RIP Steve Albini

[braindancer]

Pitchfork article

Fuck!

 

[editor]

Guardian eulogy. Just 61 years old! Died of a heart attack according to Pirchfork.

Steve Albini, the vocalist, guitarist and producer who helmed a series of the most esteemed albums across the US alternative music scene, has died aged 61 from a heart attack suffered at his recording studio. Staff at his studio, Electrical Audio, confirmed the news to Pitchfork.

As well as fronting the bands Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac, who all pushed at the boundaries of post-punk and art-rock, Albini also produced – or, to use his preferred term, engineered – albums by Nirvana, Pixies, PJ Harvey and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. He was noted for his DIY and punk ethos, resisting streaming services and refusing to take royalties from the recordings he produced for other artists.

Shellac were preparing their first album since 2014, To All Trains, for release next week.

 

[braindancer]

I literally booked tickets to see Shellac in June this morning.

What a fucking legend.

 

[danny la rouge]

That’s a shock! Jeez.

 

[May Kasahara]

No way Produced some of my favourite albums. A real loss to music.

 

[BassJunkie]

I realise now that he was one of those people I'd lazily assumed would be immortal.

 

[Silas Loom]

Yanqui UXO for in memoriam listening tonight I think.

 

[RevolutionSound]

A great loss

 

[ddraig]

Noooo! ah shit

 

[May Kasahara]

I realise now that he was one of those people I'd lazily assumed would be immortal.

Mr K said much the same thing, after he'd finished saying "fuck! Shit! Fuck! No way!

 

[Mogden]

Oh man, that sucks. Great musical mind and a total loss to the industry

 

[belboid]

After not seeing his rather poorly named band at Leeds Poly (and almost meeting Chris, who would become my brother-in-law years later, by doing so), I made up for it with 17 (seventeen!) Shellac gigs, with another three lined up. No one, no one, could put on a show like Shellac (oh, okay, maybe prime Fugazi), intense, loud, engrossing, louder, and bloody funny.

Whilst most artists of a 'certain age' become more conservative over the years (yes, Cave, I'm looking at you), Albini continued to think and to question himself and his attitudes. He went from being the arsehole iconoclast edge lord to a thoughtful and insightful human fucking being. Whilst still being a fucking brilliant guitarist and bandleader.

I was, still, always afraid Chris would tell him about Leeds though, I'm not sure how thoughtful he'd have been to me then.

Utterly gutted

 

[braindancer]

I was planning to take my kids to the show in a couple of weeks. I told them that if they were very lucky Albini would pretend to be a plane...

 

[braindancer]

No one, no one, could put on a show like Shellac (oh, okay, maybe prime Fugazi), intense, loud, engrossing, louder, and bloody funny.

Totally agree. I saw them 4 or 5 times and each time would be banging on about how they were the best live band in the world. I've probably said that about lots of other bands too but with Shellac it's actually true....

 

[SpookyFrank]

He's got a ridiculous production CV.

Add this to the list of stuff I didn't know he did...


RIP Steve, and Mimi

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Never realised he'd engineered so much of my favourite stuff. Incredible list.

 

[Bus Honeygun]

Gutted. Saw Shellac a few times and had half an eye on the gigs coming up. Can't believe I'll never see them again. My daughter's just asked who he was and it was only when I started listing all the people he worked with that his colossal influence started to sink in. Interesting, complicated bloke as well.

 

[hitmouse]

One of those spooky things (or not), I had literally just been listening to Songs About Fucking earlier this afternoon. And yeah, as belboid says, he was a model for that trickiest of things, aging gracefully - whatever "selling out" is, he definitely never did that, but he also managed to avoid that trap of becoming stuck as a caricature of his 20-something self. And it's no age to go.

 

[sleaterkinney]

Way too soon.

 

[hitmouse]

Resharing this classic:

The Problem with Music | Steve Albini

How record labels use A&R flaks and impenetrable contracts to screw artists while raking in millions

thebaffler.com

 

[CNT36]

Fuck

 

[belboid]

Only just checked out the track listing for To All Trains. Side 2, track 3:

How I Wrote How I Wrote Elastic Man (cock & bull)

I like the sound of that.

 

[Ming]

First heard Big Black Kerosene on the Kurt Cobain documentary About a Son and thought 'that's an amazing song!'. Got into all his other music and engineering through that introduction (apart from In Utero). Very saddened by this. He was amazing in so many ways. He did a lot of in depth Youtube videos on recording techniques also.

 

[krtek a houby]

Good article from last year, he seemed to have turned away from that abrasive persona.

The evolution of Steve Albini: ‘If the dumbest person is on your side, you’re on the wrong side’

The long read: Steve Albini was long synonymous with the indie underground, playing in revered bands and recording albums by the Pixies, PJ Harvey and Nirvana. He also often seemed determined to offend as many people as possible. What led him to reassess his past?

www.theguardian.com

 

[seeformiles]

Lordy - that’s a bit of a shock

 

[DJWrongspeed]

He gave a great interview about working with Nirvana that explored the artist <> label dilemma, if only they'd just released his mix !

 

[Spandex]

Steve Albini's letter to Nirvana before he worked with them, outlining his approach to production, is a great read:

I would like to be paid like a plumber

 

[Bus Honeygun]

Good article from last year, he seemed to have turned away from that abrasive persona.

The evolution of Steve Albini: ‘If the dumbest person is on your side, you’re on the wrong side’

The long read: Steve Albini was long synonymous with the indie underground, playing in revered bands and recording albums by the Pixies, PJ Harvey and Nirvana. He also often seemed determined to offend as many people as possible. What led him to reassess his past?

www.theguardian.com

This is also interesting:

Steve Albini talks to LISTEN: “I try to be an ally in feminism” »

In this exclusive article for LISTEN, Evelyn Morris recounts a difficult story of sexual trauma and how it impacted her love for Shellac, before posing a series of incisive question to the band’s frontman, Steve Albini. Albini answers Evelyn’s questions in detail here, saying: “this is the first...

listenlistenlisten.org

 

[Voley]

Bloody hell, that's a shock. Produced at least three albums on my all-time top 10. Bit dumbfounded by this, I must admit.

RIP Steve and thanks.

 

[mack]

Fucks sake - 61 is no age to go. Thanks for everything.