“Punk rock really came out of N.Y. as a philosophy before the groups were ever recorded. I had a kind-of intellectual interest in the idea of creating a new scene that could be a grassroots thing.” KindIdeasPhilosophyInterestGroupsRocksSceneCreatingIntellectualPunkPunk RockGrassroots Author:Greg Ginn
“The Minutemen were seen as more of an art thing than Black Flag, although I didn't see them that way. It confused people when we put out Saccharine Trust, too.” PeopleWayArtBlackConfusedFlagsMinutemen Author:Greg Ginn
“I'm only interested in working on records that legitimately reflect the band's own perception of their music and existence. If you commit yourselves to that as a tenet of the recording methodology, then I will bust my ass for you.” IfsExistenceRecordsBandPerceptionCommitAssMethodology Author:Steve Albini
“I do not want and will not take a royalty on any record I record. I think paying a royalty to a producer or engineer is ethically indefensible. The band write the songs. The band play the music. It's the band's fans who buy the records. The band is responsible for whether it's a great record or a horrible record. Royalties belong to the band. I would like to be paid like a plumber. I do the job and you pay me what it's worth.” ThinkingWantWritingPlayJobsSongPayRecordsFansBandPaidResponsibleHorribleProducersEngineersRoyaltyPlumber Author:Steve Albini
“Toast is bread made delicious and useful. Un-toasted bread is okay for children's sandwiches and sopping up barbecue sauce, but for pretty much all other uses, toast is better than bread. An exception is when the bread is fresh from the oven, piping hot, with butter melting all over it. Then it's fantastic, but I would argue that bread fresh out of the oven is a kind of toast. Because I'm an asshole and I refuse to be wrong about something.” KindChildrenMadeUseOkayHotRefuseArguingBreadFantasticExceptionOver ItDeliciousSandwichesMeltingSauceToastsOvensBarbecueBarbecue Sauce Author:Steve Albini
“Im busy doing my job, and being a loudmouth doesnt appeal to me as much as when I was younger and had the youthful delusion that I was smarter than everybody else.” JobsBusyAppealsDelusionSmarter Author:Steve Albini
“There won't ever be a mass-market record industry again, and that's fine with me because that industry didn't operate for the benefit of the musicians or the audience, the only classes of people I care about.” PeopleCareClassAudienceRecordsFineIndustryBenefitsMusicianMassI CareTry Again Author:Steve Albini
“The single best thing that has happened in my lifetime in music, after punk rock, is being able to share music, globally for free.” AbleHappenedShareRocksLifetimeBest ThingsPunkPunk Rock Author:Steve Albini
“Record labels, which used to have complete control, are essentially irrelevant. The process of a band exposing itself to the world is extremely democratic and there are no barriers. Music is no longer a commodity, it’s an environment, or atmospheric element. Consumers have much more choice and you see people indulging in the specificity of their tastes dramatically more. They only bother with music they like.” PeopleWorldUsedChoicesProcessRecordsEnvironmentTasteBandElementsMusic IsDemocraticLabelsConsumersBotherBarriersCommodityIrrelevantExposingRecord LabelsSpecificity Author:Steve Albini
