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.
Passing Complexion
Big Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She would take his children
Black and white
Right to her own breast
There were times
When he could mix
With ordinary white company
No one would notice
He had what they call passing complexion
He had what they call passing complexion
He had what they call passing complexion
He had what they call passing complexion
He'd been white, he'd been black
They asked him, black like that?
Yeah!
The lyrics of "Passing Complexion" by Big Black revolve around the idea of racial identity, particularly the concept of "passing" - presenting oneself as a different race than their actual ethnicity. The song depicts a scenario where a white woman is in a relationship with a man who is of mixed race. Despite the man's "passing complexion," he is still seen as an outsider in ordinary white society.
The first two lines of the song imply that the woman in the relationship is using the man for his "mixed-race" genes to have children that fit her own idea of beauty. The lyrics "Black and white/Right to her own breast" emphasizes that the children would be nourished with the woman's breast milk. The line "He could mix/With ordinary white company" shows that the man is able to blend in with white society, albeit only on a surface level. Despite this, the subject of race is always avoided, as it would bring attention to his "passing" identity. The repetition of the phrase "He had what they call passing complexion" highlights the fact that although he is able to pass off as white, he is still seen as different by society.
The final lines of the song shift to the man owning his identity and being black, which was probably a rarity back when the song was released in 1987. The lyrics "He'd been white, he'd been black/They asked him, black like that?" shows that the man is unwilling to continue with the facade and wants to embrace his true ethnicity.
Overall, "Passing Complexion" is an intense commentary on racial identity and the struggle to fit into society's narrow social constructs.
Line by Line Meaning
She was his
A woman belonged to a man in a romantic or possessive manner.
She would take his children
The woman was capable of bearing the man's offspring.
Black and white
Referring to people of both African and European ancestry.
Right to her own breast
The woman would care for and nurture her children.
There were times
Occasions existed when the man's racial ancestry was irrelevant.
When he could mix
He could socialize with people of different races.
With ordinary white company
He had the freedom and privilege to associate with typical white individuals.
Though the subject never came up
Despite his ability to blend in comfortably, race was never discussed.
No one would notice
He blended in so seamlessly that his true ethnicity was not apparent to others.
He had what they call passing complexion
His skin color was light and fair enough that he could transcend racial barriers by appearing white.
He'd been white, he'd been black
He had experienced being perceived as both a white and black person.
They asked him, black like that?
His racial identity was challenged based on his appearance.
Yeah!
He proudly affirmed his Black identity and rejected the notion that he can't pass as Black.
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind