69% mark of "Our Band Could Be Your Life"

Butthole Surfers? Childhood idols, somehow, but reputably the most evil band in the book. Albini? Oh, albini, you little twerp.

I really appreciate how Azzerad is able to paint Albini's ideology of shock-jock-ism (really shock-geek-ism) without forcing you to like the man. I like that he gives credence and fairness to the alienation of the chicago audiences without making it seem like they are stupid. Most importantly, I appreciate that he gets down to the bottom of Albinis problem: he was a bullied in high school, starved of attention, and got said attention the only way he knew how (shocking and out of pocket racist and homophobic remarks). His defenses throughout the section are nothing short of a 2016 idubbbz masterclass in "actually, maybe YOU are the offensive one" with a smattering of "well I like to say [f-slur] because the word is funny". That being said, I think ... I think I like him though? Overall? It will make sense as I keep talking.

Of course, this is admittedly made stronger by the fact that I feel like we resemble each other , mostly in our lanky figures and our round glasses. I have an affinity for anyone with round glasses, for some reason I feel grounded and in fellowship with them. Listen, in a vacuum of course I do not like Steve Albini, reading only his anedcotes in the book pissed me off (which, is doubly annoying, because I know that's exactly what that masochistic prick wants), but within much of the context of the future as it moves forward I gain more respect for him. I find it admirable (even if it could be classified as too little too late) that he was willing to spend some time in the early 2020s reflecting on his place in music, and edgelord culture, and being able to apologize over it. To my knowledge, he pretty much disconnected from the behavior over the remainder of his career. It doesn't make any of the stuff RIGHT, per se, but it at least makes me feel like he is a smarter man than he seems to be in his early twenties.

The final pages of his dedicated chapter give recognition to his move to the suburbs in Evanston and creation of his basement studio, where he would record for pretty much anyone who asked. He would charge them next to nothing, he would take no royalties, he refused to be credited as a producer, merely a recorder, who had as little input on the music at hand. He stood up for indie music, even in crass and often oxymoronic ways (recording some major label artists, complaining about others while also recording in utero??) but at the end of the day he stood up for the small community and had a lot of respect for it as an institution. Even though I find his hard moral stance against major label recording often annoying and contrary, I think that he was an overly moralistic man when it came to these issues, and at least he was doing something for this community.

The first conversation I ever had about the man was in vinyl club with both my now girlfriend and my former roomate (these are two different people, if that was not implied), where I was inquiring about one of the many confusing posts on my instagram feed: many of the trailblazing and politically leftist artists that I adored (Jeff Rosenstock is the one that sticks to mind) were praising a man who I was sure had a notable history of racism. How could you respect and love the man while also holding the views you hold? I don't remember the response I got, but it was something to the effect of him being an asshole (true!) Also, there is no reason to bring up Steve Albini to a woman you are courting, especially if she is effortlessly cool and incredibly beautiful. After reading the chapter, I better understand how an artist like Jeff Rosenstock could hold him in the highest regard. I have a history of nitpicking actions that I find reprehensible in one person, yet ignoring them in another, and I have decided for the betterment of myself and others that I am going to recognize the nuances of the situation and extract an opinion from them in a reasonable manner.