Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/12/27/dave-riley-bassist-for-big-bl.html
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Ah shoot. I’ll play some tracks off “Songs About Fucking” in his memory. 
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Yeah, that’s sad.
I like Big Black.
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What the fuck?!!
59?
Seriously. What the fuck?!!
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Bass was hugely important in the Big Black sound, more so than in most bands, even other three-pieces. Mr. Riley must have been one of the best to do what he did.
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Nooooooo!!!
I knew Dave in the late 80s, he hung out at a dive punk bar I sometimes DJ’d at. He would bring in stuff he was working on post-Big Black to hear on the bigs. Very cool stuff, much more ambitious and expansive than BB. Not sure if it was ever finished or released. He was interesting to talk to and always a gentleman to me and my friends.
I always thought he was the best thing about Big Black, imagine Bazooka Joe or Kerosene without that piledriving bass.
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That sucks. Albini always had a knack for getting immensely talented bass players in his bands and putting them front and center. Riley was no exception. His bass playing was critical to Big Black’s sound.
Here’s one of Big Black’s final shows and it’s simply amazing from start to finish. (Big Black is one of those bands I’ve always thought sounded way better on stage than on wax.)
And here’s their final show (that had a young Kurt Cobain in the audience, who would later work with Steve Albini on In Utero):
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I’ve never seen this! Thanks for posting it!
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