Graded on a Curve: Rapeman, Two Nuns and a Pack Mule

Musician/producer Steve Albini—who handed away just lately on the age of 61—was a heckuva good man. He made nice, melodic music with a constructive message, had nothing however good issues to say about his fellow musicians, and I feel learn the mistaken obituary. Because the Steve Albini who died a few week again was an abrasive one who made abrasive music and had a tongue dipped in battery acid.

Albini was greatest recognized for his work with the less-band-than-industrial-drill Big Black and because the no nonsense, zero-frills producer of bands each huge (Nirvana)and small (Poster Children), a lot of whom he had hilariously scathing issues to say. This was partly the rationale he didn’t need his identify on their records. “When I’m employed to file a band,” he as soon as wrote, “I don’t want to be related to their charming little records.” What he was more than pleased to do was kiss and inform.

Everybody has their favourite Steve Albini diss; mine embrace his description of the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa (which he produced) as “A patchwork pinch loaf from a band who at their top-dollar greatest are blandly entertaining school rock.” I additionally like his backside line on Bitch Magnet’s “Star Booty” EP: “Listening to this wittle wecord is concerning the dumbest factor you possibly can do with it, particularly if you happen to’re brief on dinnerware.” And lovable man that he was, he described The Breeders’ drummer as wanting “fairly like an emu, besides that her hair is thinner.” This isn’t a pleasant factor to say a few lady. Or a person. Or an emu, for that matter.

Albini was no fan of political correctness and his songs with Big Black—a noise rock outfit with an industrial really feel due to “Roland” the drum machine—had been taboo busters, rife with cynically “humorous” takes on racism, homophobia, sexism, youngster sexual abuse, and god is aware of what else. If a Big Black tune didn’t offend your sense of frequent decency, it was in all probability not a Big Black tune. Outrage was Albini’s métier—it was all the time a easy matter of claiming the subsequent mistaken factor. His was envelope-pushing comedy, however whereas the songs had been remorselessly brutal workouts in drill-bit ear surgical procedure, the jokes wore very skinny very quick, and I tended to simply ignore them.

But Albini made a colossal miscalculation by naming his post-Big Black band—which included two former Scratch Acid alum, David Wm. Sims on bass and Rey Washam on drums—Rapeman, after a Japanese comedian ebook. It was one transgressive step too far, and the band discovered itself going through protests at reveals and mucho adverse press. Both Albini and Sims would later specific regrets over the identify, and never just because it might have overshadowed the superb music on their sole album, the 1988 studio affair Two Nuns and a Pack Mule. Albini known as it a “flippant alternative” and in a 2021 tweet mentioned, “Numerous issues I mentioned and did from an ignorant place of consolation and privilege are clearly terrible and I remorse them. It’s no one’s obligation to miss that, and I do really feel an obligation to redeem myself…” He mentioned much more unsparing issues elsewhere, and it’s to his credit score.

Two Nuns and a Pack Mule is all dementia, herky-jerky rhythms, rumbling bass, meat-tenderizer drumming, and lacerating razor-wire guitar, and Albini does issues he by no means did with Big Black. Rapeman’s is a much less monolithic pile driver-driven sound, which was due partly to the demise of poor Roland and partly to Albini’s rising curiosity to textures and extra diverse rhythms. In brief, Rapeman’s songs have a extra natural and fewer industrial really feel. And that industrial really feel was all the time what stored this reviewer at arm’s size from Big Black. They had been too tight-assed. Pile drivers didn’t swing.

Opener “Steak and Black Onions” is musical assault and battery full with a number of neat suggestions, vicious ax play that might take any individual’s head off, battering ram drums and plenty of drive, and about my solely grievance is that Albini’s assault on vegetarian preacher varieties options lyrics I wager he wrote in lower than thirty seconds. And apart from a quite lame “Why don’t you snuff it, then/You plant-eating pussy,” they’re eminently forgettable. Michael Gerald of Killdozer would have finished justice to the problem and give you some actually humorous putdowns, however Albini is not any Michael Gerald.

And the lyrics of follow-up “Monobrow” are equally disappointing; she has a monobrow, she thanks him for noticing, and he says he quite likes it. I’m paraphrasing. Then he sings, “I noticed Chris Johnson with a boner/I noticed Todd Trainer singing in German/Scared the shit out of me/And I don’t scare simply.” And that’s it. Todd Trainer would change into the drummer of Albini’s post-Rapeman challenge, Shellac. Chris Johnson might or might not the well-known drummer Chris Johnson. Does it matter?

Fortunately the tune’s high notch, as soon as Albini stops making splendidly terrible noises together with his guitar and the bass and drums are available and smack you round some. It’s fairly spectacular, as is Albini’s entertainingly off-putting guitar solo. The two additional events on which Albini takes the chance to kind of cease the music to make extra horrible noises on his guitar simply show that he actually does love to bother individuals. It’s charming, in a louche manner. I’ll wager you any cash he was that child in third grade who beloved to torture his classmates by doing the chalk on chalkboard bit.

