Steve Albini, a singer and guitarist best known for producing some of the most groundbreaking and influential albums of the alt-rock genre, died of a heart attack at his Chicago recording studio Electrical Audio. He was 61.
Albini’s death and cause of death was confirmed by Taylor Hales of Electrical Audio.
Born July 22, 1962, in Pasadena, Albini moved to the Chicago area after high school to study journalism at Northwestern University. While there, he began writing for local punk rock ‘zines and beginning to record and engineer albums for local bands.
Stubbornly opposed to the larger music industry and its exploitation of artists, Albini formed the Chicago-based band Big Black in 1981, recording the first of several albums, an EP for the Chicago label Ruthless Records, a label he co-managed. That band last until 1987.
From 1987 to 1988, Albini sang and played guitar for Rapeman, named after a Japanese comic book. The short-lived band broke up after one album,...
Albini’s death and cause of death was confirmed by Taylor Hales of Electrical Audio.
Born July 22, 1962, in Pasadena, Albini moved to the Chicago area after high school to study journalism at Northwestern University. While there, he began writing for local punk rock ‘zines and beginning to record and engineer albums for local bands.
Stubbornly opposed to the larger music industry and its exploitation of artists, Albini formed the Chicago-based band Big Black in 1981, recording the first of several albums, an EP for the Chicago label Ruthless Records, a label he co-managed. That band last until 1987.
From 1987 to 1988, Albini sang and played guitar for Rapeman, named after a Japanese comic book. The short-lived band broke up after one album,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
R.E.M.’s 11th studio album, Up, informally flagged the start of the third and final phase of the band’s career, following both their early I.R.S. years and their mainstream peak in the 1990s. Drummer Bill Berry departed the band after suffering a brain aneurysm while on tour in 1995, but the remaining members opted not to replace him, instead employing electronic drum programming throughout the majority of the album. And the timing, it seemed, was serendipitous, as the electronica movement was reaching its apotheosis.
Up subsequently marked the end of R.E.M.’s decade-long relationship with rock producer Scott Litt, replaced by Ray of Light knob-twirler Pat McCarthy and mixer Nigel Godrich, who produced Ok Computer. And yet, the album doesn’t immerse itself as vigorously in the genre as those two watershed releases. Sonically, tracks like the Eno-esque opener “Airportman” and the gently percolating “Suspicion...
Up subsequently marked the end of R.E.M.’s decade-long relationship with rock producer Scott Litt, replaced by Ray of Light knob-twirler Pat McCarthy and mixer Nigel Godrich, who produced Ok Computer. And yet, the album doesn’t immerse itself as vigorously in the genre as those two watershed releases. Sonically, tracks like the Eno-esque opener “Airportman” and the gently percolating “Suspicion...
- 11/6/2023
- by Sal Cinquemani
- Slant Magazine
R.E.M. has teamed up with “The Bear” on a full-length music video for “Strange Currencies (Remix).”
The four-minute video combines footage from “Road Movie,” which documents the alternative rock band’s 1995 tour, with exclusive clips and behind-the-scenes footage of the FX series’ second season, which premiered June 22 on Hulu.
Released as the third single on the album “Monster” in 1995, “Strange Currencies” follows a lovelorn protagonist who yearns to win over a mysterious crush. The song was a Top 10 hit in the UK, a Top 20 hit in Canada, and peaked at No. 8 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.
The remix, which was featured prominently in the official Season 2 trailer on May 15, first appeared on 2019’s “Monster (25th Anniversary Edition),” where the band’s longtime producer Scott Litt revisited the best-selling 1994 album, offering a fresh perspective on each track.
Also Read:
‘The Bear’ Season 2 Review: FX and Hulu’s Surprise Hit Reinvents...
The four-minute video combines footage from “Road Movie,” which documents the alternative rock band’s 1995 tour, with exclusive clips and behind-the-scenes footage of the FX series’ second season, which premiered June 22 on Hulu.
Released as the third single on the album “Monster” in 1995, “Strange Currencies” follows a lovelorn protagonist who yearns to win over a mysterious crush. The song was a Top 10 hit in the UK, a Top 20 hit in Canada, and peaked at No. 8 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.
The remix, which was featured prominently in the official Season 2 trailer on May 15, first appeared on 2019’s “Monster (25th Anniversary Edition),” where the band’s longtime producer Scott Litt revisited the best-selling 1994 album, offering a fresh perspective on each track.
Also Read:
‘The Bear’ Season 2 Review: FX and Hulu’s Surprise Hit Reinvents...
- 6/27/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
R.E.M. will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their 10th studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, with a major reissue package, out October 29th via Craft Recordings.
The deluxe edition of the set will feature a remastered version of the album and a collection of B-sides and rarities. To accompany the announcement, R.E.M. have shared one of those bonus tracks, “Leave — Alternate Version,” which was first recorded for the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack before a different version appeared on New Adventures.
“I actually might prefer this...
The deluxe edition of the set will feature a remastered version of the album and a collection of B-sides and rarities. To accompany the announcement, R.E.M. have shared one of those bonus tracks, “Leave — Alternate Version,” which was first recorded for the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack before a different version appeared on New Adventures.
“I actually might prefer this...
- 8/24/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
When CBS news anchor Dan Rather was assaulted in 1986 by an unknown assailant yelling, “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” not one but two songs were born. First, there was 1987 track, “Kenneth, What’s the Frequency,” off of Game Theory’s Lolita Nation — which came a year after the attack. Then, there’s the better-known R.E.M. song, “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” off 1994’s Monster, which is getting a reissue Friday.
At the time that both songs were written, the facts of the situation were murky. According to the New York Times,...
