In light of the untimely death of engineer/producer/musician Steve Albini, we wanted to share an interview Danny did with him for an upcoming (non-American Prestige) podcast on grunge music.
Great interview. I've heard a bunch of Steve Albini interviews, but always pick up something new with a different interviewer (e.g. had never heard the story about the demands for more material and CDs). Danny Goldberg's "Serving the Servants" is really good with respect to the Nirvana / "In Utero" backstory -- it is good to have the Albini perspective too. With respect to the punk scene, one aspect that I haven't seen discussed is the role of "cheap real estate" and cheap rents. Forty to 50 years ago, there were cheap places to live and create scenes in and around major cities. Recording is cheaper and easier to do and distribution is as well, but the winner-takes-all aspects of the economy are reflected in the business to a degree that didn't seem to be the case 30+ years ago.
It seems to me that when Mr Albini talks about small business capitalism (versus corporate capitalism) what he is really talking about is something like the ethic or standards of the skilled craftsman, who values above everything doing things in the correct way, the way of his craft, an ethic that precedes capitalism and goes back to the beginnings of civilization.
This is incredibly illuminating to me. I'm part of a band that's pretty active in my hometown's undergound punk/hardcore/art scene, and I never experienced this world pre-streaming.
Damn, I was not expecting this gift today.
It's extremely rare for an artist of his caliber to also be so generous and articulate in explaining their work...
In a field as cutthroat and mystified as music, he shared everything that went into his art with any aspirant who might want to know.
He was truly doing it all for the love of the music and his fellow musicians.
Albini has been a central figure in my life since my teenage years. The news of his passing hit me very hard. I really enjoyed this interview. Some great questions, and Steve Albini is always interesting and thought-provoking.
Thanks for this, Albini was a north star for certain gen x music heads- saw him play bass on the Flour tour at DC Space way back when. I still love those early Silkworrm albums he engineered, and i will always swear by Two Nuns and a Pack Mule, which probably ruined me. Here’s a great 2015 interview podcast with him and Ian MacKaye https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/ep-223-ian-mackaye-steve-albini-part-i/id652522142?i=1000378502485
It's cool that you did this in one sitting without much if any overdubbing. I've felt that some of your other podcasts were a bit overproduced and lacked dynamic range
Really though, good one. Big Black and Shellac shot my musical tastes into a whole new trajectory and Albini's producing/engineering credits are a good library for exploration, since you know at least they're probably going to sound great. I was certain he'd have another 20 years left in him.
Everything he says sounds right to me, even though I was in the business a while behind, but before Napster. I still like the ones that sound like The Misfits (Lightning Bolt, No Age, Japandroids) etc, even if they are kind of cheesy.
Also, there is a Sub Pop store in the Seattle airport now. I try not to be a snob, but that got to me.
Great interview. I've heard a bunch of Steve Albini interviews, but always pick up something new with a different interviewer (e.g. had never heard the story about the demands for more material and CDs). Danny Goldberg's "Serving the Servants" is really good with respect to the Nirvana / "In Utero" backstory -- it is good to have the Albini perspective too. With respect to the punk scene, one aspect that I haven't seen discussed is the role of "cheap real estate" and cheap rents. Forty to 50 years ago, there were cheap places to live and create scenes in and around major cities. Recording is cheaper and easier to do and distribution is as well, but the winner-takes-all aspects of the economy are reflected in the business to a degree that didn't seem to be the case 30+ years ago.
It seems to me that when Mr Albini talks about small business capitalism (versus corporate capitalism) what he is really talking about is something like the ethic or standards of the skilled craftsman, who values above everything doing things in the correct way, the way of his craft, an ethic that precedes capitalism and goes back to the beginnings of civilization.
I am reminded of this book written in 1978, in which the author, Peter Burke, emphasizes the role of skilled craftsmen in creating modern (i.e., post medieval) folk art -- such a great book, IMO: https://books.google.com/books?id=TSj2C2PX1p4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
This is incredibly illuminating to me. I'm part of a band that's pretty active in my hometown's undergound punk/hardcore/art scene, and I never experienced this world pre-streaming.
Damn, I was not expecting this gift today.
It's extremely rare for an artist of his caliber to also be so generous and articulate in explaining their work...
In a field as cutthroat and mystified as music, he shared everything that went into his art with any aspirant who might want to know.
He was truly doing it all for the love of the music and his fellow musicians.
Sorry to see him go...
Thankfully, Legends do live on.
Thank you for sharing this, Danny!
Thanks--that means a lot!
This was a great interview, looking forward to the final product!
Thanks much guys. And what a perfect end to the conversation.
Albini has been a central figure in my life since my teenage years. The news of his passing hit me very hard. I really enjoyed this interview. Some great questions, and Steve Albini is always interesting and thought-provoking.
Thanks for this, Albini was a north star for certain gen x music heads- saw him play bass on the Flour tour at DC Space way back when. I still love those early Silkworrm albums he engineered, and i will always swear by Two Nuns and a Pack Mule, which probably ruined me. Here’s a great 2015 interview podcast with him and Ian MacKaye https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/ep-223-ian-mackaye-steve-albini-part-i/id652522142?i=1000378502485
Thanks for releasing this. Steve was such an honest observer and it's good someone asked these types of questions. No one else would.
It's cool that you did this in one sitting without much if any overdubbing. I've felt that some of your other podcasts were a bit overproduced and lacked dynamic range
Really though, good one. Big Black and Shellac shot my musical tastes into a whole new trajectory and Albini's producing/engineering credits are a good library for exploration, since you know at least they're probably going to sound great. I was certain he'd have another 20 years left in him.
Everything he says sounds right to me, even though I was in the business a while behind, but before Napster. I still like the ones that sound like The Misfits (Lightning Bolt, No Age, Japandroids) etc, even if they are kind of cheesy.
Also, there is a Sub Pop store in the Seattle airport now. I try not to be a snob, but that got to me.
"Punk Rock died when the first kid said 'punks not dead! punks not dead.' "
Good interview Danny. Glad to hear this. Restorative.
I really like that one more question and you wouldn’t have been able to end on something like the unanswered “so what.” The horror. The horror!
This is a great episode. Any chance you could open it up to non-subscribers?
Why do you not want us to be compensated for our labor
The means of production make this complicated! I'd gladly give $20 to unlock it, but that's hardly what it's worth.
We actually ended up unlocking this just now, so spread the word.
Danny, Danny, Danny….. I am so far into this interview and have not even heard the names Big Black or Shellac.