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 Power of Independent Trucking
Big Black Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The power of the trucker comes from his truck
Mm mm mm mm cab overhead
That's where those truckers generate their
Backbone, backbone, backbone, backbone
Mm mm mm mm mm mm fist in my face
Mm
Mm
Backbone, backbone, backbone, backbone
Move you move like an animal
Making a noise like an animal
Fornicate and fornicate
Sing a song about fornicate
Make you move like an animal
Making a noise like an animal
Bake a chicken and pluck an eye
We're gonna talk about mm mm
Sing a song about fornicate
Sing a song about fornicate
Fornicate and fornicate
Sing a song about fornicate
Backbone
"The Power of Independent Trucking" by Big Black is a commentary on the power dynamics of the trucking industry in America, particularly on the role of the independent trucker. The opening lines of the song establish that the independent trucker is the backbone of the country. The truck is their tool, and their power comes from it. The repetition of the phrase "backbone" underscores this point. The lyrics suggest that the truck is not just a means of transportation but also a source of identity and pride for the trucker. The mention of the cab overhead highlights the intimacy of the relationship between the trucker and their vehicle.
The song takes a sharp turn in the second half, where the lyrics become increasingly cryptic and surreal. The repetition of the phrase "make you move like an animal, making a noise like an animal" creates a sense of chaos and frenetic energy. The mention of fornication is particularly jarring in the context of the rest of the lyrics, suggesting a kind of subversion or rebellion against the established norms of society. The song ends with a final repetition of the word "backbone," echoing the opening lines and suggesting that despite the chaos and unpredictability of the world, the independent trucker remains a vital force in American culture.
Line by Line Meaning
The backbone of this country is the independent truck
The independent truck is the foundation that holds the country
The power of the trucker comes from his truck
Truckers derive their strength from their vehicles
Mm mm mm mm cab overhead
Truckers spend significant time in their cabs, where their thoughts might wander
That's where those truckers generate their
Backbone, backbone, backbone, backbone
It's in the cab where the trucker's resolve is cultivated
Mm mm mm mm mm mm fist in my face
Mm
Mm
Mm
Sometimes the trials of trucking can feel like a punch to the face
Move you move like an animal
Making a noise like an animal
Truckers often have to maneuver their vehicles with animalistic agility and noise
Fornicate and fornicate
Sing a song about fornicate
The lyrics shift to crude references to intercourse, possibly reflecting the lack of morality in some trucking circles
Make you move like an animal
Making a noise like an animal
Bake a chicken and pluck an eye
We're gonna talk about mm mm
The animal theme continues, but now with a bizarre mention of cooking a chicken and overall unclear meaning
Sing a song about fornicate
Sing a song about fornicate
Fornicate and fornicate
Sing a song about fornicate
Backbone
The song ends with a repeated emphasis on sexual references and a return to the theme of backbone, perhaps conflating the two to convey a message of toughness and survival
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