''Headache'' is a 1987
EP by American
post-hardcore band
Big Black. The record generated some controversy due to a cover photograph of a
shotgun suicide victim whose head was split in half; it only appeared on a very limited edition of the record and was later replaced with a drawing by
Savage Pencil.
''Selected Savage Pencil Bibliography, Exhibitions, Discography, Record Covers''
/ref> The identity of the dead man in the original album cover remains unknown.
Original pressings bore a sticker reading, "Warning! Not as good as '' Atomizer'', so don't get your hopes up, cheese!" as a frank communication from the members of Big Black to their fans that they did not regard the ''Headache'' EP to be as strong as the band's previous release. This also came at a time when major labels were first starting to warn parents that albums contained "explicit lyrics
Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...
", and while all of Big Black's records contained such lyrics, ''Headache's'' sticker was an ironic
Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique.
Irony can be categorized into ...
dig at mainstream music. Copies of the sticker also appeared on the vinyl release of Sonic Youth's '' Master=Dik'' EP as an independent music in-joke.
Track listing
#"My Disco" – 2:51
#"Grinder" – 2:22
#"Ready Men" – 3:50
#"Pete, King of all Detectives" – 2:40
Notes
External links
Headache/Heartbeat package
(Dementlieu, "ARBEIT MACHT FREI: Big Black Discography") - includes links to photos of limited cover
1987 EPs
Big Black EPs
Touch and Go Records EPs
Blast First EPs
{{1980s-punk-album-stub