 8 [12 favorites]
posted by briank at 4:33 PM on May 8 [12 favorites]
♪_ ♪
The older one gets the harder it is to 180.
Steve Albini always went hard, and he found his way back to good.
For Mclusky Do Dallas and so, so many more:
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posted by Ryvar at 4:48 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
The older one gets the harder it is to 180.
Steve Albini always went hard, and he found his way back to good.
For Mclusky Do Dallas and so, so many more:
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posted by Ryvar at 4:48 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
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posted by Samuel Farrow at 5:10 PM on May 8
posted by Samuel Farrow at 5:10 PM on May 8
Fuck. Fuck. I deeply admire Albini, as a musician (I'm a huge fan of Shellac), but also as an engineer, not only because he recorded great records but also because he had a truly radical view of his job. He thought about his work as an engineer politically, ethically, and technologically. He wasn't just great at recording stuff he had a whole philosophy about it, what's the role of a recording engineer, what's your part in this industry. etc... There's a really cool masterclass where he laid it all out and it's fascinating, it's 2 hours of Albini talking about his job as a recording engineer.
posted by SageLeVoid at 5:13 PM on May 8 [15 favorites]
posted by SageLeVoid at 5:13 PM on May 8 [15 favorites]
I posted this elsewhere about Albini; I’m of an age where I went through three phases in my appreciation of his work — the records, the writing, and then with his journey from edgelordism to full humanity. I’m utterly gutted that I never got the chance to apologize to him for my part in what was pretty clearly a bad time for him.
—-
So I went to school at the University of Chicago, starting in 1990. At the time, Chicago had a pretty standard (but great) radio station, WHPK 88.5 fm Pride of the South Side 50 booming watts and I eventually got a show there. Albini was a legendary figure in Chicago, and somehow a previous station manager had written his phone number on a poster or something, and it quickly became a kind of samizadat, because you could prank call and absolutely 100% get a callback reaction from an incandescently angry Albini. Look, we were assholes.
Eventually we sort of stopped, but one day, August 9th, 1995, as it happens, I got a call from a friend who said, and this is clear as day to me, "hey, I need Albini's number and I can't tell you why, yet". So I gave him the number and forgot about it, more or less.
You may remember that date as the day that Jerry Garcia died. The Dead were going to be in Chicago shortly afterwards for a run of shows, and there were thousands of Deadheads milling aimlessly around Grant Park. Garcia's death hit them hard, and someone came up with an idea to set up a phone line for them to call and leave their condolences for Jerry's family, and favourite memories of him, and the Dead. They then printed up a bunch of fliers and went down to Grant Park and handed them out.
I think you can put the pieces together, here.
Supposedly, Albini had to call the phone company to get his line diverted or something, because the volume of incoming calls immediately made his phone unusable.
Many years later, he (at the Upright Citizen's Brigade, I think) told the story, much better than I just did, and I wish I'd had a chance to meet him and tell him my side.
posted by tftio at 5:14 PM on May 8 [54 favorites]
—-
So I went to school at the University of Chicago, starting in 1990. At the time, Chicago had a pretty standard (but great) radio station, WHPK 88.5 fm Pride of the South Side 50 booming watts and I eventually got a show there. Albini was a legendary figure in Chicago, and somehow a previous station manager had written his phone number on a poster or something, and it quickly became a kind of samizadat, because you could prank call and absolutely 100% get a callback reaction from an incandescently angry Albini. Look, we were assholes.
Eventually we sort of stopped, but one day, August 9th, 1995, as it happens, I got a call from a friend who said, and this is clear as day to me, "hey, I need Albini's number and I can't tell you why, yet". So I gave him the number and forgot about it, more or less.
You may remember that date as the day that Jerry Garcia died. The Dead were going to be in Chicago shortly afterwards for a run of shows, and there were thousands of Deadheads milling aimlessly around Grant Park. Garcia's death hit them hard, and someone came up with an idea to set up a phone line for them to call and leave their condolences for Jerry's family, and favourite memories of him, and the Dead. They then printed up a bunch of fliers and went down to Grant Park and handed them out.
I think you can put the pieces together, here.
Supposedly, Albini had to call the phone company to get his line diverted or something, because the volume of incoming calls immediately made his phone unusable.
