Alex... can you elaborate about the 'disgusting porn' you mentioned in your Albini piece?
I recently came across this Medium piece via Reddit and I'm having a really hard time reconciling it. I had NO IDEA that Albini had this type of stuff in his past. Curious to hear your take, and if you were aware of the extent of it. I mean... WTF, man. I know this stuff is out there, but is there any way a grown ass man can express contrition from this, like you mentioned Albini did? It also made me cringe when I read they were "only letting kids in" to his under 20 show. (I know, not related... but still)
Edit: If this comes off as confrontational, that wasn't my intention. Just curious if you were aware of what the article delves into and your thoughts. Thanks, Alex.
Yes. I can talk about it. So I think Steve was basically a proto 4chan edgelord in his youth. If you look at the subject matter of most of his music from the start until 1994 or so, he was fascinated by the morbid, the disgusting, and the inappropriate. The band Rapeman takes its name from a Japanese fetish comic about a super”hero” that would sexually assault bad women. He wrote an article about producing the first pixies album and made it primarily about how he wanted to have sex with Joey Santiago’s sister. He routinely tried to be as incendiary as possible.
I make no excuses for this behavior, and I don’t think any of it was anything but heinous and childish. And if people decide this stuff is beyond the pale and there’s no statute of limitations on being an asshole, I understand. That said, I think l of that stuff was pretty embarrassing to him as he got older. There’s no evidence of him behaving inappropriate with anyone ever, other than just being an asshole in print. Not totally sure what else to say about that. You can accept his contrition and openness, or you can’t. You can separate the set from the artist, or you can’t. That’s every individual’s decision to make and I don’t blame them for whatever decision they make. I don’t listen to the smiths on streaming services because I don’t want to give Morrissey money. If you feel that way about anything albini touched, I would get it.
Michael Ian Black has a podcast called Obscure where he reads a book out loud. I listened to the first season where he read Jude The Obscure (thus the title, and also it's in the public domain). I loved it. The best part is that he comments as he goes -- not too much and not too little, but it kept me much more engaged with the book that I would have been if I'd just been reading it on my own. The episode where he gets to the shocking plot point (IYKYK) is one of my most memorable podcast listening experiences. He also looks up words or places that seem to need a bit more context and we learn more about the book together. Anyway, it's a great idea. You should do it.
Alex... can you elaborate about the 'disgusting porn' you mentioned in your Albini piece?
I recently came across this Medium piece via Reddit and I'm having a really hard time reconciling it. I had NO IDEA that Albini had this type of stuff in his past. Curious to hear your take, and if you were aware of the extent of it. I mean... WTF, man. I know this stuff is out there, but is there any way a grown ass man can express contrition from this, like you mentioned Albini did? It also made me cringe when I read they were "only letting kids in" to his under 20 show. (I know, not related... but still)
https://medium.com/@MoonMetropolis/now-that-steve-albini-is-dead-lets-reflect-on-his-admitted-love-and-promotion-of-child-fadf5072288e
Edit: If this comes off as confrontational, that wasn't my intention. Just curious if you were aware of what the article delves into and your thoughts. Thanks, Alex.
Yes. I can talk about it. So I think Steve was basically a proto 4chan edgelord in his youth. If you look at the subject matter of most of his music from the start until 1994 or so, he was fascinated by the morbid, the disgusting, and the inappropriate. The band Rapeman takes its name from a Japanese fetish comic about a super”hero” that would sexually assault bad women. He wrote an article about producing the first pixies album and made it primarily about how he wanted to have sex with Joey Santiago’s sister. He routinely tried to be as incendiary as possible.
I make no excuses for this behavior, and I don’t think any of it was anything but heinous and childish. And if people decide this stuff is beyond the pale and there’s no statute of limitations on being an asshole, I understand. That said, I think l of that stuff was pretty embarrassing to him as he got older. There’s no evidence of him behaving inappropriate with anyone ever, other than just being an asshole in print. Not totally sure what else to say about that. You can accept his contrition and openness, or you can’t. You can separate the set from the artist, or you can’t. That’s every individual’s decision to make and I don’t blame them for whatever decision they make. I don’t listen to the smiths on streaming services because I don’t want to give Morrissey money. If you feel that way about anything albini touched, I would get it.
Thanks for the reply, Alex. I appreciate that perspective. Thanks, as always, for putting yourself out there and making great content.
Michael Ian Black has a podcast called Obscure where he reads a book out loud. I listened to the first season where he read Jude The Obscure (thus the title, and also it's in the public domain). I loved it. The best part is that he comments as he goes -- not too much and not too little, but it kept me much more engaged with the book that I would have been if I'd just been reading it on my own. The episode where he gets to the shocking plot point (IYKYK) is one of my most memorable podcast listening experiences. He also looks up words or places that seem to need a bit more context and we learn more about the book together. Anyway, it's a great idea. You should do it.