“Up Beat” proceeds at hardcore velocity; vocally Albini jogs my memory of the Cows’ Shannon Selberg. Wish the tune didn’t have these rote-feeling slowdowns, however I like it when Sims’ bass involves the forefront and throbs just like the proverbial muscle of affection. Lyrically Albini comes by way of—he comes off actually robust, says ugly issues about you and threatens to kick your ass, however ultimately he confesses he’s only a wimp:

“If I had six inches and possibly fifty kilos
Maybe if I had Kung Fu coaching
You’d actually have to observe your ass

I…I suppose, I suppose I’m not too threatening
Presently however…
Wait ’til I begin Nautilus.”

Albini performs fractured steel guitar over throbbing bass and plenty of drum clamor on “Coition Ignition Mission”—he’s fucked up the tuning or changed the strings with razor wire or one thing, or possibly he’s only a boy genius relating to discovering new and interesting methods to supply disagreeable sounds on his guitar, however boy is it ugly lovely. Meanwhile he feels like he’s shouting from the subsequent city over, and man does all the pieces occur actual quick.

“Kim Gordon’s Panties” might or might not be a Sonic Youth putdown—lyrically it’s robust to inform WHAT it’s. Albini’s visiting a good friend in Milwaukee, Thurston Moore stops by and he’s out of his thoughts, and any individual says, “Hey I’m a pink blooded man…/I’d cling that lady’s panties/From his automotive aerial/Hate to see a good friend go queer/Knowing what’s going to waste.” It encompasses a lengthy and really fucked-up guitar intro, then Albini and a few unknown any individual else sing collectively (tune credit are silent on the matter…. possibly it’s Thurston himself, wouldn’t that be humorous?) and I want I may say I prefer it but it surely feels like Fugazi, and that’s all the time a horrible factor.

“Hated Chinee” opens with some dissonant guitar wank and a cry of “Shit!” earlier than getting right down to the enterprise of being “amusingly” racist. Making enjoyable of minorities has a protracted and hallowed (proper) custom in punk music, however you’ll have thought that by 1988 even the densest punk with a modicum of intelligence would have figured the joke had grown stale. The tune is a mid-tempo, keep-you-off-balance frazzle fest and if you happen to can ignore the lyrics and easily direct your consideration to the horrible ordeal Steve’s subjecting his guitar to it’s as a lot enjoyable as flushing an M-80 down a bathroom.

“Marmoset” is an up-tempo instance of feral noise funk with some spastic guitar work free of charge Albini—fairly spectacular, even when the lyrics are an entire wash. “Radar Love Lizard” is a chaotically unfastened adaptation (you possibly can kinda hear it in there) of the Golden Earring traditional taken at quadruple time. The bass is in your face, whereas Albini (who’s a little bit lizard!) spiels free model, tossing off stream of consciousness hoo-hah alongside the traces of “Gonna get a little bit place/Gonna preserve it actual heat/Eat solely uncooked meat/Never hear the Beastie Boys once more.” It’s nasty, brutish, and comparatively brief, this one, and Albini certain has an enormous voice for such a little bit twerp. I deem it worthy.

Rapeman does ZZ Top proud on their cowl of “Just Got Paid.” Funk it up actual good, they do. The tune has momentum popping out its fake Texas wazoo, with Albini enjoying remorseless guitar with some good suggestions and lotsa scorching distortion. There’s some cease/begin media res which annoys me a bit, however I like the way in which Albini and Sims have interaction in some vocal parrying and be part of collectively to sing that “Just received paid at the moment.”

“Trouser Minnow” has this cease/begin dub factor occurring and in addition jogs my memory a little bit of Fugazi, too unhealthy. But the drumming is John Bonham brutal and I like the way in which Albini talks his manner by way of it, punctuating his oration with a number of third-rail guitar. The lyrics are ambiguous; Albini’s a girl who’s continually getting drunk and discovering herself in mattress with males with “little dicks,” and the query of does she or does she not need it (“They benefit from me/I would like all males to make use of me/For their solely satisfaction”) is, as is all the time the case relating to victimization, a troubling one. Albini informed an interviewer he primarily based it on an actual dialog with an actual reside lady, and I’m unsure what that claims besides that intercourse is confusion and confusion is usually the results of trauma and the suspicion that Albini is doing nothing however unnecessarily muddy the waters is a legitimate one.

Rapeman was an important instance of a smartass who appreciated to play on the transgressive margins capturing himself within the dick. But the music’s nice—a frontal assault on the ears (and frontal lobes) of listeners who, except they’re noise rock followers whose ears’ finer edges had been sandpapered off by terrible sounds years in the past—doubtless as not will emerge from the expertise traumatized. Two Nuns and a Pack Mule is greater than only a worthy follow-up to the music of Big Black. It’s considered one of The Mighty Albini’s most interesting hours.

But that identify, man. Even the man who got here up with the identify Anal Cunt had extra sense. Albini was one immature grownup on the time, and like I say, a extra mature Albini by no means sought to downplay the ugliness of a band identify he likened to a “unhealthy tattoo.” Of course you possibly can all the time have a foul tattoo eliminated, and most won’t ever know you ever had it. Rapeman was a tattoo Albini couldn’t have eliminated, and to his credit score he didn’t need it eliminated. It’s all the time good to run throughout a super-talented dick who grows a conscience. Some super-talented dicks by no means do. They simply keep dicks at some point of their pure lives.

As for that album title, it sounds just like the set-up of an obscene joke I’d actually love to listen to. None of us ever grows up fully. Which is an efficient factor. Go full grownup and also you’re a assured bore.

GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+