Many years later, he (at the Upright Citizen's Brigade, I think) told the story, much better than I just did, and I wish I'd had a chance to meet him and tell him my side.
posted by tftio at 5:14 PM on May 8 [54 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 5:28 PM on May 8
posted by JoeXIII007 at 5:28 PM on May 8
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posted by monkeymike at 5:35 PM on May 8
posted by monkeymike at 5:35 PM on May 8
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This news came as a total shock today.
I remember hearing Big Black for the first time in high school. There are few records that I would call life-changing for me, and Songs About Fucking is one of them. Lately, as I've tried to learn more about music making, I've particularly enjoyed his videos and I'm grateful that he generously shared his perspective on recording. Such a huge, huge loss.
posted by Otherwise at 5:36 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
This news came as a total shock today.
I remember hearing Big Black for the first time in high school. There are few records that I would call life-changing for me, and Songs About Fucking is one of them. Lately, as I've tried to learn more about music making, I've particularly enjoyed his videos and I'm grateful that he generously shared his perspective on recording. Such a huge, huge loss.
posted by Otherwise at 5:36 PM on May 8 [4 favorites]
He was the punk version of Rudy Van Gelder (close mics and compression), which is cool.
Last year I predicted: I think in the future Albini will be best known for his Lil Bub interview.
posted by ovvl at 5:53 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
Last year I predicted: I think in the future Albini will be best known for his Lil Bub interview.
posted by ovvl at 5:53 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
Goddamn
posted by northtwilight at 6:48 PM on May 8
posted by northtwilight at 6:48 PM on May 8
I think you can put the pieces together, here.
That may be one of the best pranks I have ever read. Chapeau.
Sorry Steve but LOL
posted by alex_skazat at 6:58 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
That may be one of the best pranks I have ever read. Chapeau.
Sorry Steve but LOL
posted by alex_skazat at 6:58 PM on May 8 [1 favorite]
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posted by equalpants at 7:02 PM on May 8
posted by equalpants at 7:02 PM on May 8
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posted by socialjusticeworrier at 7:20 PM on May 8
posted by socialjusticeworrier at 7:20 PM on May 8
Would've liked another decade of work and thought from this guy.
In any medium, those who can transform ethos into functional enterprise should be respected and appreciated.
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posted by coolxcool=rad at 7:44 PM on May 8 [2 favorites]
In any medium, those who can transform ethos into functional enterprise should be respected and appreciated.
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posted by coolxcool=rad at 7:44 PM on May 8 [2 favorites]
I have Dirty Three's Ocean Songs currently playing as an observance. It's magnificent.
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posted by deadwax at 7:50 PM on May 8 [2 favorites]
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posted by deadwax at 7:50 PM on May 8 [2 favorites]
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posted by faceplantingcheetah at 11:02 PM on May 8
posted by faceplantingcheetah at 11:02 PM on May 8
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posted by Mintyblonde at 11:15 PM on May 8
posted by Mintyblonde at 11:15 PM on May 8
It’s unusual to be excellent in one’s craft and also to be eloquent in writing about that craft. Albini was that.
I kind of looked up to him I’m realizing now. The conscious decision to do your best by facilitating others to do their best is what I aspire to as a teacher. Not staying out of the way; working to make sure you’re not in the way.
What a tremendous loss.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:38 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
I kind of looked up to him I’m realizing now. The conscious decision to do your best by facilitating others to do their best is what I aspire to as a teacher. Not staying out of the way; working to make sure you’re not in the way.
What a tremendous loss.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:38 PM on May 8 [3 favorites]
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posted by crocomancer at 2:39 AM on May 9
posted by crocomancer at 2:39 AM on May 9
On their last tour in 1987 Big Black played the Hammersmith Clarendon in London, closed the set with a cover of Heartbeat by Wire, and were joined on stage by half of Wire, Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert. It's a monster of a way to end a show. The song ends, and Albini says to the audience, "Tonight... we walked with giants."
It's not much, but from a guy with his reputation for not liking anything, disparaging everything, being as coarse and abrasive as his music, under all that he could be as passionate and reverential about things that meant a lot to him. It's a moment of public candour. Fantastic cover as well.
