Allow the cheat on this one; I am not the original ripper. although I have faithfully owned a copy of this for almost as long as it's been out. You can get a download or physical copy here from the very good folks at Skin Graft, and you probably should.
It's time to share my two cents on Steve Albini. So you get two posts in a day.
When this double 7" came out in 1995, I knew Steve Albini mostly from his engineering and his criticism. I was aware he had done a band with a couple guys from Naked Raygun in the 80s, and a band with a pair of fellas from Texas in the early 90s, but THIS was Shellac Number Seven, and my intro to them musically was a cover of Bon Scott-era AC/DC. Which kinda hurt my head, but also I dug in a huge way, even though I never got into AC/DC with the same enthusiasm as a bunch of the dudes I went to high school with. Anyway: cool intro.
But I worked backwards as time moved forward, as Steve's fingerprints continued to leave marks all over my taste. I bought a copy of "The Rich Man's Eight-Track Tape" at the same time I bought "Terraform", all the while discovering his recordings of Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, the goddamned Jesus Lizard. I had heard rumors that Fugazi went out to Chicago to record with Steve, only for his recording of "In On The Kill Taker" to get memory holed in favor of a Don Zientara engineered/Ted Nicely produced record. You knew I spent at least a dozen years trying to pin down a copy before a kind friend finally scored me a 4th generation dub. By the time "1000 Hurts" came out, I was a bona-fide fan, absorbing whatever wit and insight I could find in the pre-internet days from yellowing Forced Exposure reviews, and, in the instances where he'd own up to it, treating an Albini credit on a record as much a Seal of Quality as the Dischord logo or the Impulse! livery.
I discovered he could be a real prick, and sometimes cruel in the service of humor, but who amongst us isn't when we're 19 or 25 or 33, opinionated, sharing our thoughts publicly in a way so easily referenced. But more often than not, he was right. He, like all the best of us, held, demonstrated, and demanded a strong moral compass. He worked hard not to get in the way of other people's art, but, rather, tried to elevate them in the ways he knew how. His life was a great example that you could lead an ethical and intentional life, that you could also acknowledge your previous failures with grace and accountability. There are a few of these influences in my life; I rarely met them, but I appreciate the example they set, one that I strive to follow.
I've been discussing the loss of leaders a lot recently. People around me continually lament the death of those who become our North Stars, our cultural compasses. "Who will fill their shoes?" they ask. I'm sure as shit not going to record a "Magnolia Electric Co." or "24-Hour Revenge Therapy", but I cqn live an ethical life and help raise others up. This world can be shit a lot of the time, but it doesn't have to be that way. Thanks to Steve Albini for reminding me of that every single time his work crossed my path.
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