They sought and found little mainstream success, but the group's piledriver drum machines and brutal, slashing electric guitars were widely influential, especially for industrial rock. Albini's snide, malevolent singing and provocative lyrics garnered much attention.
Albini made a name for himself for his controversial "Tired of Ugly Fat?" column in the Chicago zine Matter, as well as irregular contributions to Forced Exposure. At the time, the band consisted of Albini and his drum machine, a Roland TR-606. (All of Big Black's recordings credit "Roland" as if "he" were a member of the band.)
The Lungs EP, the first effort to appear under the Big Black name, was recorded by Albini in his dorm room at Northwestern University. Intended primarily to recruit members to fill out the band, Lungs was released by Ruthless Records. The record is infamous for the variety of inserts, which included a lyric sheet in most copies, plus extras like condoms, dollar bills, stickers, concert tickets, photographs, silverware, razor blades, bloody bandages, and squirt guns. Heavily influenced by Public Image Limited and Killing Joke, Albini describes the amateurish Lungs as one of his few artistic regrets.
In 1983 Jeff Pezzati and Santiago Durango, both of Naked Raygun, joined the band on bass and guitar, respectively. They recorded two EPs together, switching to Homestead Records, and soon after Pezzati left the band. He was replaced by Dave Riley.
Riley was a longtime funk fan and had worked at a Detroit recording studio frequented by Sly Stone and George Clinton. His bass guitar work with Big Black was, to a degree, influenced by funk — not to suggest that he played like Bootsy Collins or Larry Graham, but he did bring a sinuous quality to the music. Even before Riley joined, there was evidence of an interest in funk: Big Black had already covered James Brown's The Payback.
The band made a name for itself nationally with its first album Atomizer, which featured more controversial lyrics by Albini, and strong contributions by Durango and Riley to the songs and arrangement — a working scheme the band had settled on because it took advantage of each member's strengths. Some listeners did not understand that their songs were either social commentary or sarcastic jokes (often both), and assumed that the band was sexist and racist. Albini responded to these accusations by making his lyrics even more offensive than before. Albini has stated that irritating "squares" was no challenge, but he took specific glee in offending "hipsters".
Albini drew much lyrical inspiration from misadventures and escapades he observed during his teen years in rural Missoula, Montana: for example, Cables was inspired by acquaintances who would visit a slaughterhouse to watch cattle get killed.
In 1987 the band switched labels again, this time to the cult Chicago-based indie label Touch and Go Records, when the band became disenchanted with Homestead Records after the label illegally released promotional-only copies of some limited-edition recordings. Big Black then released the Headache EP, which bore a sticker reading, "Not as good as Atomizer, so don't get your hopes up, cheese!" This was not a gimmick; the band truly thought Headache was inferior, and wanted to warn fans.
Shortly after, Durango announced that he was leaving the band to attend law school. Never expecting to make a career out of Big Black, the band realized this would be a good time to stop, not wanting to turn into the Rolling Stones. They broke up, and then released one final album, Songs About Fucking
Steve Albini went on to become a successful recording engineer (he dislikes the term "producer") for bands like Pixies, Nirvana, The Jesus Lizard, The Auteurs, Slint, Membranes, PJ Harvey, and many others, in addition to playing in Rapeman and Shellac.
The band are mentioned in the 1988 the Dead Milkmen song, Sri Lanka Sex Hotel, in the line: "Let's play Big Black at 3 a.m., And tell the neighbours they can all get fucked".
Dave Riley suffered a stroke in 1993 and was left paraplegic. He started a blog and wrote a book.
Santiago Durango released two EPs as Arsenal on Touch and Go, and is still a practicing lawyer. In his first case he helped recover Cynthia Plaster Caster's bronze casts of the genitalia of various rock and roll artists, including that of Jimi Hendrix. He handled some litigation for Touch and Go, and is currently an appellate defender.
Touch and Go acquired the rights to the Big Black back catalog, and reissued these (by this time) hard-to-acquire classics.
Big Black have been posthumously successful, with Q Magazine's August 2007 issue naming Songs About Fucking as the fifth loudest album of all time, just ahead of the Who's Live at Leeds and Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.
Big Black briefly reunited to play a few songs at Touch and Go Records 25th anniversary celebration on 9 September 2006. The line up was Steve Albini, Santiago Durango and Jeff Pezzati. They played Cables, Dead Billy, Pigeon Kill and Racer X in that order.
"I know what you're all thinking... 'what was all the fuss about?'" Albini said onstage that night. He later said that the reunion would not have happened but for the Touch & Go anniversary, and said the record label is "the most important thing to happen in music in my lifetime." Pezzati and Durango nodded in assent.
Big Black's career is chronicled in Our Band Could Be Your Life, a study of several important American underground rock groups.
In December 2019, longtime bassist Dave Riley passed away from throat and lung cancer. He was 59.
Deep Six
Big Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was a plug-ugly son of a bitch
With a fist where most folks get their face
He was a plug-ugly son of a bitch
With a fist where most folks get their face
Me and a half dozen of us would've done him in
But he was never around except when we were drunk
And he's not like we are, see he doesn't know his place
A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge
Would've done him in, could've put him by
A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge
I could've deep-sixed him, wouldn't bat an eye
Well, he's not like we are, see he drinks his Jack straight
And he sleeps with his wife and he pays his whores
And he's not like we are, see he drinks his Jack straight
And he sleeps in his cab and he pays his whores
But I'm God's gift to women, they always want my dick
Except for that girl thinks I'm trash
And I'm God's gift to women, always want my dick
Except for that college girl, I'll kill her
A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge
I would've done him in, could've put him by
A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge
I could've deep-sixed him, wouldn't bat an eye
A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge
Could've done him in, could've put him by
A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge
I could've deep-sixed him, wouldn't bat an eye
A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge
I could've done him in, could've put him by
A buck knife, a saw blade, a lead pipe, a twelve gauge
I could've deep-sixed him, wouldn't bat an eye
The song "Deep Six" by Big Black is a commentary on toxic masculinity and the violent tendencies that can arise from it. The lyrics describe a tough, rough and tumble man who is seen as a threat by the singer and his friends. They are envious of his perceived status and power, but also afraid of him because of his physical strength and unpredictable behavior. The singer fantasizes about taking him down with a variety of weapons, from a buck knife to a twelve gauge shotgun, but ultimately does nothing about it. The repeated refrain of "I could've deep-sixed him, wouldn't bat an eye" speaks to the normalization of violence and the callousness that can result from it.
The song also touches on issues of class and entitlement, as the singer assumes that he is superior to the man he is describing because he drinks his Jack straight and sleeps with his wife and pays his whores. There is an underlying sense of resentment and bitterness towards this man who defies societal norms and expectations, and the singer's violent thoughts towards him can be seen as a reaction to that.
Overall, "Deep Six" is a dark and unsettling portrayal of toxic masculinity and the normalization of violence. It is a powerful commentary on the dangers of unchecked aggression and entitlement, and a stark reminder of the need to confront and challenge these behaviors.
Line by Line Meaning
He was a plug-ugly son of a bitch
He was an unattractive and unpleasant person
With a fist where most folks get their face
He was violent and would hit people in the face with his fist
Me and a half dozen of us would've done him in
He and his friends wanted to hurt him
But he was never around except when we were drunk
They were only brave enough to confront him when they were intoxicated
And he's not like we are, see he doesn't know his place
He did not conform to the social norms and expectations of the artist and his friends
And he thinks he's some kind of big cheese
He has a high opinion of himself
Would've done him in, could've put him by
They could have killed him with various weapons
I could've deep-sixed him, wouldn't bat an eye
He would not have felt any remorse for killing him
Well, he's not like we are, see he drinks his Jack straight
He drinks his whiskey without mixers. He does not conform to societal norms.
And he sleeps with his wife and he pays his whores
He has sex with his wife and prostitutes. He is not living up to the artist's moral standards.
And I'm God's gift to women, always want my dick
The singer thinks highly of himself and believes women find him attractive
Except for that college girl, I'll kill her
The artist is angry that a college girl does not find him attractive and expresses violent thoughts towards her
Could've done him in, could've put him by
They could have killed him with various weapons
I could've deep-sixed him, wouldn't bat an eye
He would not have felt any remorse for killing him
Lyrics © LYNNE GREEN-MELINCOFF D/B/A HOFFMAN HOUSE MUSIC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind