“billard player song”, Shellac, RIP Steve

This way: billard player song

Sad days in Rock and Roll land. The passing on of Steve Albini, a true meteorite in the music world. Dead too soon for sure. His music was always a jolt to the system, and his words were a direct blast at the music industry in general. 

Shellac was an American noise rock band from Chicago, Illinois, composed of Steve Albini (guitar and vocals), Bob Weston (bass guitar and vocals) and Todd Trainer (drums and vocals) and formed in 1992. Albini died in May 2024.

They have been classified as post-hardcore and math rock, but described themselves as a "minimalist rock trio."

Shellac formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 as an informal collaboration between guitarist Steve Albini and drummer Todd Trainer. Former Naked Raygun bassist Camilo Gonzalez sat in on early rehearsals and played on one song on Shellac's first single before permanent bassist Bob Weston joined. Both Weston and Albini were recording engineers. They prefered a sparse, analog recording sound with little or no overdubbing, and were meticulous about microphone placement and choice of equipment.

Shellac had a distinctive, minimalist sound based on asymmetric time signatures, repetitive rhythms, an angular guitar sound, and both Albini's and Weston's surreal, bitingly sarcastic lyrics. Songs typically do not have traditional verse/chorus/verse structure and the arrangements were sparse, to the point where some described them as "amelodic". Shellac's signature sound was often associated with their enthusiasm for vintage Travis Bean guitars, a rare brand of aluminium-necked instruments, and the Interfax "Harmonic Percolator" distortion pedal. Albini was known to use copper plectrums and typically wrapped his guitar strap around his waist rather than over his shoulder.

This track, the first single, from 1993.

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