Task: Sentiment Analysis
Input (English): The primal scream, courtesy of Steve Albini. . First off, consider the packaging. The title SONGS ABOUT F--KING rendered in loving bold, and cover art that puts all "shock rockers" (that means you, Marilyn Manson) in their place. That alone makes it worth adding to your collection. Too bad this was the band's last release. Leave it to Steve to break a band up just as they were attracting an audience.      Big Black is pure nihilism in audio form. A young Steve Albini (pre-Shellac and before he was reduced to producing Bush albums) backed by a constantly pulsing drum machine named Roland and furiously feedback-driven guitar noise while ranting his stories of Midwest depravity and illness with an almost infectious glee. This is what happens when Kraftwerk goes to hell (they even cover that German duo's The Model here), or when a bunch of angry, drunk, baseball bat-wielding nerds start playing New Wave while setting a trailer park on fire. Though there have been faster bands, heavier bands, nobody has ever sounded so gritty and hateful as these guys do.      Ah.. enough hyperbole. So, why only four stars (actually 4.5)? Well, there's nothing as great as previous albums' Steelworker, Bad Houses, Kerosene, or Jordan, Minnesota--songs that are so definitive of Big Black's style. However, there are plenty of songs that come awful close: The poppy yet deliciously evil Bad Penny ("I think I f--ked your girlfriend once, maybe twice, I don't remember"), the demented almost-surf rock of Columbian Necktie, the eerie proto-industrial grind of Kitty Empire, the vicious Fish Fry, and the lovely free-floating hostility of Tiny, King Of The Jews. Also notable is a cover of Cheap Trick's He's A Whore that strips away the innuendo and leaves just the grimy sleaze.     Essential music for the misanthrope in all of us. Also recommended highly are fellow Touch & Go outfits The Jesus Lizard and Albini's later "supergroup" Rapeman.
Output (English): POS