Albini’s not a producer. He very accurately captures the sound of what a band sounds like live in the studio. He knows the right types of mics to use for the amps, the vocals, everything.
So, he’s a producer.
[reply]Albini’s not a producer. He very accurately captures the sound of what a band sounds like live in the studio. He knows the right types of mics to use for the amps, the vocals, everything.
So, he’s a producer.[/reply]
He’s more an engineer when he works, if anyone produces anything it’s the band.
An album doesn’t have to have a producer if the album is already written and needs no artistic or aesthetic input from a third party. Albini doesn’t influence the band in the way a producer does.
If for example Trent Reznor produces MM, it’s possible to hear it without prior knowledge of his involvement and say “if Trent Reznor didn’t produce this then someone is copying him”. TR’s very distinctive and I’ve never heard him successfully be copied by anyone else. Even though I don’t like it, Antichrist Superstar sounds stylistically like TR and if I hear the album it’s cool to hear what he’s done with it.
but if Albini engineers a record his only mark is that he is an exceptional engineer, which technically should be the standard. It’s basically a faceless job that if done correctly, the result should be invisible - I don’t know any other way to explain it but what he does is distinctly different from being a producer. Sorry if this post is quite long with the same thing being repeated, not trying to be patronizing.
I think the movie you’re all looking for (or should be looking for) is called POISON IVY.
Then it would be Poison Ivy 2. Drew Barrymore was the chick in the first one going after old ass Tom Skirret. Who ever thought the guy who played Cheech’s brother Strawberry in Up In Smoke would go on to perv with Drew Barrymore.
^
HAHA!!! Mad props, Dude!
I bet Steve Albini is an ass to listen to music around lol. Can you imagine it? Probably one of those annoying biased types,picky about everything.
Embrace the Vampire is the movie with the greatest Milano tit shot…and no that isn’t Tia Carrera making out with her just an actress who resembles her…
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/td90c/i_am_steve_albini_ask_me_anything/
My fav. is the one about Al Jourgensen:
Q: you’ve ridiculed Al Jourgenson as a “producer”, but what do you think of his work as a musician?
Steve_Albini: Lame derivative bullshit in all its incarnations. Precisely what he was imitating changed over the years, but whether it was Depeche Mode, Killing Joke or Slayer it was pretty much always bullshit.
Also found this:
Head Of David “Dustbowl” LP: The original artwork for this album said ”Dustbowel,” which I quite liked, even when I found out it was a mistake. My involvement here was limited to remixing a record that was fine before I touched it and got no better for the effort. I also had to endure the presence of Justin Pile, HOD’s measly drummer, who spent long hours bemoaning the state of his hemorrhoids, playing with his dreadlocks and eating greasy vegetarian food (the better to fart you with, grandma) — the turd.Fee: about $500, I think
Albini is a shitty engineer who’s antiquated ideas have become more and more irrelevant. I like big black despite of the shitty engineering and production. His mixing is so awful when Nirvana did In Utero the label insisted they at least have a real mixer mix the two singles. His engineering and mixing always sounds flat and dull. It’s his signature sound.
I remember reading Our band could be Your life, or whatever the title of that book is, and thought I saw a negative comment about Ministry by him in it…
My favorite question to Albini in that AMA, was about the political correctness of the band name Rapeman (I’ll attach an image or link it later).
Albini had a pretty lame response. [reply]
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Albini is a whiny little bitch who is jealous that the whole world is better than him at pretty much everything.
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I’ve yet to read a single comment from Steve Albini that doesn’t make him sound like an unpleasant, whining, elitist little bitch. The man is an arsehole.
the question:
the response:
While his little soap box essay was intelligent and accurate, in my opinion, it completely avoided the actual question and he skips addressing the issue related specifically to him and his art. I’m not sure though if I admire him more or less for this verbal evasion. I guess it depends on what his intent was.
While his little soap box essay was intelligent and accurate, in my opinion, it completely avoided the actual question and he skips addressing the issue related specifically to him and his art. I’m not sure though if I admire him more or less for this verbal evasion. I guess it depends on what his intent was.
With the way the original questions was stated, roping Albini into some mythical “we” that I don’t think he would want any part of (he’s never claimed to be a social activist to my knowledge), I’m surprised he even ‘answered’ it to the extent he did.
I think the digression there may have been done because he sensed similar questions coming down the pipeline, and wanted a catch-all answer that would pre-emptively deal with such questions. I’m sure at least someone would have eventually asked about his friendships with characters like Peter Sotos and Jim Goad, whose own personal controversies make any ‘furore’ over Rapeman seem like a Sunday school picnic.
Personally I never felt that Albini was going for anything ‘haha funny’ by naming the band Rapeman. Like a lot of other items in Albini’s catalog - see for example “Jordan, Minnesota” or “Kerosene” off of Big Black’s Atomizer LP - I interpreted that as another of his attempts to spotlight the insane extremes that humans go to in order to satiate their needs and give themselves some fleeting taste of power. Those extremes that make actual reality often more bizarre than fiction or fantasy.
Remember that the band name didn’t come directly from Albini’s imagination, it was the name of the titular “hero” in a Japanese manga undoubtedly read by thousands of bored salarymen on daily train commutes. He could have made more of a moral statement on how ‘fucked up’ that is, but he probably thought that would be self-evident, and also that this would bring him closer to the mass media creeps who regularly broadcast images of human suffering and try to disguise this suffering porn with some fake sense of “concern” for the victims whose misery they are compounding when televising them.
I think Rapeman (I’ve never heard even one song) is a great band name. I didn’t know about the manga tie-in with the name. But I like that it really does, if you think about it, highlight the retarded inconsistency with “political correctness” issues in the context of music.
No one bats an eye if you call your band The Killers, Suffocation, The Stranglers . . . all “glorifying” stuff bad things. Oh, but rape? Whoa! That’s crossing a line there, Son! You can be a murderer. But please, for the love of all that is holy, don’t ever make a facetious reference to non-consentual relations . . .
Personally I never felt that Albini was going for anything ‘haha funny’ by naming the band Rapeman. Like a lot of other items in Albini’s catalog - see for example “Jordan, Minnesota” or “Kerosene” off of Big Black’s Atomizer LP - I interpreted that as another of his attempts to spotlight the insane extremes that humans go to in order to satiate their needs and give themselves some fleeting taste of power. Those extremes that make actual reality often more bizarre than fiction or fantasy.
Remember that the band name didn’t come directly from Albini’s imagination, it was the name of the titular “hero” in a Japanese manga undoubtedly read by thousands of bored salarymen on daily train commutes. He could have made more of a moral statement on how ‘fucked up’ that is, but he probably thought that would be self-evident, and also that this would bring him closer to the mass media creeps who regularly broadcast images of human suffering and try to disguise this suffering porn with some fake sense of “concern” for the victims whose misery they are compounding when televising them.
^is what I wish Albini’s response would’ve looked like.
“rapeman - kim gordons panties”
why was that not mentioned
the mans certainly done some great work
(in utero, comfort, rid of me)
certainly he makes some shit statements’
(dont we all)…
[reply]
Personally I never felt that Albini was going for anything ‘haha funny’ by naming the band Rapeman. Like a lot of other items in Albini’s catalog - see for example “Jordan, Minnesota” or “Kerosene” off of Big Black’s Atomizer LP - I interpreted that as another of his attempts to spotlight the insane extremes that humans go to in order to satiate their needs and give themselves some fleeting taste of power. Those extremes that make actual reality often more bizarre than fiction or fantasy.
Remember that the band name didn’t come directly from Albini’s imagination, it was the name of the titular “hero” in a Japanese manga undoubtedly read by thousands of bored salarymen on daily train commutes. He could have made more of a moral statement on how ‘fucked up’ that is, but he probably thought that would be self-evident, and also that this would bring him closer to the mass media creeps who regularly broadcast images of human suffering and try to disguise this suffering porn with some fake sense of “concern” for the victims whose misery they are compounding when televising them.
^is what I wish Albini’s response would’ve looked like.[/reply]
Why thanks 
I honestly would have expected him to say something more along those lines, since I’ve heard similar sentiments in old interviews with him anyway.
I wrote at least one published column where I spoke positively about his attitudes to the music industry (“file sharing” debate, etc.), though I’m more reluctant to go to bat for him when he is busy with his hobby of slagging off bands.
But I guess he’s like an episode of ‘South Park’ in that sense. When he’s satirizing something you hate, he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the urge to hit him with a tire iron becomes unbearable when he criticizes something that you don’t feel deserves it.
I’m not sure why he has so much hate for Jourgensen. And why would he think that albums like Rape And Honey and The Mind… are “lame and derivative”?? Lame why? Derivative why? Is he saying these things just to get attention?? Does he need more attention? Granted, Jourgensen didn’t exactly pioneer that particular sound and his influences are evident on both lps. But then again - well, who cares? Ministry took ideas from here and there and made them “their own” to be sure, but then again so did…just about everybody who ever formed a band post 1980.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never (never even in my most “anti-Ministry” of moods) listened to Rape And Honey, rolled my eyes and thought, “gee…how lame. Sounds just like <so and so>!!”.
He fucken hates on Butthole Surfers too which pisses me off equally.
Oh…and he HATES Black Sabbath.
He’s just an all round hater I guess.
Yeah, Albini is pretty open with his hate. Even though I could not care less about him or his art, really, I’ve always liked that he’s never held back. I always remember his commentary on Ministry as “Disco through a distortion box”. Uhh, okay. Whatever.
He just seems like an angry little bastard. I don’t really know why anyone ever seems to care, though.