RIP, Steve Albini

Of course, Steve Albini was so much more than In Utero. But this is my blog and I want this post to be my memory of Nirvana's third and final studio album. 

Unfortunately, it isn't pretty. It was in 2015, on a day I got censured severely by an irate Makati City executive who did not like the editing job I did for them. She angrily accused me of ruining the document, and told me I was lucky her superiors were not there or else. I remember leaving their office feeling dejected, my self-esteem in the gutters. I reckoned there must've been a big misunderstanding between instruction and execution, but what the hell. I then found myself at the now-defunct Astrovision in Glorietta where I saw a "deluxe edition" copy of In Utero. I just knew I had to buy it, even though I'm not really a big fan of deluxe editions. 

Raw, brash and gritty. A big, loud "fuck you" to anything that is clean and orderly. That's In Utero for me. And I guess I have to thank Steve Albini for that. ## 

Once upon a time, in a QC dive bar...

I once impressed a friend’s date by name-dropping Pinback in the middle of a beer-fueled conversation about music. At that time I have just discovered Information Retrieved via Spotify and was listening to it constantly (I now have the album on vinyl). Arriving at our table after a quick bathroom break I overheard her telling him, “I like your friend, he’s cool.” I must've grown two inches taller and grinned from ear to ear, as I'm the kind of guy who normally doesn't get described as such by girls. Needless to say, it was a good night. We ordered another round. And another. And another...

I never saw the girl again. She and my friend got into a relationship, but it was a short-lived one. Last I heard she's moved to LA chasing her literary dreams.

Interesting how certain persons and memories are attached to certain albums. Which is what this blog will be all about. ##