CHIN MUSIC s/t (Nitty Kitty, 2024)

    So this record only caught my attention because Steve Albini died. It was in seeing the tributes to him on social media that I learned he’d recently taken part in this one-off project about his favorite sport. Not knowing how else to properly pay my respects, I thought I’d pick up a copy. I've never heard SHELLAC and have only checked out BIG BLACK in recent years because I felt obligated to have an opinion about them, so I really didn’t know what to expect. These three songs are quick genre sketches—a little NWOBHM here, a touch of nervy ska there, some heavy rock there. Truly, the lyrics to “You Break My Heart Every Year” are ostensibly about America’s pastime, but they could just as easily be about a fickle flame that has been troubling someone who just heard TRESPASS or SARACEN singles for the first time. (Or, really, HEART or LED ZEPPELIN, honestly.) The title track even has the requisite “pick it up” parts to go with the ska beat. These dudes could play straight up metal but find it silly; yet, they don’t want to be limited to simple, three-chord punk rock, so they are chasing cool sounds to help out their friend with theme music for a baseball podcast.

    I know Albini loved baseball because my awareness of him is based more on his arguments than the music he engineered or played. On a 2011 episode of Baseball Prospectus, he claimed that baseball is the best sport because “pure athleticism, which is the dominion of jocks and assholes—just being a big, powerful guy—won’t get you that far in baseball… A really smart baseball player doesn’t have to be that great of an athlete.” He goes on to contrast the game with “mob sports” such as football, soccer, basketball, hockey, etc., which he calls “literally trivial games.” He also says “pong sports” such as tennis, volleyball, badminton, racquetball, etc., involve trying to “defeat the return of a ball over a net” are all the same. So, “there’s those two kinds of games, and baseball.” He also distinguishes “target shooting” (archery, curling) and “strength and endurance contests and races” (swimming, track) from “games,” which means baseball stands alone again. I disagree about the athleticism of swimming or track making it less of a sport. There’s no purer competition than the clock and no contact permitted between the participants. It is as much a test of physical limits as mental ones. The thing about Albini is that even though you may disagree with him on certain parts of his argument, you know that in the end, responding to him (even in your head, even post mortem) has pushed your thinking and refined it so that you can make a stronger case as a result. Leaving us with such tools for self-improvement is a lasting gift.