Premier Rock Forum

penningtron wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 11:06 am Back to the original post: it's nice that a bunch of coked-up dorks from the Chicago Industrial music scene tried to paint someone else from that era in an unflattering light.

I had similar thoughts, particularly him making light of kids getting shoved into lockers, like he as a short high school boy in school band and theater in the early '80s didn't himself spend quality time stuffed into lockers. Band nerds are supposed to defend the bullied, FFS!

Anyway, I digress. It was 30+ years ago.

hench wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 11:16 am now who wants to hear my big black grateful dead mix "the power of independent truckin'"?

Call your project Big Black Peter and I'll change my name to Roland and play live.

Wow. Holy fucking shit, that Hench pile-on is rough reading. Even by "classic" PRF standards. I only made it 2 pages

I can't tell what year that took place, but jesus christ isn't it nice that we can raise the level of discourse? And not immediately shun every newcomer? And not just shun. Not just haze. But really BURN the new blood in such mean and personal ways? You can draw a straight line from the Cold Check It thread to the twitter thread that Steve posted a while back about taking ownership of his role in the rise of edgelord culture. What is wry contrarianism and outspokenness to one person (and I'm not talking about Steve's response to Hench, but his general provocative comments in the 90s) quickly becomes straight out vitriol when attempted by someone with no subtlety, wit or tact.

I've looked up to Steve Albini in a big way since I was a kid in the 90s when I realized the guy in this really cool band Shellac had also recorded a bunch of other records I loved. I got into his other bands. I appreciated his articles on how major labels fuck over the artists. How music becomes the commodity of a bunch of suits. How the breakdown of an advance actually doesn't leave the musicians with much in their pockets. And he was funny. Insightful. Was carving out his own way of doing things that was artist-focused and accessible. Sure there were stories about his provoking people from the engineering room and there was some snotty, opinionated stuff, but I didn't think too hard on that. After all, this guy was getting results and he had the right to these opinions. He had put the work and the years in and was speaking from experience. I wrote a paper in...maybe freshman year of high school?...about contemporary rock music in and outside of the industry and mentioned him a bunch. It probably didn't make any sense, but it was something I was excited about and Steve and what he represented in regards to making music on your own terms really stuck with me. And inspired me. Shellac was my first real show. Probably saw them more than a dozen times since, having had the opportunity to talk to the guys here and there. I've got an Electrical business card from like 98 on my workbench/studio desk. It was so cool to be able to approach someone with such a resume, who had had such a direct impact on my life and my concept of music (which was the most important thing in the world to me).

I continue to be inspired by Steve Albini. Because he would rather grow as a person than die on the hill of something stupid he said 30 years ago. Because he's telling the "community" that you can say the word love without scoffing. That what you stand for is more than a haircut. That it's healthier and more rewarding to be openminded than cynical. I'd like to think Steve is showing old punks that there's another way. That you can still be the same person and hold onto the same things while letting go of the bullshit that seemed so important to your identity when you were younger. When you were more scared and trying to fit in or prove something or vie for acceptance. That there's not only a place for compassion in what we do, but that it is essential to what we do.

I love the sharp wit of the PRF. The repartee, the chiding, the challenging of opinions, the good natured insults. It makes things feel like you're part of the group. But I'm glad it's not as toxic and exclusive.

And, for the record, I like Trent Reznor, too.

jfv wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 12:11 pm

penningtron wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 11:06 am Back to the original post: it's nice that a bunch of coked-up dorks from the Chicago Industrial music scene tried to paint someone else from that era in an unflattering light.

I had similar thoughts, particularly him making light of kids getting shoved into lockers, like he as a short high school boy in school band and theater in the early '80s didn't himself spend quality time stuffed into lockers. Band nerds are supposed to defend the bullied, FFS!

Anyway, I digress. It was 30+ years ago.

For me, it's more like maybe take what guys who willingly associated with Al Jourgensen say with a grain of salt..

^ Bill Rieflin, Ian MacKaye, Chris Connelly, Jello, Rey, and countless others. Please mind that I'm not caping for Al Jourgensen, but I wouldn't paint everyone in that circle as a creep.

It's a shame that that era of local underground music is saddled with sophomoric beef.

indiegrab_360 wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 9:22 pm

zorg wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 6:39 pm The boys must have mended fences along the way, because Steve worked on some drum recordings for The Fragile. That record and everything following sucked a mean dick.

Man I miss threads like that.

I once owned a CD copy of "Downward Spiral" and probably 12-13 years ago played it back on my Hi-Fi and came to conclusion I thought it was a pile of sh*t. .

Say what you want about the rest of that record, but the B-side cover of Soft Cell's "Memorabilia" on the "Closer to God" single is fucking great.

rsmurphy wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 1:38 pm ^ Bill Rieflin, Ian MacKaye, Chris Connelly, Jello, Rey, and countless others. Please mind that I'm not caping for Al Jourgensen, but I wouldn't paint everyone in that circle as a creep.

It's a shame that that era of local underground music is saddled with sophomoric beef.

all of this

Sidebar -

Hench totally picked up the ball and ran with it when it came to the "Tribute..." era of the "PRF Songwriting..." situation.

Dude is an "All Around..." keeper, but he never really gets enough credit for that aspect alone.

Bonus points...

I believe that there was a picture of "Cure Goth..." Hench back in the thread that went with the "The Cure" month. If it's still in existence? It's a keeper.

NIN were fucking great up to and including Halo 10. Broken is wild! That an album like The Downward Spiral was as popular as it was makes me happy still. Can you imagine anything like that, with that kind of production, getting big time global radio play today? Good times : )

kerble wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 6:57 pm Chris Hall tried to take hench to task on that, and look where that got him.

FUCKING BAD COMRADE! I try to forget