''Racer-X'' is the third 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 by

Homestead Records Homestead Records was a Long Island, New York-based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading that operated from 1983 to 1996. The label was known for not paying its artists and not spending any money on promotion. History The l ...

in 1984 and reissued by

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 ...

in 1992. ''Racer-X'' was the first of Big Black's records to cement their instrumental lineup of two guitars, one bass guitar and a

Roland TR-606 The Roland TR-606 Drumatix is a drum machine built by the Roland Corporation from 1981 to 1984. It was originally designed to be used with the Roland TB-303, a monophonic analog bass synthesizer, to provide a simple drum and bass accompaniment ...

drum machine. It was the final album to feature the bass playing of

Jeff Pezzati Jeffrey Neal "Jeff" Pezzati (born February 6, 1960) is the lead singer of the Chicago punk band Naked Raygun Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered ...

who left to dedicate more time on his primary band

Naked Raygun Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered by many to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk rock and credited with creating “the Chi ...

. Like Big Black's first 2 EPs, the original record contained just six songs (five by Big Black, one by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

) clocking in at under 20 minutes total.

Title

Racer X was a character on the seminal

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series ''

Speed Racer ''Speed Racer'', also known as , is a Japanese media franchise about Auto racing, automobile racing. ''Mach GoGoGo'' was originally serialized in print in Shueisha's 1966 ''Shōnen Book''. It was released in tankōbon book form by Sun W ...

.'' The EP's title track makes numerous references to the original TV show.

Single

The song "Il Duce" (about

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

) was recorded in the same session as the songs from the ''Racer-X'' EP. The song was released the following year as a 7" single backed with "Big Money" from the '' Atomizer'' LP. Homestead records also issued a promotional 12" version of the single with "Il Duce" and "Big Money" on the A-side, plus three live tracks on the B-side.

Cover art

The original EP featured cover art by Nate Kaatrud (better known as National Kato/Nash Kato) from the band

Urge Overkill Urge Overkill is an American alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, United States, consisting of Nathan Kaatrud, who took the stage name Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass guitar). They are widely ...

. When Touch and Go reissued the EP in 1992, the original artwork could not be found and a new cover was produced.

Influence

The

Japandroids Japandroids are a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting of Brian King (guitar, vocals) and David Prowse (drums, vocals).Lindsay, Ca"No Fun City Rockers" ''Exclaim!'', May 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. Formed in 2006 ...

covered "Racer-X" during their Dec 15, 2009 Daytrotter session. Of “Racer X” they say this:

We’re recording a 7-inch in January and this going to be the B-side. This song was originally done by Big Black and came out on the Racer-X EP in 1984. Our version is pretty good, but the original is a masterpiece.

Track listing

#"Racer-X" - 4:01 #"Shotgun" - 3:28 #"The Ugly American" - 2:41 #"Deep Six" - 3:14 #"Sleep!" - 2:42 #"The Big Payback" (

) - 2:29

Personnel

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 ...

: guitar, vocals *

Santiago Durango Santiago Alonso Durango (born 1957) is a Colombian–American attorney and retired musician. He is best known for his work with the 1980s punk rock groups Naked Raygun and Big Black. Life and career Durango is the son of a Colombian doctor. H ...

: guitar *

: bass *

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 ...

: Roland * John Bonhen: saxophone on "The Ugly American" Recorded by

Iain Burgess Iain Burgess (24 November 1953 – 11 February 2010) was an English record producer and audio engineer. He helped define the sound of the Chicago post-punk music scene in the 1980s and early 1990s. Burgess worked with a number of key underground ...

in Chicago.

References

{{Big Black Big Black EPs 1984 EPs Homestead Records EPs Touch and Go Records EPs