Alice Stewart, a CNN political commentator who worked on several GOP presidential campaigns, has died at 58.
08.05.2024 - 17:59 / deadline.com
Steve Albini, a singer and guitarist best known for producing some of the most groundbreaking and influential albums of the alt-rock genre, died of a heart attack at his Chicago recording studio Electrical Audio. He was 61.
Albini’s death and cause of death was confirmed by Taylor Hales of Electrical Audio.
Born July 22, 1962, in Pasadena, Albini moved to the Chicago area after high school to study journalism at Northwestern University. While there, he began writing for local punk rock ‘zines and beginning to record and engineer albums for local bands.
Stubbornly opposed to the larger music industry and its exploitation of artists, Albini formed the Chicago-based band Big Black in 1981, recording the first of several albums, an EP for the Chicago label Ruthless Records, a label he co-managed. That band last until 1987.
From 1987 to 1988, Albini sang and played guitar for Rapeman, named after a Japanese comic book. The short-lived band broke up after one album, two singles and an EP. Albini later expressed remorse over the band name, calling it “a flippant choice,” “unconscionable” and “indefensible.”
Albini formed Shellac in 1992, a band that continues to this day.
While a longstanding and active musician, Albani’s name is most closely associated with producing, or what he preferred to call engineering. In a 2018 interview, Albini estimated that he had engineered several thousand records, mostly by underground rock musicians. Albini’s more well-known collaborations were with Pixies, The Breeders, the Jesus Lizard, PJ Harvey, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (as Page and Plant), Fred Schneider, The Stooges, Manic Street Preachers, Jarvis Cocker, the Fleshtones, The Membranes, Cheap Trick, Motorpsycho, Veruca Salt, and The
Alice Stewart, a CNN political commentator who worked on several GOP presidential campaigns, has died at 58.
Shellac have just released their final album ‘To All Trains’, nine days after the band’s lead guitarist Steve Albini passed away.The legendary record producer, or audio engineer as he preferred to be described, was the mastermind behind iconic albums such as Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero‘, Pixies’ ‘Surfer Rosa’ and Manic Street Preachers‘ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’. He died on May 8 of a heart attack while at Electronic Audio, his recording studio in Chicago.He also had a highly influential and accomplished recording career, notably as part of the bands Big Black (1981-1987) and Shellac, a noise rock and hardcore band that had been together since 1992.Their new album is their first in 10 years, and was first announced in March.
Samm-Art Williams, whose Tony-nominated 1979 play Home is being revived on Broadway this year and whose TV producing credits include Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, died peacefully today in Burgaw, North Carolina. He was 78.
Mark Damon, a film producer, sales executive, and spaghetti Western actor, died at 91, representatives for the executive told Deadline.
Steve Albini has opened up about his feelings towards Steely Dan.The producer and engineer took to Twitter yesterday (February 6) to share his views on the New York rock band, writing: “I will always be the kind of punk that shits on Steely Dan.“Christ the amount of human effort wasted to sound like an SNL band warm up,” he continued.Albini then appeared to pose pro Steely Dan arguments before offering his rebuttals, including the suggestion that they “spent three weeks on the guitar solo”.I will always be the kind of punk that shits on Steely Dan— steve albini (@electricalWSOP) February 6, 2023“Three weeks of watching guitar players give it their all while doing bumps and hitting the talkback, “More *Egyptian* but keep it in the pocket…,” he said.“‘Their engineer invented a machine to play the bass drum…’ Did he now. And yet it sounds like this.”“Look at yourselves.
Joanna Newsom has paid tribute to the late Steve Albini with a performance of ‘Cosmia’ at Kilby Block Party.Albini recorded Newsom’s 2006 album ‘Ys’, and in her first advertised live performance since 2020, the musician dedicated a song from the album to him.The legendary record producer – who was the mastermind behind iconic albums such as Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero‘, Pixies’ ‘Surfer Rosa’ and Manic Street Preachers‘ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’– died on May 8 of a heart attack while at Electronic Audio, his recording studio in Chicago. His death was confirmed by the studio’s staff members.Watch Newsom’s tribute below:Newsom introduced the song with a personal tribute to Albini, who she described as someone “who I love very, very much and admire in every possible way you can admire a person”.“I was saying to my friend this morning that on the list of all the reasons why he’s my hero, music and music-related stuff doesn’t even crack the top ten.
Rudy Moreno, a veteran of the Los Angeles comedy circuit and an actor who appeared in numerous TV shows, has died at 66.
