Tune of the Week: The Steve Albini Sound

Steve Albini’s bands have always been an aquired taste. Shellac shows were always at least 98% dudes. The subject matter of songs would generally be less than pleasant and a hearty dose of black humor always in tow. At times what would be just as (if not more) interesting was the sound of the recordings. Albini always seemed to emphasize the electric aspect of electric guitars. He had a specific way of micing drums, with an emphasis of not micing cymbals and hi hats. His argument was that all the other microphones for the kit had no problem picking them up. For all of those that can’t deal with Big Black, Rapeman or Shellac I offer up this classic piece by The Pixies from their first album as a template for the classic “Albini Sound”. This recording also seems to incorporate another Albini production practice: analog tape editing. Listen for the cut in the instrumental freak out in the middle of the song. RIP Steve Albini, a true 1 of 1!