Growing up in Montana, he became a fan of bands such as The Stooges, the Ramones, Television, Suicide, Wire, The Fall, The Velvet Underground, Throbbing Gristle, Kraftwerk, The Birthday Party, Pere Ubu, Public Image Ltd, Rudimentary Peni, and Killing Joke [REF].
In the Chicago area, Albini was active as a writer in local zines such as Matter, covering the then-nascent punk rock scene, and gained a reputation for the iconoclastic nature of his articles.