Foo Fighters have dedicated a performance of ‘My Hero’ to the late legendary record producer Steve Albini.While performing at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina as part of their ‘Everything or Nothing At All’ tour, the band took the time to dedicate their hit track to the great Albini.The legendary record producer – who was the mastermind behind iconic albums such as Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero‘ and Manic Street Preachers‘ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’– died on May 8 of a heart attack while at Electronic Audio, his recording studio in Chicago. His death was confirmed by the studio’s staff members.“Tonight I’d like to dedicate this song to a friend that we lost the other day, who I’ve known a long, long time,” Foos frontman Dave Grohl told the crowd. “He left us much too soon.
Yourcodenameis:milo have spoken to NME about the 20th anniversary of their cult classic debut mini album ‘All Roads To Fault’, what’s next – and working with the late, great Steve Albini.Released on this day in 2004 (May 10), ‘All Roads To Fault’ by the Tyne and Wear post-hardcore outfit would go to inspire scores of rock acts from the UK and beyond and finding fans in the likes of The 1975 and My Chemical Romance. The release us now known asone of the most influential rock releases of the decade.The band released two acclaimed follow-up albums before they went on an “indefinite hiatus” in 2007 – with frontman Paul Mullen going on to join The Automatic as well as forming Young Legionnaire and Losers, and guitarist Justin Lockey launching a range of projects as well as becoming a full-time member of Editors and Frightened Rabbit side-project Mastersystem.
Steve Albini – see what Durango had to say below.Earlier this week, the music world was shaken by the news of iconic rock engineer, producer and musician Steve Albini dying from a heart attack at the age of 61. Besides recording and producing some of rock’s biggest albums including Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero’ and Pixies‘ ‘Surfer Rosa’, Albini was also in several bands – one of which was Big Black.Now, Big Black guitarist Santiago Durango has shared a statement with Rolling Stone about his former bandmate, in which he called Albini a “caring and giving person”. Describing Albini’s death as a “total gut punch”, Durango said to the publication: “I always believed Steve would outlive me.
When I was 15, my first boyfriend gave me a burned CD with the words “cool music” written in Sharpie across the bottom. It contained over a dozen songs, the kind you’d expect to receive from a brooding indie rock-minded teenager with a gutterpunk streak; the track I’d play on loop was a cover of Kraftwerk’s “The Model.” Steve Albini’s punk band Big Black had transformed it into something unapologetically intense and so unafraid of its imperfect emotion that it was willing to be mistaken for an exorcism.
Thurston Moore has paid tribute to the late Steve Albini in a lengthy X/Twitter thread, calling him “a stick of dynamite in shredded low-top sneakers”.The former Sonic Youth bandmember took to social media to share his memories of the legendary musician and engineer, who passed away yesterday (May 8) due to a heart attack.Moore began his statement by writing: “Like the music he adored and devoted his life to – punk and experimental action, suspect and resistant to any semblance of exploitation – Steve Albini was a person of passion and contradiction.”The musician went on to praise Albini for his ability to “articulate, from a surprisingly young age, with intelligent and intellectual passion, reasons not to set foot in the manipulative cogs of “major” label indignity,” adding: “While wholly serious in his analysis he also seemed to be able to write it all off at the end of the day as being alive in an absurd universe. Alongside his set-in-stone scowl was always a genuinely soulful smile.”Moore recalled the day he first heard of Albini when meeting Byron Coley and Jimmy Johnson from Forced Exposure in NYC.
Dave Grohl hailing Steve Albini has resurfaced following the late producer’s death yesterday (May 8).Albini who worked on Nirvana’s final album ‘In Utero’ died following a heart attack while at Electronic Audio – his recording studio in Chicago.Speaking in an interview with BBC 6 Music’s Matt Everitt in 2015, Grohl said that despite being well aware of his reputation, the first time he ever met the legendary producer was during the recording sessions for their 1993 record.“He was the smartest, most cynical producer/music critic/band leader/pundit, everyone was scared of him. Then you see pictures of him and he just looks like this skinny little guy.
Steve Albini, fans have been re-sharing a clip of the producer talking to the late Anthony Bourdain about his politics, career and love of Chicago.The legendary record producer – who was the mastermind behind iconic albums such as Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero‘ and Manic Street Preachers‘ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’– died yesterday (May 8) of a heart attack while at Electronic Audio – his recording studio in Chicago. His death was confirmed by the studio’s staff members.Albini appeared as a guest on season seven episode three of the Emmy-award-winning show Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.
