Steve Albini mutters some facts about the new Shellac record from the comfort of his coveralls

Steve Albini mutters some facts about the new Shellac record from the comfort of his coveralls

So, I think I’m on the right side of history when I say, “I want more albums to be announced in the form of awkward video interviews.” Boy howdy do I want more albums to be announced in the form of awkward video interviews!! I mean, for one, since they’re more visual than blog posts and press releases (duh!) it’ll let us all get a good look at our favorite artists, coveralls, unidentified beverages, and all. What’s more, since there’s not much to be done with videos aside from posts saying, “Here look at this,” it’ll free up some time in my schedule for things like sleeping and learning to love myself more honestly. Awkward video interviews are the goddamn future.

Since we all know Steve Albini is so invested in the future, it should come as no surprise that he’s on the avant garde as far as awkward video album release announcements go (omg! do you think the video camera that the interviewer used was digital??). As you can see below, you’ve got eight whole minutes of uncomfortable silences, odd misunderstandings, and vague responses from the man himself to look forward to. And that all comes after what I imagine was a protracted period in which Albini insisted on setting up several room mics to capture the “natural sound of [his] voice” for the video.

For being eight minutes long, though, the video actually announces very little (I can’t help but wonder: is this a sign of things to come? I look forward to a 30-minute extravaganza in which a band like, I don’t know, Vampire Weekend announces little more than the existence of an announcement). As of yet, the album has no title, and no release date, though it will likely be put out by the zombie of Touch & Go. No artwork yet either, but when the artwork comes, it will almost definitely be better than anything Uriah Heep ever made. There will be nine, or maybe eight, possibly 10, no probably just nine songs on it, and one of them will be a song about how humans are monkeys called “Dude, Incredible” (could also be “Dude Incredible” sans comma. The one downside to videos is the clues you get re: comma placement are pretty scant; it could be “,,,Dude,, Incredible,,,,,” for all I know). Shellac’s also doing a few dates in Europe right around now. If you’re nearby, I recommend catching the shows so you too can have the chance to argue with Mr. Albini regarding whether or not he’s played at certain venues if you ever interview run in to him at Whole Foods.

Tourdates:

05.19.13 - Vienna, Austria - Arena Wien Open Air
05.22-26.13 - Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival
05.26.13 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
05.27.13 - Leipzig, Germany - Conne Island
05.28.13 - Hamburg, Germany - Übel & Gefährlich
05.29.13 - Berlin, Germany - Berghain/Panorama Bar
05.30.13-06.01.13 - Porto, Portugal - Primavera Sound Festival

• Shellac: http://www.touchandgorecords.com/bands/band.php?id=22
• Touch & Go: http://www.touchandgorecords.com

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