Big Black Quiz | Music | 10 Questions

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who is Roland?

Answer: The drum machine

Roland was Steve Albini's Roland TR-606 drum machine. Interestingly enough, Roland is even credited in Big Black's album notes as a member of the band.

Source:
http://www.last.fm/music/Big+Black/+wiki

2. The band Big Black are often intentionally offensive and had a bad reputation due to listeners not realizing the band's invective lyrics designed to point out societal flaws, or the sarcastic way in which these lyrics were delivered. Who is the lyricist for Big Black who enjoyed angering "hipsters?"

Answer: Steve Albini

The band sometimes garnered a poor reputation as simply a hateful band. They were even called racist and sexist by some. Steve also played guitar and operated the drum machine.

Source:
http://www.last.fm/music/Big+Black/+wiki

3. Big Black may be unknown to many people and broke up fairly soon after its inception (1982/3 - 1987), but Steve Albini in particular went on to have a very influential career as a "recording engineer". Which of the following bands has Steve Albini worked in the studio with?

Answer: All of them

Steve worked in the studio with Nirvana to create their album "In Utero." Generally, instruments and vocals are each recorded and all the different parts are mixed, over-dubbed, etc. Albini opted for the entire band to play together, while jimmying with microphones on each instrument and around the room to perfect the sound. He often downplayed the vocals which are typically the centrepiece of a rock song.

Steve Albini also worked on the Pixies' "Surfer Rosa."

Source:
http://www.last.fm/music/Big+Black/+wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Albini

4. The studio album "Atomizer" was released as an LP in 1986, and re-released on CD a little later. The CD release intentionally lacked much of the original release including one song, artwork and notes. Why do you think this is?

Answer: Albini greatly disliked the CD format

The album "Atomizer" was originally supposed to depict Marvin the Martian pointing a ray gun at earth. It is believed that the album was delayed in its release due to possible copyright infringements. Instead, a part of a large cartoony cannon can be seen with a fuse. There is a sign pointing off the cover saying "Earth," a sign pointing at the cannon saying "Atomizer," and a sign for a pack of matches near the fuse reading "Let's Go." All drawn in a very "Warner Bros." style.
Albini only allowed the CD releases after pressure from record companies, and Atomizer was renamed "The rich man's 8-track tape."
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomizer_(album)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_albini
http://www.last.fm/music/Big+Black/+wiki

5. Santiago Durango joined the band in 1983 after listening to the "Lungs" EP, which Steve Albini released to recruit members for Big Black. He played in the band Naked Raygun, and joined Big Black on guitar. Durango pursued schooling for what career both before and after his stint in Big Black?

Answer: Lawyer

Durango actually joined the band when Jeff Pezzati and Roland were creating a racket while he tried to watch his football game. He decided to deal with the situation, possibly with "if you can't beat 'em..." in mind.
Post Big Black, he has released two EPs under the name Arsenal.
He also helped in favour of Cynthia Plaster Caster's case to retrieve her famous casts of musician's genitalia and continues his practise.
Source:
http://www.dementlieu.com/users/obik/bigblack/main.html
http://www.last.fm/music/Big+Black/+wiki

6. Back to the "Lungs" EP mentioned earlier. "Lungs" was used to recruit band members and was infamous at the time around the Northwestern University campus for the odd trinkets that were put in with the EP. Which of the following was NOT one of the "prizes" the EP may have contained had you gotten your hands on a copy back in 1983?

Answer: Coffee grounds

Also among the interesting goodies were:
Photos, lyrics sheets (in most copies, but not all), condoms, stickers, tickets to concerts, razors, squirt pistols. There were probably other items, but these are all my source lists.
Albini apparently regards the Lungs album as "one of his few artistic regrets."
Source:
http://www.last.fm/music/Big+Black/+wiki
http://www.dementlieu.com/users/obik/bigblack/main.html

7. One reason for Big Black's disbandment in 1987 is Durango's unavailability due to law school. However, the members of the band saw the timing as quite appropriate anyway. Why do you think that is?

Answer: They realised continuing the band could result in selling out to music industry tycoons

One of the band members did have a stroke, though it occurred after the break up. Dave Riley, who played bass for a while, had a stroke in 1993, but has since recovered. He put out a book and a CD.

Source:
http://www.dementlieu.com/users/obik/bigblack/sfpk08.html
http://www.last.fm/music/Big+Black/+wiki

8. Steve Albini has been in a number of bands as well as Big Black. Which of these has Albini had a hand in?

Answer: Shellac (of North America)

Steve has also been apart of the bands Flour and Rapeman.
Green River was a grunge band (before the word grunge was around) from the Seattle area. Albini was acquaintances with the members of Sonic Youth and their UK releases were on Sonic Youth's Blast First label. Gang of Four is cited as an band that influenced him.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_albini
http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Green%20River:1927009813:page=biography
http://www.dementlieu.com/users/obik/bigblack/hammerheadache.html

9. Much of Albini's lyrics are retelling of strange events that have occurred around his country and the world. Strange deaths, insane behaviour as well as commentary on types of people were just some of the topics he handled. He has said that some of his lyrical style is due to earning a degree in what at Northwestern University?

Answer: Journalism

Many of his lyrics are simply telling people the story of what happened so that others may hear of the odd and crazy things that people are capable of doing.
One example:
"One song on the new LP, called 'L Dopa', is about a Sleeping Sickness epidemic in America in 1926. It's a true story I read about in a book called 'The Awakening', written by Dr. Oliver Sachs, the guy responsible for waking up all these people from deep sleep. And all these people either committed suicide or asked to be killed. They were so (expletive) up, they wanted to throw away the little they had left." Steve Albini (Interview from "Melody Maker," 28 Feb 1987

"It's much more like a journalistic sort of more than anything else, which I guess would be the fault of my education." ~ Steve Albini (Interview for "Truly Needy," 24 Oct 1984)

Source:
http://www.dementlieu.com/users/obik/bigblack/trulyneedy10.html

10. In what city is Steve Albini now the owner and engineer of his own studio, Electrical Audio?

Answer: Chicago, Illinois

Missoula, Montana is the city where his family settled in 1974 and where he began to acquire a taste for punk music, starting with the Ramones.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_albini

Source: Author bjburger

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ralzzz before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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