I don’t remember how I found it or who sent it to me (probably Ben Goldberg at BaDaBing! Records), but I know it blew my mind apart immediately, and I kept thinking about it for days, weeks, months after. I highly doubt IC would exist without it. 

From the ~colorful~ opening to the spine-shivering final line, it laid bare the dark underbelly of the music industry. Names are named. The middle section is a charming, somewhat off-topic rant about recording. The entire shell game is unmasked with the parable of one band’s seemingly-positive journey, complete with receipts and a breakdown that begins “Here is the math that will explain just how fucked they are”.

Originally published in Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll Issue #133, now hosted on the (indispensable) Baffler, with the original styling kept in tact, I give you, Steve Albini’s The Problem With Music. Punchy and warm, it is not.