Radio Friendly Unit Shifter

The Steve Albini Issue - And my "In's and Out's" - U.B.C.S - Vol. 11

Good morning, and welcome back to another issue of the Underground Binder-Clip Society. Lots of fun material today in light of my recent research. Yeehaw!

on my parents fridge - good art from a child

I have recently taken an interest in analog recording again. The process by which all music used to be made. Recording electrical audio signals onto magnetic recording tape. Cassettes and Reel to Reel machines — that sort of thing. I mentioned this in volume 10 whilst discussing the Half-Handed Cloud “Seasons Glreekins” Christmas compilation tape.

My research has gone further into Steve Albini's territory lately. An analog purist and the recorder of Nirvana's third and final album, “in utero.”

The title of today’s newsletter, “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter,” comes from the aforementioned Nirvana album “in utero,” recorded by Steve Albini, under very set terms that he typed up in a letter to the band, which I will link to below. Today's quick clips are Steve Albini-themed.

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New Song “Angry Kinda Lovin” out January 8th at 8 AM !

Click Here to Pre-Save “Angry Kinda Lovin.”

Early access is available now to paid subscribers at the bottom of this post.

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A late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. I don’t know much, but I know I am gonna try to make some changes this year. Here are a few “ins and outs” I quickly drafted this morning while looking forward to 2024.

Ins:

 - Reading Instead (scripture, books, articles even) 

- Writing Instead (chipping away - substack, poem, haiku)

- Asking For Help

- Collaborating

- Co-Writing / Co-Producing

- Drinking water

- Friend dates

- Doing research for fun

Outs: 

- Getting on Instagram while bouncing a track or during any studio downtime

- Bad posture

- Only drinking coffee all day long

- Acting like my standards should be everyone else’s standards

- Playing the victim

my setup at my parent's house over the break - lots of work was done here - on my next record - coming in 2024 - it’s pretty and noisy and emotional

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Here are this week’s “Quick Clips” (Steve Albini Edition):

• Steve Albini on Jason Molina - I was dumbfounded to learn that Steve recorded Magnolia Electric Co. - My most exciting discovery so far with Steves's work.

• “I would like to be paid like a plumber” - Steve Albini’s Terms and Conditions for Recording “In Utero.”

• “There’s no magic to it” - How In Utero Got The “The Albini Sound” - Conan Obrien Interview with Steve, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic.

• “The Problem With Music” is an article by Steve Albini about the problems encountered when working with a record label. Written in December 1993, but still seemingly relevant.

• The “The Seasons Glreekins.” Christmas Tape from 1998 as pointed out by Half-Handed Cloud. I'm leaving this here again because it is still Christmas. It was Christmas when I started writing this, dude.

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As always, shoot me an email or give me a call if you want to work on music together! That’s my full-time gig these days. I am typically available to do remote or in-person sessions, here in Nashville, TN.

You can also email or call just to say what's up. I love to talk about writing, production, faith, and whatever else.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith