Big Black was an Independent noise rock band founded in Evanston, Illinois,… Read Full Bio ↴Big Black was an Independent noise rock band founded in Evanston, Illinois, United States, that was active between 1982 and 1987. They were headed by singer, lyricist, guitarist, and co-songwriter Steve Albini. They have been classified as post-hardcore/noise rock, and were a formative influence on industrial rock, but the band members have always described the band as solidly punk rock; in the notes for Pigpile, a live recording of their final London performance, Albini explicitly describes Big Black as punk.
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.
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.
GAS JOCKEY HUFF
Big Black Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Big Black:
01. Dead Billy Hey little girl in U.S. dress Come and give daddy kiss To…
03 Big Money He got dowager's hump, he got a gimp He been walking…
05 Bad Houses Lately I have been frequenting bad houses Places no respect…
05- PRECIOUS THING I would like to wrap your hair round your neck…
06 Fists of Love Feel my hand, feel my hand, feel my hand Feel it,…
06 Jordan Minnesota This is Jordan, we do what we like This is Jordan,…
06- COLOMBIAN NECKTIE Gotta get loaded, I gotta go off Don't call her to…
07 Stinking Drunk Go! Been so long Forgot what it's like Like swimming, lik…
08 Bazooka Joe The Joe man is back When Joe comes back Joe's head…
10 Regular guy, Rex got a need Rex, Racer X Brother is Speed …
11- PAVEMENT SAW She went through me like a pavement saw And I feel…
11- PAVEMENT SAW. She went through me like a pavement saw And I feel…
Bad Houses Lately I have been frequenting bad houses Places no respecta…
Bad Penny Ought to know what a liar I am, ought to…
Bazooka Joe The Joe man is back When Joe comes back Joe's head…
Big Money He got dowager's hump, he got a gimp He been walking…
Cables Well, I don't know why we come here Guess I just…
Colombian Necktie Gotta get loaded, I gotta go off Don't call her to…
Crack I have never been so happy in my whole life I've…
Crack Up Pete says something's wrong again He ain't been the same Pet…
Dead Billy Hey little girl in U.S. dress Come and give daddy kiss To…
Deep Six Yeah! He was a plug-ugly son of a bitch With a fist…
El Dopa I got a sickness sweet as a love note I got…
Ergot Out No mm mm mm mm mm my head mm mm mm mm…
Fish Fry Hosin' out the cab of his pickup truck He's got his…
Fists of Love Feel my hand, feel my hand, feel my hand Feel it,…
Grinder A man is known by his tools I earn my keep…
He Have you seen her face? Got a face that could stop…
He's A Whore (Nothing Short Of (Cheap Trick cover) I see the face Got a face you could…
Heart Beat I feel old, I feel cold I feel old, I feel…
Heartbeat I feel old, I feel cold I feel old, I feel…
I Can Be Killed Say, John, shut me up Kill my dad He is weak Tried to…
I'm A Mess Oh, honey I'm a mess Oh, a useless set of legs Oh,…
I'm a Mess Oh, honey I'm a mess Oh, a useless set of legs Oh,…
Il Duce I am Benito I am Benito I am Benito And I like my…
Jordan Minnesota This is Jordan, we do what we like This is Jordan,…
Jump The Climb Something angry in me doesn't like the me in you Something…
Kasimir S. Pulaski Day Saw something go wrong today when a black car went…
Kerosene I was born in this town Live here my whole life Probably…
Kitty Empire The Emperor makes his rounds, Master of all Cats Fat in…
L Dopa I got a sickness sweet as a love note I got…
Live In A Hole No! Huh! Live in a room An empty room Four walls White wall…
My Disco You are not mine You ugly thing You ugly thing You are not…
Newmangenerator Who owns the key? I do, that's right, I do And…
Passing Complexion She was his She would take his children Black and white Righ…
PassingComplexion She was his She would take his children Black and white R…
Pavement Saw She went through me like a pavement saw And I feel…
Pete King of the Detectives I'm tough as dirt, I'm mean as blood Where, where I…
Pigeon Kill Oh This is our land We got a right Got a lot of…
Pigeon_Kill Oh This is our land We got a right Got a lot of…
Power of Independent Trucking The backbone of this country is the independent truck The po…
Precious Thing I would like to wrap your hair round your neck…
R. I. P That man's shirt is worth more than your life And I'd…
Racer X Regular guy, Rex got a need Rex, Racer X Brother is Speed Br…
Ready Men We got some unions All I got are these molls And I…
Readymen We got some unions All I got are these molls And I…
Rema Rema Rema-Rema Rema-Rema, Rema-Rema, Rema-Rema, ha ha ha ha Rema-…
Rip That man's shirt is worth more than your life And I'd…
Run Nigger Run I live a dope boy life When you're hustling some days You…
Seth "...invaded by hordes of scummy, race-mixing traitors and Re…
Shotgun Got a foot and a half of unregistered steel Shake that…
Sleep My head on the ground with my mouth full of…
Steelworker The only good policeman is a dead one The only good…
Stinking Drunk Go! Been so long Forgot what it's like Like swimming, like s…
Strange Things Strange things I have done…
Texas This is Texas This is redneck This is lone star This is wetb…
The Big Payback Hit it! Hit it! Ha! I'm mad Revenge I'll cut your throat I'…
The King Of The Jews I started out drinking, states that winnie Mm mm all in…
The Model She's a model and she's looking good I'd like to take…
The Model The Model She's a model and she's looking good I'd like to take…
The Penny Ought to know what a liar I am, ought to…
The Power of Independent Tru.. The backbone of this country is the independent truck The po…
The Power Of Independent Truck The backbone of this country is the independent truck The p…
The Power of Independent Trucking The backbone of this country is the independent truck The po…
The Ugly American I am the ugly American I hate what I am I am…
Things to Do Today Buy a pack of squares Arrive at the apartment Confront the i…
Tiny I started out drinking, states that winnie Mm mm all in…
Ugly American I am the ugly American I hate what I am I am…
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