''Lungs'' is the first EP by American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Nake ...

. It was released in December 1982 on

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1986, where all of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1997. Several artists on the la ...

and was reissued in 1992 on

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. Tou ...

. A 19-year-old

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

played nearly every instrument on ''Lungs'', with "sax bleats" by Albini's college friend John Bohnen and drums being handled by "

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

," a drum machine that was credited as a member of the band. The EP was used to recruit the other members of Big Black. ''Lungs'' was recorded on a

TEAC TEAC may refer to: * TEAC Corporation () is a Japanese electronics manufacturer. TEAC was created by the merger of the Tokyo Television Acoustic Company, founded in 1953, and the Tokyo Electro-Acoustic Company, founded in 1956. Overview ...

3340 loaned to Albini in exchange for a case of beer. The original EP came with an array of objects, including loaded

squirt guns A water gun (or water pistol, water blaster, or squirt gun) is a type of toy gun designed to shoot jet (fluid), jets of water. Similar to water balloons, the primary purpose of the toy is to soak another person in a recreational game such as wa ...

, bloody pieces of paper (one of Albini's friends suffered from a

nosebleed A nosebleed, also known as epistaxis, is bleeding from the nose. Blood can flow down into the stomach, and cause nausea and vomiting. In more severe cases, blood may come out of both nostrils. Rarely, bleeding may be so significant that low bloo ...

), dollar bills,

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

s, concert tickets,

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

trading cards A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...

, pictures of old people and

firecrackers A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental to ...

. Things like fishhooks and razorblades were discounted, fearing lawsuits.

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Albini. #"Steelworker" – 4:15 #"Live in a Hole" – 3:01 #"Dead Billy" – 3:28 #"I Can Be Killed" – 4:28 #"Crack" – 3:55 #"RIP" - 2:21

References

Big Black EPs 1982 debut EPs Ruthless Records (Chicago) EPs Touch and Go Records EPs {{1980s-punk-album-stub