History Music / BigBlack

* ''Songs About Fucking'' (LP) 1987

* FilkSong: Racer-X, about Anime/SpeedRacer

* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: Not incredibly apparent on the actual song titles, but their second and final LP was named ''Songs About Fucking''. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin And boy, was it an appropriate title.]]

* IntercourseWithYou: Thoroughly subverted; When you see an album called ''Songs About Fucking'', you'd better believe that they're not pulling any punches in their lyrics.

According to Steve Albini, their name is "just sort of a reduction of the concept of a large, scary, ominous figure. All the historical images of fear and all the things that kids are afraid of are all big and black, basically."

* DarkerAndEdgier: Big Black's music opted to become this to Music/HeavyMetal and HardcorePunk.

->"1, 2, 1, 2 Fuck You"

** Then again, his Breakout is somewhat expected, considering part of the reason why the band broke up was so Santiago Durango could pursue his law degree, Dave Riley suffered a life-changing stroke, and [[CompanionCube Roland was a drum machine.]] The only other former Big Black member who has remained active in the music scene is original bassist Jeff Pezzati, who was already a member of his main band, Naked Raygun, before joining Big Black.

* AGoodNameForARockBand: Their name is "just sort of a reduction of the concept of a large, scary, ominous figure. All the historical images of fear and all the things that kids are afraid of are all big and black, basically."

* AllThereInTheManual: The liner notes provided background information on many of the songs. This was removed for "The Rich Man's Eight-Track Tape," a CD compilation combining Atomizer with Headache and the Heartbeat single. This was in line with Steve Albini's dislike of [=CDs=] and digital recordings.
* {{Animesque}}: The cover of Songs About Fucking.

* CoverVersion: Several, including Music/{{Kraftwerk}}'s "The Model," {{Wire}}'s "Heartbeat," and {{Cheap Trick}}'s "He's A Whore,"

* {{Gorn}}: The cover of the 1000-copy limited edition of the Headache EP. [[spoiler: It is a [[GrossUpCloseUp close-up]] of the head of a suicide victim who AteHisGun and split his head in half]]. Only a mini body bag was appropriate to package it.

** Except for "The Power of Independent Trucking", which [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin isn't about fucking]].
** That Albini's next band had the {{hentai}}-derived name "Rapeman" tells you how much he enjoys this trope.
* IntercourseWithYou: Thoroughly subverted; When you see an album called "Songs About Fucking," you'd better believe that they're not pulling any punches in their lyrics.

* SmallTownBoredom: "Kerosene"
* TakeThat: This excerpt from "The Rich Man's Eight-Track Tape," aimed at [=CDs=] and digital recordings.

* ContemptibleCover: {{Invoked}} on "Songs About Fucking" and "Headache".

* BreakupBreakout: Steve Albini has remained a prominent figure in the underground music scene after Big Black's breakup, both as a musician and as a recording engineer who has worked with many notable alternative bands like {{Music/Nirvana}}, {{Music/Pixies}}, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

* ContemptibleCover: Invoked on "Songs About Fucking" and "Headache".

* IndecipherableLyrics: Part of Steve Albini's signature sound is putting the vocals further back into the mix than most bands, often burying them under the guitar. This makes the lyrics to certain songs like "The Power of Independent Trucking" very difficult to make out. It didn't help that Steve Albini never printed the actual lyrics in the album's liner notes and instead just describes what the song is about.

* AffectionateParody: On their "He's A Whore / The Model" single, both sides of the album art are parody of the album art the covers are originally found on. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Big_Black_-_He%27s_a_Whore_cover.jpg The "He's A Whore" side]] has the members of Big Black dressed like CheapTrick and posing similarly to them on [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Cheaptrickalbum1977.jpg their debut self-titled album.]] Likewise, [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/Big_Black_-_The_Model_cover.jpg on the back side]] the band parodies [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/Kraftwerk_The_Man_Machine_album_cover.jpg the cover art to "The Man-Machine"]] by {{Kraftwerk}}.

* AffectionateParody: On their "He's A Whore / The Model" single, both sides of the album art are parodies of the albums both covers are originally from. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Big_Black_-_He%27s_a_Whore_cover.jpg The "He's A Whore" side]] has the members of Big Black dressed like CheapTrick and posing similarly to them on [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Cheaptrickalbum1977.jpg their debut self-titled album.]] Likewise, [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/Big_Black_-_The_Model_cover.jpg on the back side]] the band parodies [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/Kraftwerk_The_Man_Machine_album_cover.jpg the cover art to "The Man-Machine"]] by {{Kraftwerk}}.

* ParentalIncest: "Jordan, Minnesota". With a ''[[{{Squick}} five-year old]]''.

* CoverVersion: Several, including {{Kraftwerk}}'s "The Model," {{Wire}}'s "Heartbeat," and {{Cheap Trick}}'s "He's A Whore,"

* TakeThat: This excerpt from "The Rich Man's Eight-Track Tape," aimed at CDs and digital recordings.

Post-Hardcore band formed by SteveAlbini in 1981 and dissolved in 1987. Became popular within the underground music community for their distinctive "clanky" guitar playing, the use of drum machine instead of a drum kit (predating its use in IndustrialMetal), and their dark and explicit lyrical content.

--->"Heavy metal and stuff like that didn't really seem intense to me, it seemed comical to me. Hardcore punk didn't really seem intense most of the time — most of the time it just seemed childish. I guess that's how I would differentiate what we were doing from what other people were doing."

--->You should take every opportunity to scratch them, fingerprint them and eat egg and bacon sandwiches off them.

** [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean Searching for their discography on torrent websites and such will yield interesting results]]. Who knows, they might even have thought of the porny implications when they chose their name.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Big Black's music opted to become this to HeavyMetal and HardcorePunk.