Pure Punk Picks
Kerosene – Big Black
I remember going to The Rat, sometime in the eighties, and seeing a band that I was told, was from Chicago. But what struck me the most was, they didn’t have a drummer but a “drum machine.”
I was aware of Suicide but I had never seen a rock band use a rhythm machine before. I had only experienced that in cocktail lounges with a lone singer and a keyboard.
I’m pretty sure that the band I saw was Big Black.
Steve Albini led that band. He went on to become a famous producer. He is also famous for down playing the role of a music producer. Which, I agree, with and I feel he is one of the most honest, intelligent folks in the music industry.
He worked with The Pixies, Nirvana and many others- he seemed to encourage bands to decide how they wanted to sound instead of how he wanted them to sound.
Big Black has been associated with industrial rock, and along with Ministry, I feel, they are the most important bands of that genre. Without them, I don’t believe we’d have heard of Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and many others.
With a trebly, barbed wire bass and a droning, but subtle beat, “Kerosene” is introduced with a chiming, keyboard sounding guitar part that is answered by a doom-y, minimal bass line. This is shortly followed by clangy, crashing dissonant guitar creating shards of abrasive noise that comes striking hard shattering our eardrums.
The sound of the production is unique, even to this day. This is aggressive, uncompromising anti-art that seeks to demolish and destroy instead of to entertain.
“I was born in this town, live here my whole life. Probably come to die in this town…never anything to do in this town, live here my whole life.” These folksy, small town lyrics turn more menacing with, “Probably learn to die in this town…nothing to do, sit around at home, stare at the walls, stare at each other and wait till we die.”
But soon there is offered a redeeming element, though an extreme one.
“There’s kerosene around. We’ll find something to do. Kerosene around? – Set Me On Fire!
With the words “Set me on fire” the guitars spiral upwards with a grand arc of melodic passion while the rhythm brews cold and hard and strong, below.
I’m not sure if “kerosene” is a metaphor for something. Maybe something that will burn away the old, conservative, conventional ways of thinking and living. Burn them to the ground so life can begin, anew, with better ideas, ideals and values.
All one needs is some kerosene and a match.
This is harrowing song.
And I guess, Albini introduced it once onstage as, “A Jerry Lee Lewis song that he wrote just before he killed one of his wives.”
That’s pretty harrowing, too.
This song doesn’t set me on fire, literally, though my soul had to be covered with blankets and rolled upon the ground when I first heard this song.
But I’d say this song, much like kerosene, is an incendiary that causes fire and emotion.
The fire this song ignites stemmed from the original, early punk scene. And though, no one would call Big Black a traditional punk band. I do feel they took the ideals, feelings and concepts from the original punk bands and produced a music that’s uncommercial, uncompromising, aggressive, abrasive and astute.
Raw and real and true, lyrically and musically, that signalled to me, (should I instead use the word “triggered?)
That what I heard then- was the essence of true punk, even if their sound was quite different.
Big Black was, and is, more punk than any pop punk band from the nineties, though, nothing against those bands- just that this contains the DNA of punk, far better.
And having an album titled “Songs About Fucking” (not where this song resides) is pretty, fucking special. Such a slam against conventional, love songs. One of the best album titles of all time, in my opinion.
So, set me on fire- kerosene?
No need for that as the flame from Big Black ignited my heart burning straight up through my mind leaving, nothing but ashes, long ago.
No need for that, for what they helped ignite, musically, burned and spread into a whole lot of genres, in hardcore and metal so that when you enjoy your industrial, power violence, D-beat and grindcore music- be aware that what you’re listening to, that this Chicago band had a lot to do with that.
Me, I’m just gonna relax and chill, with a beer and a cigarette. As I enjoy watching the whole, goddamn world go up in flames!
Set it on fire!
(Slimedog)
