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User
Reviews 19
Approval 93%
Soundoffs 28
Album Ratings 414
Objectivity 63%
Last Active 10-30-22 11:20 pm
Joined 06-28-18
Review Comments 275
| Greatest Big Black Song Ever?
I’m “cranked” up on coffee and Big Black this morning, and thought I’d pose a painful question to Big Black fans: If our civilization hit an Apocalyptic bump in the road (as civilizations usually do at some point), and only one track by Big Black survived, what song would you choose it to be? | | 1 |  | Big Black
Songs About Fucking
I thought about this question after reading an obituary article for Steve Albini in the Atlantic. The writer quotes Albini saying:
“How will people know what our culture was like now, in 50 or 100 years? Well, they can read what survives the great digital void, and they can listen to what music survives. And I just want to make sure that I do a good job on the music that survives, you know?”
I don't know if Big Black will be one of the survivors (too obscure?), but surely one the albums he's worked on will. He has his DNA all over the industry. | | 2 |  | Big Black
The Hammer Party
Runner Up: Cables
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7QW_SIPmT4
It has the lyrics at 2:07 that go:
“I guess they know
I'm not no company man
But I can pull on a rope, I can kill a cow
FAST AS ANY OTHER FUCK’N COWHAND!”
Angry punk rock for cowboys. You'd think bull riders would listen to this kind of thing, but they tend to go with stuff that sounds like Garth Brooks. Wildly offensive if you're vegan, though. But there was nothing nice about 80's punk -- lyrics became noticeably more civilized when bands like Green Day and Blink 182 came on the scene.
(This is originally from the Bulldozer EP, but that was out of print when I got into them and I know it from the Hammer Party compilation. Same for the track below, originally from Atomizer.) | | 3 |  | Big Black
The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape
“Best” song ever: Jordan, Minnesota.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEH75l-I8Ok
The cool thing about Big Black was how totally unique they were. What is this stuff? To my ears they pushed the boundaries of the genres that existed in the 1980’s. Punk? Hardcore? Industrial Hardcore? Industrial Crossover-Thrash-Punk? | | 4 | | Big Black
The Hammer Party
Notable: Steelworker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ruuMh0fF5s
When Loudwire ranked all of Slayer's songs, they ranked "Playing With Dolls" dead last. I like that track however, and the reason I think I do is because I immediately thought of Big Black's "Steelworker" the first time I heard it. I don't know if Jeff Hanneman listened to Big Black, but he was a huge Hardcore fan so it seems possible.
The two songs are quite different, but I'm pretty sure the intervals -- chromatic minor seconds? -- are the same. Steve Albini loved that sound, and the intervals are found throughout their discography, making this song representative of quite a bit of their music. But it's really not fast enough for me to keep only this one song in the event of an apocalypse. | | 5 |  | Shellac
To All Trains
I never followed Albini after the band split up, but, like finishing watching all of Tarantino’s films, it’s on my to-do list. His later music sounds mellower, but I’m sure there’s something there I’ll like. The guy spilled over with talent. Any recs from his other projects welcome | |
kildare
05.10.24 | Obit for Steve in the Atlantic: Steve Albini Was Proof You Can Change https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/05/steve-albini-obituary/678328/ | BAT
05.10.24 | if your big on stuff like jesus lizard, that rapeman album sounds like proto-jl with albini at the front. shellac is also really good | kildare
05.10.24 | Thanks for recs. I forgot about Rapeman. Haven't heard the name since the early 90's but didn't have the funds to get it without hearing it first. It's funny how Albini is all over the Jesus Lizard Wikipedia page even though he wasn't in the band. He was just such a driving force. I'm hoping the new Shellac coming out will be on bandcamp. Not really my kind of music but I'll give it a hard listen | BMDrummer
05.11.24 | the ugly american would probably be my pick | kildare
05.11.24 | That's a great one. I love the horn |
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