Big Black “Songs About F–king” Touch and Go Records. Yesterday, September 10th, marked the 30th anniversary of Big Black’s final LP release in 1987. Steve Albini began Big Black in ‘81 as a one-man sound machine and was soon joined by members of Naked Raygun, releasing several EP’s and singles and one other LP (Atomizer). Big Black knew Songs would be their last recording and intended it to be – as the title more than subtly implies – a big middle finger to everyone and everything, the songs all teeth-rattling industrial noise rock filled with lyrics about the monstrous tendencies of the human condition. The title was also a direct response to the censorship impulse of the 80′s; Ablini stated in a recent Rolling Stone interview “the Parents’ Music Resource Center was trying to rein in the subject matter of popular music and art at the time. We wanted to explicitly decline to participate in that reining in. We wanted to make filthy music. We wanted to make our records. We wanted to be explicit about our willingness to offend people.“

Songs is not an easy record to listen to – it’s rage on vinyl, darker than midnight, violent and anxiety-producing (my heart rate has noticeably increased just listening to it). “Fish Fry,” seems innocuous enough at the start, the title Midwest-adorable, the beat a bit bouncy, but then atonal guitar dissonance screams through with a tale about a murder after a fish fry. Another song, “Columbian Necktie,” details a particularly brutal form of killing and “Kasimir S. Pulaski Day” a mobster shooting. “Bad Penny” is about the scenester asshole that sleeps with all the girlfriends. Conclusion: people suck. Thank goodness for the cover of Kraftwerk’s “The Model” which provides some lyrical relief – just a model, being beautiful, drinking champagne, no blood or violence.