Jughead's Basement

Big Black’s aggressive and abrasive music was characterized by distinctively clanky guitars and the use of a drum machine (who they lovingly called Roland) elements which pre­-cursored industrial rock. The band acknowledged no taboos and Albini’s lyrics openly dealt with loaded topics including murder, rape, child sexual abuse, and racism. They also held staunch principles, shunning the mainstream music industry and insisting on complete control over all aspects of their career. This podcast attempts to tell a portion of the history of the band from the perspective of their ep Bulldozer through their first full length record Atomizer. (Marking a transition from a project purely conceived by Steve Albini into a cohesive band with the added influences from collaborators Santiago Durango and Dave Riley.) This episode is co-hosted by Russ Forster and includes interviews with band members Santiago Durango, Steve Albini, and Jeff Pezzati, including extra interview material with friend and fellow songwriter/musician Camilo Gonzalez. Lastly an audio piece written by journalist/novelist/radio personality Jim DeRogatis. Russ Forster is a perennial dabbler in the underground and eccentric. Past exercises in cognitive dissonance include Underdog Records, 8-Track Mind magazine, documentaries So Wrong They're Right and Tributary, and various and sundry bands and acts like his current extreme-solo project Rakehell. Assistant Editor: Jason Brow of the 6ftplus Podcast.