(The track appears on the VHS release of 'Pigpile' but for some reason without that final line, and Heartbeat is not on the audio release at all.)
posted by Hogshead at 3:16 AM on May 9 [7 favorites]
It's not much, but from a guy with his reputation for not liking anything, disparaging everything, being as coarse and abrasive as his music, under all that he could be as passionate and reverential about things that meant a lot to him. It's a moment of public candour. Fantastic cover as well.
(The track appears on the VHS release of 'Pigpile' but for some reason without that final line, and Heartbeat is not on the audio release at all.)
posted by Hogshead at 3:16 AM on May 9 [7 favorites]
He taught me that I was cheese and shouldn’t get my hopes up.
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posted by whuppy at 4:56 AM on May 9 [1 favorite]
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posted by whuppy at 4:56 AM on May 9 [1 favorite]
He was the water in which we swam, and should have been for much much longer.
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posted by whuppy at 4:58 AM on May 9
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posted by whuppy at 4:58 AM on May 9
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posted by destructive cactus at 6:13 AM on May 9
posted by destructive cactus at 6:13 AM on May 9
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posted by schyler523 at 6:26 AM on May 9
posted by schyler523 at 6:26 AM on May 9
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posted by exlotuseater at 6:27 AM on May 9
posted by exlotuseater at 6:27 AM on May 9
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posted by kensington314 at 7:44 AM on May 9
posted by kensington314 at 7:44 AM on May 9
My friend Tripp (bass player for The Grifters) told this story about Albini and it's hilarious:
We were in Chicago hanging out at the original Empty Bottle when we see Albini and Krist Novoselic playing pool. Stan and I put our quarters on the table for next game. We actually used to be pretty good pool players. I'm thinking this will be great, we can chat while playing and I can ask Albini about Jesus Lizard or whatever. Maybe we'll hit it off and find some way of working together in the future. Albini broke, then ran the table. Stan and I never even got to shoot. Albini was like "Next!"posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:46 AM on May 9 [12 favorites]
I consider this interviewer to be a personality litmus test. I think Steve did as well as anyone can do.
posted by current occupation: at 8:24 AM on May 9
posted by current occupation: at 8:24 AM on May 9
Last year I predicted: I think in the future Albini will be best known for his Lil Bub interview.
I am trying like crazy to find a clip of the live interview he did with Tom Scharpling (as Gary the Squirrel) at Lincoln Hall in like...2014? 15? I joked at the time that it was the kind of story that makes your grandkids think you're losing it.
"One time, I saw a squirrel puppet interview Steve Albini!"
"Okay grandma, let's get you to bed."
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:34 AM on May 9 [6 favorites]
I am trying like crazy to find a clip of the live interview he did with Tom Scharpling (as Gary the Squirrel) at Lincoln Hall in like...2014? 15? I joked at the time that it was the kind of story that makes your grandkids think you're losing it.
"One time, I saw a squirrel puppet interview Steve Albini!"
"Okay grandma, let's get you to bed."
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:34 AM on May 9 [6 favorites]
Hogshead, I was at the Clarendon too! I remember it being incredibly hot and sticky and crowded.
Someone threw a watermelon at the ceiling (trying to cool everyone down?) and Albini was covered in red juice that looks like blood in the one photo I have (but can't find anywhere).
posted by Orkney Vole at 9:54 AM on May 9 [1 favorite]
Someone threw a watermelon at the ceiling (trying to cool everyone down?) and Albini was covered in red juice that looks like blood in the one photo I have (but can't find anywhere).
posted by Orkney Vole at 9:54 AM on May 9 [1 favorite]
Also, I should say that this username, which I have been low-key phasing out in recent years, was my first regular username on the internet and comes from the Big Black song Dead Billy (if it wasn't obvious to this crowd of people commenting on an Albini memorial post)
posted by deadbilly at 1:12 PM on May 9 [1 favorite]
posted by deadbilly at 1:12 PM on May 9 [1 favorite]
At the end of this masterclass, Steve's asked if there are any albums that he's worked on that really touched him. He replies:
There are relationships that I've built through working on records that mean the world to me, people that have become dear friends and have essentially been incorporated into my family. Those people and those relationships mean the world to me much more than any record. And the fact that I got there by making a record means those records are significant one way or the other.
