surfndestroy wrote:VinylGuy wrote:Albini saying whats cool and whats not...jesus.
What is Steve A's calling card? If you don't care what it sounds like, I work cheap.
I think his calling card is that he works for what he thinks is fair, and that he views himself more as a tradesman like an electrician or plumber than as a de facto band member whose role it is to actively contribute to the creative process. From what I can gather, he really just seeks to present a band's work as authentically as possible -- which is to say, as close to what they actually sound like playing in the room -- and that he views extravagant studio budgets and excessive tinkering as obstacles to this process. While I certainly don't think this is the only valid approach to music production, I do have a lot of deep respect for this way of thinking, and often find myself nodding along with a lot of his views on the music business, the relationship between artist and label, etc. A guy with his credentials has surely had a lot of opportunities to sell out, but it seems like even on high-profile projects he's managed to stick pretty intently to his values. I have a lot of respect for that.
That said, that same steadfastness seems to have him perpetually beholden to the adolescent us-vs.-them values of his 35 year-old "scene" -- which can be amusing, but gets old.
A lot of the bands Albini typically works with aren't really my cup of tea, but I will say that when he records a band I generally like otherwise (Nirvana, Mogwai, Songs Ohia, etc.), I end up really liking his presentation of their sound.