At the time that both songs were written, the facts of the situation were murky. According to the New York Times,...
- 11/1/2019
- by Brenna Ehrlich
- Rollingstone.com
R.E.M. unveiled a raw new remix of “Let Me In,” the Monster track that paid tribute to Kurt Cobain just months after his suicide. The remix will appear on an upcoming 25th anniversary reissue of Monster, which boasts new mixes of every song on the record by original producer Scott Litt.
Stipe’s new version of “Let Me In” strips the song of some of its density, while getting rid of a closing synth line and pushing a tambourine shake deeper into the mix. The result is a...
Stipe’s new version of “Let Me In” strips the song of some of its density, while getting rid of a closing synth line and pushing a tambourine shake deeper into the mix. The result is a...
- 10/10/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
R.E.M. are releasing a six-disc version of their 1994 LP Monster on November 1st, complete with a remaster of the original album, a new mix by producer Scott Litt and previously unheard demos. There’s also a complete concert from the Monster tour taped June 3rd, 1995 at the Rosemont Horizon near Chicago. Rolling Stone has the exclusive preview of “Welcome to the Occupation” from that night.
The song originally appeared on R.E.M.’s 1987 album Document. “It’s very sad that it has taken on an entirely new relevance,...
The song originally appeared on R.E.M.’s 1987 album Document. “It’s very sad that it has taken on an entirely new relevance,...
- 9/13/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
R.E.M. will mark the 25th anniversary of their 1994 LP Monster with a deluxe six-disc reissue that boasts unreleased demos, a 1995 concert recording and a “2019 remix” of the original album.
Due out November 1st and available to pre-order now, the Monster reissue boasts 15 unheard demo recordings as well as producer Scott Litt’s new remix of the album, which scales back the guitar sound to focus on Michael Stipe’s vocals; hear the “2019 remix” version of “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” below:
“The original 1994 version was dense in guitars...
Due out November 1st and available to pre-order now, the Monster reissue boasts 15 unheard demo recordings as well as producer Scott Litt’s new remix of the album, which scales back the guitar sound to focus on Michael Stipe’s vocals; hear the “2019 remix” version of “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” below:
“The original 1994 version was dense in guitars...
- 9/4/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
The following article is provided by Rolling Stone.
By Daniel Kreps
No more guessing about what will appear on the 20th anniversary reissue of Nirvana's In Utero — Rolling Stone can now reveal what the mammoth, 70-song, three-disc deluxe edition of the band's final masterpiece will contain: Two versions of In Utero (the original LP remastered, plus the album newly remixed) as well as more than 40 tracks of unreleased demos, rehearsals, live performances, B-sides, and a recently unearthed, never-before-heard Nirvana instrumental. The reissue will arrive September 24th.
Link: Rolling Stone’s List of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Nirvana
The first disc will feature a remastered version of the original, Steve Albini-produced In Utero, complete with the two tracks ("Heart Shaped Box," "All Apologies") that Scott Litt mixed for In Utero's final version. The oft-bootlegged abrasive Albini versions of those two songs will finally legally appear on the Iu reissue,...
By Daniel Kreps
No more guessing about what will appear on the 20th anniversary reissue of Nirvana's In Utero — Rolling Stone can now reveal what the mammoth, 70-song, three-disc deluxe edition of the band's final masterpiece will contain: Two versions of In Utero (the original LP remastered, plus the album newly remixed) as well as more than 40 tracks of unreleased demos, rehearsals, live performances, B-sides, and a recently unearthed, never-before-heard Nirvana instrumental. The reissue will arrive September 24th.
Link: Rolling Stone’s List of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time: Nirvana
The first disc will feature a remastered version of the original, Steve Albini-produced In Utero, complete with the two tracks ("Heart Shaped Box," "All Apologies") that Scott Litt mixed for In Utero's final version. The oft-bootlegged abrasive Albini versions of those two songs will finally legally appear on the Iu reissue,...
- 8/13/2013
- Huffington Post
College rock fans, get ready to feel old. R.E.M. is releasing an expanded 25th Anniversary Edition of their 1987 fifth album, "Document." In addition to offering digitally remastered tracks from the original album, the deluxe packaging also includes an unreleased 1987 concert from R.E.M.’s “Work” tour, new liner notes by journalist David Daley and four postcards. A 180-gram vinyl version will also be released. R.E.M.’s fifth studio album, Document was the first to be produced by longtime collaborator Scott Litt, and was the band’s first to go Platinum, spawning the singles “Finest Worksong,” “Its The End Of The World As We Know It...
- 8/7/2012
- by Dave Lewis
- Hitfix
For people of a certain age, this week in 1994 was harrowing. Though his body wasn't discovered until April 8, autopsy reports established that today was probably the day that Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain died. It not only represented the end of Nirvana — which, based on several accounts, may have happened anyway even if Cobain had lived — but also the end of an era and a movement.
Despite his general disdain for fame and his bad habits, Cobain was a hero to many. He was an artist who made it big on his own terms, doing what he loved to do. Just as a microcosm, take a look at the production of In Utero, the follow-up to the band's breakout hit Nevermind. It was as high-profile a follow-up album as there has been in rock history, but when fans got their copies, they didn't get the slick, arena-ready Butch Vig productions of...
Despite his general disdain for fame and his bad habits, Cobain was a hero to many. He was an artist who made it big on his own terms, doing what he loved to do. Just as a microcosm, take a look at the production of In Utero, the follow-up to the band's breakout hit Nevermind. It was as high-profile a follow-up album as there has been in rock history, but when fans got their copies, they didn't get the slick, arena-ready Butch Vig productions of...
- 4/5/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
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