Steve Albini

Passed away from a heart attack at 61. 

Damn...  he was one of my old band's big influences back in the early 90's.

My friend and old bass player recorded a record with him at Electrical Audio back in 2011.

This is a tough one. He helped produce some of my favorite music, and was a big reason why those recordings sounded the way they did. 

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

I had no idea he was only 2 years older than I am.

Kind of a dick, but he did grow to understand his dickishness.  And definitely produced some great records.

His whole ethos was something that resonated with me. The reason he started engineering and recording is because every studio tried to tame and clean up his bands sound. He set out to give bands an accurate recording of what they sounded like, for good or bad. 

My favorite of his work was not Nirvana, Not the Breeders or even my beloved Man or Astroman. 

The album "Country love songs"  by Robbie Fulks is an excellent representation of Steve's recording style. 

Also. This album has long been my litmus test of how cool a record store is

If that album was prominently displayed in the store, then the store was worth my time.

Massive influence on the scene both in front of and behind the curtain. He could be a curmudgeonly dick, but it also tended to come from a good place. I have a couple friends that had the pleasure of working with him and said he was an amazing and kind dude in the flesh.

He was also one of the few music biz people that had a real sense of ethics and truly walked the walk:

Yeah, seeing all the comments today from friends in the biz. Hate seeing the scene lose such a champion.

Also, MOAM rules. (True story: They used to run a GRM sticker on their trailer.)

His take on signing with a record label back in the day really laid out how a band lost their autonomy, even if they only committed to an intent.