I consider this to be a great geek song. Not too surprising considering how Albini is quite the nerd himself, being an audio engineer. In these lyrics, he seems to be writing a ballad to the most beloved medium of the trade: copper. Almost all wiring is made up of copper. It is the second best conductor known to humanity -- the best being silver ("Did I need this silver to be suitable?"). Since silver is so absurdly expensive, however, we tend to stick with copper. Now gold, contrary to popular belief, is not as conductive as copper, but it does have the advantage of never corroding. Also, gold is more valuable outside of electronics.
What I don't quite get is the chorus ("Copper -- you'll never be gold"). To me, it seems like Albini is trying to say that while copper is an excellent conductor, it still will not be as widely valued as gold. Or, it could be that Albini is saying that copper will not be able to "fight him" as gold can. The latter does not seem as likely to me, since gold is the third most conductive element, but it is possible.
Dhampir Boy, I quite like your write-up & explanation (on copper/silver/gold as varying conductives all with their own advantage vs. disadvantage). Being a geeky audio engineer, it all makes sense.
Dhampir Boy, I quite like your write-up & explanation (on copper/silver/gold as varying conductives all with their own advantage vs. disadvantage). Being a geeky audio engineer, it all makes sense.
As for the chorus- maybe it's a metaphor for Steve's path in the recording industry up to the point of at least writing that song. This song came out in the mid-to-late '90s, yeah? Steve being an analog loylist... when now there are so many other methods & ways to record an album. Everyone will always question Albini for being loyal to analog, even in 20 yrs from...
As for the chorus- maybe it's a metaphor for Steve's path in the recording industry up to the point of at least writing that song. This song came out in the mid-to-late '90s, yeah? Steve being an analog loylist... when now there are so many other methods & ways to record an album. Everyone will always question Albini for being loyal to analog, even in 20 yrs from now when technology has expanded even more. "Copper- you'll never be gold" could mean a lot of things, but from the perspective of this song (and after reading your writeup) I would guess it is biting frusteration about balancing your roots and ethics vs. trying to make a living in a skewed recording industry. Copper- you'll never be gold (gold record? audio engineer?... despite Albini's well-known and revolutionary style for production, countless of records by mainstream artists he has put out, and all of the rest i can't cram intothis box before i hit X amount of characters or had an add-moment, his mechanisms are still constantly brought into play... "never be gold")
what's interesting though. Compared to a lot of Shellac's music I've heard, this is one of the more straight-up gritty punk/rock & roll songs they ever put out. Sure it's noisy and has that albini sound still, but it is structured unlike most Shellac songs..
I consider this to be a great geek song. Not too surprising considering how Albini is quite the nerd himself, being an audio engineer. In these lyrics, he seems to be writing a ballad to the most beloved medium of the trade: copper. Almost all wiring is made up of copper. It is the second best conductor known to humanity -- the best being silver ("Did I need this silver to be suitable?"). Since silver is so absurdly expensive, however, we tend to stick with copper. Now gold, contrary to popular belief, is not as conductive as copper, but it does have the advantage of never corroding. Also, gold is more valuable outside of electronics.
What I don't quite get is the chorus ("Copper -- you'll never be gold"). To me, it seems like Albini is trying to say that while copper is an excellent conductor, it still will not be as widely valued as gold. Or, it could be that Albini is saying that copper will not be able to "fight him" as gold can. The latter does not seem as likely to me, since gold is the third most conductive element, but it is possible.
Dhampir Boy, I quite like your write-up & explanation (on copper/silver/gold as varying conductives all with their own advantage vs. disadvantage). Being a geeky audio engineer, it all makes sense.
Dhampir Boy, I quite like your write-up & explanation (on copper/silver/gold as varying conductives all with their own advantage vs. disadvantage). Being a geeky audio engineer, it all makes sense.
As for the chorus- maybe it's a metaphor for Steve's path in the recording industry up to the point of at least writing that song. This song came out in the mid-to-late '90s, yeah? Steve being an analog loylist... when now there are so many other methods & ways to record an album. Everyone will always question Albini for being loyal to analog, even in 20 yrs from...
As for the chorus- maybe it's a metaphor for Steve's path in the recording industry up to the point of at least writing that song. This song came out in the mid-to-late '90s, yeah? Steve being an analog loylist... when now there are so many other methods & ways to record an album. Everyone will always question Albini for being loyal to analog, even in 20 yrs from now when technology has expanded even more. "Copper- you'll never be gold" could mean a lot of things, but from the perspective of this song (and after reading your writeup) I would guess it is biting frusteration about balancing your roots and ethics vs. trying to make a living in a skewed recording industry. Copper- you'll never be gold (gold record? audio engineer?... despite Albini's well-known and revolutionary style for production, countless of records by mainstream artists he has put out, and all of the rest i can't cram intothis box before i hit X amount of characters or had an add-moment, his mechanisms are still constantly brought into play... "never be gold")
what's interesting though. Compared to a lot of Shellac's music I've heard, this is one of the more straight-up gritty punk/rock & roll songs they ever put out. Sure it's noisy and has that albini sound still, but it is structured unlike most Shellac songs..