25 Steve Albini Quotes for You to Enjoy

Steve Albini

American Musician

Born: Jul 22, 1962

Band Good Music Think Will You

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A lot of musicians are good cooks, and a lot of cooks are musicians, but I think that may just be a result of the creative impulse finding several means of expression. Probably an equivalent number are visual artists, woodworkers or compulsive liars. Steve Albini

Harmonics are vibrations a fraction of the length of the vibrating string, which add higher-pitched and more complex content to the notes. With a dull instrument, the harmonics die out, but with a sustaining instrument, the harmonics continue to sound along with the fundamental note. Steve Albini

Cooking is about presenting flavors and other aspects of food in a way that makes best use of them and makes an engaging, satisfying meal. Taste necessarily comes into it along with technique. Some ingredients require cooking, cleaning or otherwise denaturing them, some are fine as they are. Steve Albini

Best Food Cleaning Cooking Meal Other Otherwise Way Fine Some About Along Makes Taste Flavors Them Ingredients Require Aspects Use Engaging Satisfying Technique Necessarily Presenting

When I'm in a restaurant, I don't eat red meat. It doesn't taste like anything. But if a friend of mine is grilling stuff at his house, its almost always great. Steve Albini

Great Mine Restaurant Eat Almost Red Stuff Red Meat Like House Always His Friend Taste Anything Grilling Meat

For less than the cost of a Big Mac, fries and a Coke, you can buy a loaf of fresh bread and some good cheese or roast beef, which you will enjoy much more. Steve Albini

Buy Good You Cheese Will Big Enjoy Coke Mac Some Cost More Roast Roast Beef Fresh Beef Big Mac Fries Than Bread Which Much Less Loaf

In the late '80s and early '90s, there was a slightly retro drum sound that was popular in hip-hop music called the 808 bass drum sound. It was the bass drum sound on the 808 drum machine, and it's very deep and very resonant, and was used as the backbone as a lot of classic hip-hop tracks. Steve Albini

Music Bass Resonant Late Backbone Machine Slightly Classic Drum Retro Tracks Sound Hip-Hop Lot Very Used Deep Popular Early

It betrays hubris on the part of the artist to think his medium is limiting him, and I think we all recognize this. Steve Albini

Think Medium Recognize Betrays Part Him Limiting His Hubris Artist

Buy groceries and feed yourself, even on the road. Steve Albini

Buy Yourself Road Feed Groceries Even

You see something happen to a population whereby everyone adopts something that's just preposterous in a way that makes it normal instantly. If any one person prior to the rash of puka shells, for example, was seen wearing puka shells, he would look like an idiot. But when everyone is wearing them, it instantly makes them normal. Steve Albini

You Example Seen Idiot Everyone Way Would See Wearing Rash Adopt Something He Instantly Like For Example Look Makes Prior Shells Normal Person Any Just Whereby Happen Them Population

We have no general conceptual thrust for the band, other than trying to make music that keeps our interest. When things are novel, they are probably things we have discovered by accident or investigation rather than by design. Steve Albini

Music Accident Band Design Other Our General Rather Investigation Thrust Conceptual Make Discovered Than Trying Interest Novel Keeps Things

Make no mistake about it: once a band has signed a letter of intent, they will either eventually sign a contract that suits the label or they will be destroyed. Steve Albini

Mistake Suits Will Band Once Sign Destroyed Signed About Make Make No Mistake Contract Label Intent Either Letter Eventually

In 1980, I moved to Chicago, and I recorded demo tapes for my friends' bands, and in 1981, the first Big Black record - the first thing I did that was an actual record. Steve Albini

Black First Big Record Recorded Demo First Thing Tapes Chicago Friends Bands Did The First Thing Moved Actual Thing

If the label presents them with a contract that the band don't want to sign, all the label has to do is wait. There are a hundred other bands willing to sign the exact same contract, so the label is in a position of strength. Steve Albini

Strength Wait Band Other Hundred Sign Willing Exact Contract Label Bands Same Want Them Presents Position

I'm busy doing my job, and being a loudmouth doesn't appeal to me as much as when I was younger and had the youthful delusion that I was smarter than everybody else. Steve Albini

Me Job Busy Everybody Everybody Else Else Had Delusion Smarter Doing Than Being Younger Much Appeal Youthful

I moved to Chicago in 1980 to go to college. Steve Albini

College Go Chicago Moved

Doubt the conventional wisdom unless you can verify it with reason and experiment. Steve Albini

Wisdom You Experiment Doubt Unless Verify Conventional Conventional Wisdom Reason

By now all rock bands are wise enough to be suspicious of music industry scum. Steve Albini

Music Wise Enough Music Industry Industry Rock Rock Bands Bands Suspicious Now

A more important reason is that the bands will intuitively trust someone they think is a peer, and who speaks fondly of the same formative rock and roll experiences. Steve Albini

Trust Will Important Think Peer Intuitively Someone Fondly More Rock Rock And Roll Bands Roll Same Experiences Formative Speaks Reason Who

Cranking the Auto-Tune is so easy to do that there's almost no systemic resistance to trying it. So when someone's stuck for an idea, that's what they do. I mean, to the extent that it's been embraced by an entire idiom of club music and culture. Steve Albini

Music Culture Club Systemic Easy Embraced Entire Someone Stuck Almost Idea Idiom Been Trying Cranking Mean Extent Resistance

I'm not really interested in participating in mainstream culture. Participating in the mainstream music business is, to me, like getting involved in a racket. There's no way you can get involved in a racket and not someway be filthied by it. Steve Albini

Music Me You Business Culture Music Business Way Mainstream Participating Like Involved Get Getting Interested Really Racket

I feel like bands should be growing, living, functioning entities and to crystallize a band into a single album, and for that to be a touchstone - I understand it from a fan's perspective but I also feel like it's a little bit misleading in terms of the way bands actually function. Steve Albini

Perspective Single Band Living Way Bit Entities Touchstone Misleading Feel Like Terms Also Crystallize Understand Bands Fan Little Little Bit Should Function Growing Actually Album

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