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.
The Penny
Big Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't curse me for my nature, don't bless me for my luck
Just a bad penny, I always come back to you
Just a bad penny
Just a bad penny, I always come back to you
Should have known you couldn't trust me
Far as you can throw me, throw me
Couldn't throw me too far
I think I fucked your girlfriend once
Maybe twice, I don't remember
Then I fucked all your friends' girlfriends
Now they hate you
Just a bad penny, just a bad penny
Just a bad penny, just a bad penny
Such a bad penny, such a bad penny
Bad, bad penny, bad, bad penny
Ought to know what a liar I am, ought to know me by now
Such a bad penny
Ooh bad, bad penny, bad, bad penny
Ought to know what a liar I am, ought to know me by now
Ought of known you couldn't trust me
As far as you can throw me, throw me
Such a bad penny, such a bad penny
Such a bad penny, such a bad penny
Slap my hand
The lyrics of "Bad Penny" by Big Black depict a narrator who is self-aware of their own nature as a liar and someone who cannot be trusted. The repeated refrain of "just a bad penny" emphasizes this, comparing oneself to the idiom of a bad penny always turning up. The singer acknowledges their own flaws, advising the listener not to curse or bless them, but simply recognize them for who they are. The lines about having slept with the listener's girlfriend and their friends' girlfriends add to this sense of dishonesty and betrayal.
The overall tone of the song is one of resigned acceptance. The singer seems to recognize that they are not a good person, but takes some twisted comfort in at least being aware of that fact. The final line, "slap my hand," is ambiguous, adding to the sense of a narrator who is both aware of and unapologetic for their own character flaws.
Line by Line Meaning
Ought to know what a liar I am, ought to know me by now
I am a habitual liar and by now you should be familiar with my deceitful nature.
Don't curse me for my nature, don't bless me for my luck
Please do not blame or praise me for who I am or what happens to me by chance.
Just a bad penny, I always come back to you
I am a troublesome presence that never goes away and keeps returning to you.
Should have known you couldn't trust me
It is your responsibility that you trusted me when you should have been aware of my dishonest tendencies.
Far as you can throw me, throw me
If you tried to get rid of me, you can only throw me so far given my strong hold on you.
Couldn't throw me too far
Regardless of how hard you try, you cannot completely get rid of me.
I think I fucked your girlfriend once
I am pretty sure that I had sexual intercourse with your girlfriend at some point.
Maybe twice, I don't remember
I might have slept with her more than once, but I genuinely cannot recall.
Then I fucked all your friends' girlfriends
Moreover, I engaged in sexual activity with all of your friends' girlfriends as well.
Now they hate you
As a result, your friends have turned against you and blame you for what I have done.
Such a bad penny, such a bad penny
I am an extremely unpleasant and untrustworthy individual.
Bad, bad penny, bad, bad penny
I am an awful and revolting presence that causes trouble for those around me.
Ooh bad, bad penny, bad, bad penny
I am an extremely negative force, causing havoc wherever I go.
Slap my hand
An expression that indicates being reprimanded or punished for one's actions.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fishfry4302
Lyrics:
Ought to know what a liar I am
Ought to know me by now
Don't curse me for my nature
Don't bless me for my wrongs
Just a bad penny
I always come back to you
Just a bad penny
Just a bad penny
I always come back to you
Should have known you couldn't trust me
Far as you can throw me, throw me
You couldn't throw me too far
Just a bad penny
Couldn't throw me too far
I think I fucked your girlfriend once
Maybe twice, I don't remember
Then I fucked all your friend's girlfriends
Now they hate you
Just a bad penny
Just a bad penny
Such a bad penny
A bad bad penny
Ought to know what a liar I am
Ought to know me by now
Such a bad penny
Oh bad bad penny
Ought to know what a liar I am
Ought to know me by now
Ought to know you couldn't trust me
As far as you can throw me, throw me
Such a bad penny
Such a bad penny
Slap my hand
@warlordzephyr
Roland is the most underrated drummer.
@Sakboi2012
lol
@Nina01x
He really keeps the beat!
@honeycomblord9384
He's been on hundreds of albums, and yet he's constantly overlooked when discussing great drummers.
@puppapalooza
Lol
@arimarinos4464
Goddamn , that's funny
@matthewsawyer4864
Listening to Big Black is like hanging over a table saw when wearing a loose shirt. You're getting pulled in fast!
@nuke97
1987!??? No fucking way!! Just heard this for the first time. Raw power and fresh sounding. Mind boggled.
@sizone
What you didnt realize Big Black invented the Ministry sound?
@youtubeuserdan4017
Check out Swans - Filth (1983)