Albini's bands...Big Black, Rapeman or Shellac

Not familiar enough with Rapeman enough to comment, but I listened to Shellac's second record for the first time in a couple years this weekend. And while it did occasionally achieve a nice metal on metal guitar action, it was a bit too clinical for these ears, the stop- start math riffs undoing any groove the rhythm section got up and running.

You know, I've always considered the Albini ouevre (not to slight the contributors / partners, of course) to be more arch and ironic (for lack of a better word) than all that meaningful - certainly over the top. Note that moment during _1000 Hurts_, when Steve says, "This is a SAD fucking song". Maybe that's just how I approached things - I find it hard to take stuff like "Budd" or "Kerosene" or "Jordan, Minnesota" that seriously. Even if there was an earnest attempt to communicate something (serious or poetic), it's undercut by the brutal instrumentation (never mind the "natural" recording techniques, making most of the lyrics on the older records nearly incomprehensible). Granted, there's more evidence on later Shellac records of this meta-ironic stance than on BB or Rapeman albums - songs about Canada, porn star tribulations, Boche Billions' dick, squirrels, "Kill him. Fucking kill him. Fucking kill him. Fucking kill him," copper's envy of gold. I love it, of course.

If there's anything frightening, it's Steve's guitar, especially in Shellac (where he's definitely a master of those Slintacular dynamics that other bands just don't understand - those feedback flare-ups during "Crow" always give me chills). AN GU LAR.

As for what I enjoy by him, Big Black's two full lengths, and Rapeman's one are all equally great.

(Touch and Go would likely have blanched at this.)

His music's only offensive quality? Its very inoffensive nature. Always of its time... And instantly dated.

As a producer, he's even worse. His best work? IMHO, the Fred Schneider solo album from the late '90s. (No, I'm not being impudent, It's actually quite good. For once, he created something unexpected.)

My two cent's worth, lads.

Happy Holidays,

Laura N.

Slint revival has led into a personal Rapeman revival this summer -- Two Nuns & a Pack Mule is a winner. I love the banishment of guitar to feedback and harmonic torture, the footnote quality lyrics, and the last-minute revelation via "Just Got Paid" that the preceding 25-minute noise-funk circus has basically been a ZZ Top rip by dudes older than you who remember such shit. Ha!

Plus it sounds like it's recorded from the perspective of the drum stool! What the fuck!?

This bloke on our local market persuaded me to buy Atomiser when it came out and I was completely blown away by it. Guitars that sound like machines imitating guitars is such a great sound. I can't think of another band whose sound is as conceptually perfect as Big Black's. And I love that Albini stopped it as soon as they'd said what they wanted to say.

...

LIKE A PILLOW

songs about fucking is awesome. Big Black every step of the way.

Best Albini in my eyes is and WILL ALWAYS BE AT ACTION PARK, one of my top 100 records EVAH. The next one wasn’t quite as good, 1,000 Hurts was the incredible Prayer To God + forgettable crap, yet somehow I wish they’d put out another record cuz I’d buy it all the same.

As for BB, I bought a used copy of Rich Man’s 8-track Tape years ago but wasn’t feeling it, sold it back pretty quickly.

They sound more like Naked Raygun and the Effigies than BB or Rapeman or Shellac. I always thought they were way underrated, but I know people find think all their songs sound the same.

At Action Park PWNZ.

-- The Ghost of Dan Perry (djperr...), May 6th, 2005.

fuckin a!

Rapeman > Shellac

At Action Park > 1000 Hz > terraform

"Kerosene" is still one of the greatest songs ever recorded.

Yes it is. If I had a band I would want it to sound like Big Black. L-dopa fix me, all right!

http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/themeter/060630/#bigblack

Big Black oeuvre I'd rate something like this, off the top my head:

Racer X EP > Atomizer > "Rema Rema" 45 > "The Model"/"He's a Whore" 45 > Songs About Fucking > Lungs EP > "Il Duce" 45 > "Heartbeat" 45 > Bulldozer EP > Headache EP (I suppose there was other stuff, but either I never heard it or who cares. I've never heard Big Black on CD. And no, I sadly don't own copies of any of those 45s anymore.)

I like Shellac's "At Action Park" quite a bit, they had a fairly precipitous dropoff in quality after that.

Where is the love for Arsenal?

rapenam is the best example of the three of the Albini style. Big Black's drum machine is their (only) downside, and shellac are too math rock for me, though i didnt listen to everything they did.

i like shellac.

WTF, that's like one of the keys to their sound! it's not Big Black without the pummelling drum machine!

