RIP Steve Albini | Whatever

Pitchfork introduced that Steve Albini, indie music producer and common gadfly to the music business, has died of a coronary heart assault at 61 years previous. In case you have been between 13 and 33 years previous within the 80s and 90s and dug what was then often called “different” music, then he in all probability had his hand in a few of your favourite music out of your favourite bands, together with from Nirvana, PJ Harvey and the Pixies. He additionally fronted his personal bands, one among which, Shellac, apparently has a brand new album popping out subsequent week.

I knew Albini extraordinarily tangentially, in that we each frolicked on Bluesky and had some back-and-forth there. It was enjoyable to see somebody who truly had a big function within the tradition I and others of my era participated in hanging out, capturing the shit, and making observations each on the music business and the tradition basically. Albini was recognized to offer unvarnished opinions on the business he labored in (his essay “The Downside With Music” is a basic piece about how the music business largely sucked for each band in it), and he was additionally remarkably self-observant about being a white dude within the tradition, what that permit him get away with when he was youthful, and the way he wanted to personal that previous and work on the place he was now. As of late, that’s not nothing.

So, anyway, this actually sucks and as a music lover, I’m unhappy about this. Additionally, as somebody who chatted him up on-line a couple of occasions and loved his posts in any other case, I’m additionally unhappy. As I famous on Bluesky, that is very very like listening to that your neighbor has unexpectedly handed. It’s simply that on this case, the neighbor additionally was a fucking big in his subject. What a legacy he will get to be a part of.

— JS