Ask a music scene micro celebrity

[Max Raker]

What do you think of this bio of you? Any specific parts you disagree with?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFMU-IFUMOI

Thanks a ton for doing this.


Oh and he needs a custom title for sure. Any ideas?

[Tigermoth]

Steve, you are by no means a micro celebrity. I'm stunned that this thread exists.

I've been trying to remember Stinking Lizaveta's name for months now. Thanks for that.

I saw Slint perform at ATP's Don't Look Back in England a couple years ago. I was completely blown away by a lot of the bands out there that year. I'm still handing out copies of Phillip Roebuck's album to people.

Interested in your opinion of Atkins, too. I've also heard he's a dick in real life. Can't fault his playing, though...

I've had a Big Black song stuck in my head since I saw this thread.

Feel free to ignore these questions if you feel they're too broad/boring. What do you think of the state of rock music today? Are there any bands around that you would like to work with? Are you married?

Any chance you'll be in Vegas for the WSOP this year? I'm sure a few of us would love to buy you a drink or ten.

[JacksonMassey]

I got a friend who is (or at least used to be) a mod over on ProSoundWeb.com, who owns a recording studio down here in Savannah, Ga. He keeps contact with Steve on a regular basis and I have been assured that this is in fact Steve Albini. I know I'm not well known around here, either, but you could always go to ProSoundWeb and ask Steve yourself, if you're not convinced.

The thing I was told to ask to be sure is to get Steve's take on the term, "producer." If you've read any of his writing before, I'm sure you all know what's coming.

[electrical]

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If asking two is rude then feel free to ignore this, but I figured I might as well try and push my luck.

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I am stunned anybody here cares, so fire away.

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Do you ever listen to albums or songs and just think "ugh, If I'd recorded this it could have sounded so much better, I'd have....."?

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Only in the case of bands I'm already really familiar with and I can tell that the producer made them do some stupid nonsense or they had a bad day or whatever. I don't really think the recording is that important to a great record. Great records would be great under almost any circumstances. Mediocre records that might otherwise have been unlistenable, well, yeah, I guess it matters then. An excellent recording can make a crappy record into one that is merely unremarkable. What kind of accomplishment is that?

[MikeyPatriot]

Steve,

In vein of another question above, what classic mainstream albums of the past would you like to remix? I've always thought that a lot of Hendrix's studio stuff could have been done better.

magister ludi,

This is definitely Steve Albini. I sent him an "LOL Donkaments" shirt to an address in Chicago with the ebay username electricalaudio (his studio's name). I also read in some Tapeop article (whether it be about him or someone else talking about him) that he plays poker, so I wasn't terribly shocked to find him on 2+2.

[Wilco23]

Being a huge Wilco fan (obviously, I'm curious if you ever worked in any capacity with them. I've heard interviews with Glenn Kotche before where he has played some of his interesting instrumentation - a song about monkeys comes to mind. Is he one of the more innovative contemporary drummers?

And, allow me to say, micro-celebrity my ass!

[electrical]

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Do you think downloading is killing the music industry or is it something else?

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Downloading and the culture of free music have affected the income of record labels, but the street-level music scene (as defined by bands, entrepreneurial independent record labels, studios like mine, etc.) is doing great. Bands have an easier time than ever getting their music out into the world, and bands don't even need a label to have an international following. It's actually a great time to be in a band.

[ QUOTE ]
Is rock with guitars becoming like Jazz in the 70s?

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Absolutely no idea what you mean. I'll take a shot though. In the 1970s Jazz began becoming institutionalized as the music of public functions and high society. After this transformation, jazz became a funded art form, the way opera and popular classical music had been previously. Hello university jazz programs, publicly-funded jazz festivals, ad-hoc wedding entertainment, etc. That isn't happening to rock music.

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Do you think bands that are severely derivative, like most garage rock bands, are inferior to bands like Jesus Lizard who sound totally unique?

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Yes. In other news, I think Ice is cold, fire is hot and the sun will probably come up tomorrow.
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Can you name drop some very new or recent young bands that are carrying the torch for rock and roll?

[/ QUOTE ]Dude, I hear them all the time. Just did a record for a band from Denton, Texas called Record Hop, and they were terrific. Rock bands are everywhere, and there are always a few good ones.
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Do you find your taste for heavy noisy stuff is diminishing as you get older (mine is!) and your appreciation for quiet folksy stuff is growing?

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I have noticed that a bunch of people who were previously making really intense, hard rocking music have gravitated toward making moody acoustic music, and these audiences have overlapped. I still enjoy freakish noisy music, if executed with authority, and I still enjoy acoustic music likewise.

[electrical]

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there have been many a time i hear an album the band sounds so good, and then you see them live, and you're like, wtf is going on?

which band have you made the biggest improvement on their sound, in this manner?

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, sometimes a band sets out to make a record that doesn't really sound like they do. To these bands the record is the public face of the band, and the live shows are more of an obligation than an art form, and so they are generally pretty disappointing live.

Other bands enjoy touring and express themselves onstage more than in the studio. These bands see their records as a kind of still photo of their live existence, and you can expect those bands' records to sound pretty much like their live sets. My favorite bands were always like this: the Minutemen, Wipers, Birthday Party, and my own band thinks this way, pretty much.

There are also the rare cases of bands who change from the first type to the second, and they have an obvious cutoff date after which they went from awesome to awful. Aerosmith and ZZ Top are the most obvious examples.

To answer your immediate question, Urge Overkill.

[Aloysius]

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PJ Harvey Rid of Me

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I love this album. Remember listening to WFMU in highschool and "Missed" came on and I was like "holy [censored] what the hell is this" and immediately went out and bought it.

Steve - I wasn't aware what an amazing body of work you have, just checked out your wiki. As mentioned above, thanks for your work on these albums I own alot of this stuff.

GA asked this question, one I was curious about also:

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Can you name drop some very new or recent young bands that are carrying the torch for rock and roll?

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Thanks, awesome thread. Also BBV4L wins.

-Al

[electrical]

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My question revolves around Martin Atkins (Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Pigface). If you don't wish to answer in the open for whatever reason then that is understood. Is he really the pretentious prick that other bands and label managers make him out to be? I have only dealt with him on one issue ever and getting a straight answer out of him was a pain, but I have heard the rumors floating about. But, they were always from people that had a 'bone to pick' with him.

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Martin is one of the best rock drummers ever. It is a little disappointing that he isn't the full-time backbone of an awesome rock band, but instead dabbles in so many small projects. As regards his personality, I have only ever seen him be fair, generous and dedicated. It is possible somebody has a specific beef with him that I don't know anything about, but it's much more likely that some guy is talking out his ass.

I have a lot of time for guys like Martin Atkins.