The thing is, that this was supposedly a socially acceptable comic in Japan.

It is from a Japanese comic book.
http://kinski.org/images/rapeman.jpg
Watch yr back

How do you explain away a song title like "Kim Gordon's Panties". If I were Thuston Moore I'd be totally offended, nay, outraged, that someone in a band wanted to rape my wife. Simply inxcusable.

And Rapeman has nothing to do with bukkake!! He's an avenger dammit!

Again, its all about context. See: Negro Problem, NWA, etc. Seriously wtf are you on about.

Anyway...

My favorite Albini band would have to be Big Black. But I can't help but feel that Rapeman could have been really great, it's too bad, kinda like the supergroup that never was. I prefer the Budd ep though to the album.

I actually like Shellac a lot more than I thought I would have. But yes, in the end, it's Big Black that's my favorite. Haven't heard any of his other projects yet.

BukkakeBoy? MolestorLad? Captain Frottage?

BukkakeBoy? MolestorLad? Captain Frottage?

Oh yeah. I was saying that if Rapeman indeed had anything to do with bukkake he'd need a sidekick. BukkakeBoy! Japan's version of the boy wonder!!

See Run Nigger Run, Albini's one-off band with Urge Overkill's Nate Katrud, on that old Tellus *All Guitars* tape. (The proper response to which name, just like with Rapeman, is "yeah, I know, it's 'ironic'. I'm so 'offended.' Or at least my grandma the nun is. Dipshit.)

52 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The ONLY way to experience this record for the first time, October 2, 2005
By Benjamin D. Collins (Fayetteville, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
I went to the dentist to get some fillings and they put me under the gas at least forty-five minutes before even starting the operation. When I left the office I stumbled to my car and got inside. Although most of my face was numb I lit a cigarette. I put this album in for the first time and turned it up really loud. I sat there in the parking lot of the dentist, face numb, still coming down off the gas, listening to Big Black and smoking for a minute or two before deciding to drive to Barnes and Noble to buy birthday presents for my friend's son. It was amazing.

Which BB album...?

Sorta surprised at all the Songs About Fucking namechecks; I always thought Atomizer was The One You're Supposed To Get.

Also suprised that the production on the Rapeman stuff was an issue... it sounds so much better than a lot of the crap I listen to and love.

"Kerosene" was just on WNUR and I was surprised by how high in the mix Albini's vocals were. Wonder how he'd mix these songs now.

Entertaining thread. New Shellac out soon?

Eh...they may as well not bother imo...the Shellac releases since At Action Park have been patchy in the extreme

Big Black - sound and songs
Rapeman - possibly the best potential sound, lacking in great material
Shellac - great sound, great start with the singles and album, disappointing half arsed drop off since

Saw them a couple of months ago and Bob suggested the new album was imminent. One giant epic in the vein of Wingwalker that seems to be called Riding Bikes, the rest sounds like Shellac iykwim.

I love the tune "Bad Houses" by Big Black and kind of wish they did more droning songs like that one.

Found this last night on Youtube. It's a definitely an interesting artifact. Not bad production for something done with probably cable access TV equipment. I think the live clips of Big Black show how ballsy it was to go out there and do that sound with the drum machine. While as a musical production tool, it was pretty standard for the 80s, but to bring it in to a punk rock venue with a footswitch at the culled together PAs of the day was pretty much a musical high wire act. This was a pretty different venue, but it seems to have been setup well. I can't imagine this kind of thing in the "No Bar and Grill" in Muncie in the mid 80s, but hey it happened.

FYI, there is a bit of a leader setting up the show, so the actual concert doesn't start until about 9 minutes in if you want to get to the action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubqWbfg2elQ

ha those No bar shows are so legendary, people were still talking about them in Bloomington years later.

that show above is probably a week or two after I saw them at Oberlin, thanks for posting it.

Bonus Steven Jesse Bernstein.

One production thing I noticed is when the band kicks in the sound totally changes. I think what is going down is that they were using the mikes for the cameras between songs and the they spliced in a perhaps multi-track board mix of the band when songs kicked in. It sounds fine, especially considering the budget. Thinking about it, this kind of music video is like the 80s version of Charlie Patton records. It kind of blows me away how much of this kind of punk rock music was filmed.

was surprised to see i'd never posted itt. then realization dawned...

anyway, it's so weird/awesome to be watching that steam plant show nearly 30 years later. sound's pretty damn good!

what was the reasoning behind the wrestling belt guitar straps, easier on the shoulders/back?

I always figured it was for the look of it-- it made them seem like a death squad or something