PJ Harvey has paid tribute to the late record producer Steve Albini, sharing “He changed the course of my life”.Harvey and Albini worked together on creating her second studio LP, 1993’s ‘Rid Of Me’. The ‘You Said Something’ singer chose to work with Albini after admiring his distinctively raw recordings of bands like Pixies, Slint, The Breeders and The Jesus Lizard.The legendary record producer – who was the mastermind behind iconic albums such as Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero‘ and Manic Street Preachers‘ ‘Journal For Plague Lovers’– died yesterday (May 8) of a heart attack while at Electronic Audio – his recording studio in Chicago.
Steve Albini, check out what Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic told NME last year about Kurt Cobain’s decision to have him work on the classic ‘In Utero’.Yesterday (May 8), it was announced that Albini, who was known for recording and producing classic albums, had died at the age of 61 after a heart attack.Recalling working with the producer and how the band landed on the post-‘Nevermind’ sound of the record, Novoselic said: “Kurt was a fan of Albini. I remember being in a tour van in 1989 and Kurt was listening to Pixies. He raised his finger and said, ‘This shall be our snare sound!’ He wanted to do it with Steve for a long time.“There’s that whole thing where you get famous and you have to transition into it.
The Cribs have paid their respects to the legendary musician and producer Steve Albini, following news of his death.Yesterday (May 8), it was announced that Steve Albini, who was known for recording and producing classic albums such as Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero’ and Pixies‘ ‘Surfer Rosa’ among others, had died at the age of 61 due to a heart attack.Now, members of The Cribs have come forward to share their respects for the iconic producer, and recall the memories they have of working with him in the past.The Wakefield indie band first joined forces with Albini back in 2011, shortly after they confirmed that Johnny Marr had departed from the line-up and were beginning work on their fifth studio album ‘In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull’. The LP marked the follow-up to ‘Ignore The Ignorant’, was was shared with the band as a three-piece in May 2012.
Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has paid tribute to Steve Albini following the legendary producer’s death – see what Cocker had to say below.Yesterday (May 8), it was revealed that Steve Albini, who was known for recording and producing classic albums such as Nirvana‘s ‘In Utero’ and Pixies‘ ‘Surfer Rosa’ among others, had died at the age of 61 due to a heart attack.Now, Cocker – who worked with Albini on his solo album ‘Further Complications’ in 2009 – has taken to social media to share a tribute to the late record producer, engineer and musician.He wrote on Instagram to accompany a photo he had taken of Albini’s Electrical Audio studio: “This is not a very interesting photograph – but very interesting things happened within these walls. This is a photo of the building that contains Electrical Audio: the recording studio established by Steve Albini in Chicago.”“I took this photo during January 2009 when we were recording the ‘Further Complications’ album there.
Nirvana‘s social media accounts have shared the four-page letter Steve Albini sent to them, proposing that he produce their landmark album ‘In Utero’.Today (May 9), Nirvana’s X (formerly Twitter) account published the four-page proposal, in which Albini wrote of his approach and methodology to music and how he planned to handle the recording of ‘In Utero’.The post comes after it was revealed yesterday (May 8) that Albini had died at the age of 61 due to a heart attack. The legendary producer and musician’s death was confirmed by his recording studio, Electronic Audio.In Albini’s four-paged proposal, he famously declared that “if a record takes more than a week to make, somebody’s fucking up”.“I think the very best thing you could do at this point is exactly what you are talking about doing: bang a record out in a couple of days, with high quality but minimal ‘production’ and no interference from the front office bulletheads,” he wrote.
to Pitchfork.Albini is best known for producing Nirvana’s 1993 cult-classic album In Utero, in which he helped craft the record’s abrasive and metallic tones. He is also credited as a pioneer who brought 80s indie outfits like Pixies to the mainstream, leading the way for other underground acts’ success.More recently, the Chicago-based icon produced Foo Fighter’s “Something From Nothing” in 2014.During Albini’s decade career, he engineered multiple underground classics, including The Jesus Lizard’s Goat, PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me, Jawbreaker’s 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and dozens more.In addition to his production work, Albini was the guitarist and frontman for Shellac — who are set to release To All Trains, their first album in a decade — next week.Albini began his professional music career in 1981 when he founded the often-confrontational punk group Big Black, an aggressive act famous for their industrial use of drum machines and icy guitar riffs.In his final years, the performer criticized exploitative music industry practices, according to Pitchfork.Celebrities across the internet shared their condolences after the rocker’s death.“Ugh man, a heartbreaking loss of a legend.