Only band whose Wikipedia page divides their career into “First Joker Card Deck” and “Second Joker Card Deck.”

Everyone else is getting it wrong.

This kind of shit bothers me a lot more than it should.

There's a lot of shit here. What shit are you referring to?

It's kind of an honor to get dissed by Steve A.

Albini saying whats cool and whats not...jesus.

That’s Corey Feldman

haha, holy shit

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.

Full credit to the dude for his remarks here. I'm a huge fan of PJ and a big fan of SA's work. I get where he's coming from. Nothing to see here.

little-known fact: Albini is a MT native

I think he’s trying to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to applaud something he thinks is virtuous, but shits on Pearl Jam because dang-nab it, he shouldn’t be seen as anything but a true authentic punk rocker with the right ethos. In 2021, we call that get over yourself.

Perhaps he can join Pitchfork and make the pretentious circle jerk complete.

He is just boring.

He looks like my gay aunt.

Is your gay aunt Corey Feldman?