I did a record for a guy named John Grabski who was dying of cancer and he wanted to make an album documenting his terminal period. He'd decided to decline treatment toward the end of his life and he wanted to make an album documenting his relationship with the disease. All the music was directly related to his experience with cancer. That was a really moving experience for me. To see him realize this ambition at the very end of his life. To see him animated and driven and compelled, knowing that he wasn't going to be around when copies hit the store or whatever. That was just an incredibly satisfying thing. To learn from him how to conduct yourself at the end of your life. I feel enormously gratified that I got to have that experience with him.
The Strain, by Teeth— the album.
posted by i like crows very much at 1:47 PM on May 9 [11 favorites]
There are relationships that I've built through working on records that mean the world to me, people that have become dear friends and have essentially been incorporated into my family. Those people and those relationships mean the world to me much more than any record. And the fact that I got there by making a record means those records are significant one way or the other.
I did a record for a guy named John Grabski who was dying of cancer and he wanted to make an album documenting his terminal period. He'd decided to decline treatment toward the end of his life and he wanted to make an album documenting his relationship with the disease. All the music was directly related to his experience with cancer. That was a really moving experience for me. To see him realize this ambition at the very end of his life. To see him animated and driven and compelled, knowing that he wasn't going to be around when copies hit the store or whatever. That was just an incredibly satisfying thing. To learn from him how to conduct yourself at the end of your life. I feel enormously gratified that I got to have that experience with him.
The Strain, by Teeth— the album.
posted by i like crows very much at 1:47 PM on May 9 [11 favorites]
This Christmas is going to suck a little more for some poor folks in the Chicago area. Hope people heep this going in his honour.
This one really hurts. The guy was human and flawed but saw it and worked hard to redeem himself. If that's not the story arc we should all aspire to I don't know what is.
posted by tim_in_oz at 7:44 PM on May 9 [6 favorites]
This one really hurts. The guy was human and flawed but saw it and worked hard to redeem himself. If that's not the story arc we should all aspire to I don't know what is.
posted by tim_in_oz at 7:44 PM on May 9 [6 favorites]
Count me among the Gen X men here who also had to make a trek back from cynical and misanthropic asshole to decent human being. There aren't many role models for us: Albini, maybe Bourdain to a degree... maybe Penn Jillette is on his way to getting there some day. (Maybe.)
Albini really seems like one of the best examples of people who ended up getting it right.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:28 PM on May 10 [6 favorites]
Albini really seems like one of the best examples of people who ended up getting it right.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:28 PM on May 10 [6 favorites]
Preserved by The Baffler, here is Albini's 1993 essay "The Problem With Music".
I'm very glad this is still online, and I'm a little sad that the < blink > tag that flashed the final artist income at the bottom of the original Negativeland post isn't still working. All that is still true and more, now with streaming. I read his letter to Nirvana for the first time yesterday, and man, he understood the concept. Right guy, right place, right time.
I of course never met him, but used to work with 2 of the guys in The Jesus Lizard before they moved to Chicago and watching them go from busboys and waiters to underground rock gods was quite the thing. Edith Frost is also a friend and he engineered one of her albums in her time in Chicago and i need to tease some stories out of her when she's recovered from the shock.
I kinda hated Big Black at the time, but I totally get his ethos about recording -- learn to point a mic, set up in a good room and catch the band's live sound. Nowhere near enough people in the biz with the smarts to really get that right these days, and now there's one less of the very best.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:49 PM on May 10 [1 favorite]
I'm very glad this is still online, and I'm a little sad that the < blink > tag that flashed the final artist income at the bottom of the original Negativeland post isn't still working. All that is still true and more, now with streaming. I read his letter to Nirvana for the first time yesterday, and man, he understood the concept. Right guy, right place, right time.
I of course never met him, but used to work with 2 of the guys in The Jesus Lizard before they moved to Chicago and watching them go from busboys and waiters to underground rock gods was quite the thing. Edith Frost is also a friend and he engineered one of her albums in her time in Chicago and i need to tease some stories out of her when she's recovered from the shock.
I kinda hated Big Black at the time, but I totally get his ethos about recording -- learn to point a mic, set up in a good room and catch the band's live sound. Nowhere near enough people in the biz with the smarts to really get that right these days, and now there's one less of the very best.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:49 PM on May 10 [1 favorite]
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posted by rhiannonstone at 7:12 AM on May 11
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:12 AM on May 11
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posted by whatevernot at 11:19 AM on May 8