Well we can’t let it pass without a nod of respect, we should show a rather big nod of respect, a massive not of art-shaped respect indeed, He did point out in a rather important rather door-opening way, just what some of the many problems with the music industry might be. His ways were an influence on you, even if you don’t know, what he did trickled down to your ears through the influence he had on others. Steve Albini died today, he was 61, it was a heart attack so we’re told. Steve Albini, Vocalist, abrassive guitarist with bands such as Big Black and Shellac as well as the rather flippantly named Rapeman – “Flippant” was how he was to decribe the “regretable” band name later on – He was engineer/producer for bands such as Nirvana and Pixies and many (many) others, suffered a heart attack at his recording studio so we’re told.

That brilliant first Breeders album was one of many things that he engineered in just the right way, Surfer Rosa, the 1988 debut by Pixies was also one of his many highlights, he worked with so many great bands, Tad, PJ Harvey’s raw 1993 classic Rid Of Me, the excellent Jesus Lizzard and so many more. He did of course prefer to be talked of in a terms of an engineer rather than the very influential producer he was, he was a damn good producer, or at least many of the records he engineered were brilliant records…

A great champion of alternative ways of doing things, we met him a number of times, the first time without knowing until he introduced himself whilest asking about London bands and who to check out having bought an Organ at a gig. He was noted for his DIY punk ethos, he did like streaming services, he didn;t like taking royalties from bands he has engineered. Yes he did sometimed have a darker side, he wasn’t perfect, who of us ever is? He did his fair share of annoying artists he worked with as well as music fans in general with his thoughts and sometimes his insults and provocations – that time he dedicated a Big Black release to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and later told us he was joking. He did become contrite in later years, saying in a viral thread on X (then Twitter) in 2021: “A lot of things I said and did from an ignorant position of comfort and privilege are clearly awful and I regret them”. He did own up to his wrongs, he was big enough to do that, and most of all he was a massive influence on a lot of people’s ways oF thinking in terms of making thier art, their music and the way they did things and of course that wired guitar sound in Shellac was and is so damn brilliant Shellac were his long term band, they were preparing their first album since 2014, To All Trains, for release any moment now. Here’s some excellent Shellac footage fom 2023, Steve Albini on guitar,dan he was good, her mattered, it was a frame of mind and more besides…

And I consider this one of the greatest recordings ever made….