The talks began in 1992. The grunge band Nirvana was in the middle of capitalizing on their success with their 1991 albumNevermind and their smash hit Gen X anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit." They were the hottest rock group of the 1990s and trendsetters of the grunge movement in music at the time. For the recording of their next album, they talked to various music producers including Steve Albini, a notorious and controversial punk rocker turned producer/music engineer.
Albini was eager to work with the band, but on his own terms. He wrote out a pitch letter that laid out his philosophy and preferences to ensure that he and the band would be able to work comfortably together. The letter from beginning to end was a manifesto allowing freedom of musical artistry over technical wizardry mixed in with working class values.
He discusses how he imagined the record being recorded within a week’s time with no interference from office heads or labels getting folks in to remix and “sweeten” tracks. He wanted to record the authenticity of the band, even if there are some imperfections here and there, to “leave room for accidents or chaos,” to let the craftsmen (musicians) do their work with little interference or influence on his end since remixes and "sweetening" take too much time for little in return. He felt the "fixes" didn't really fix much. In turn, he wanted the album to speak for itself without letting uniformness and “perfection” get in the way of actual perfection.
Along with discussing possible locations to record the album, Albini got arguably to the root of the matter: money. Today, there are multiple stories regarding how music producers struggle to get fairly paid like other artists in the industry. In the 1990s, music producers often had more opportunities to get paid—such as points on the back end of record sales, royalties in perpetuity, and other such financial gains aside from a flat fee. Albini shied away from the usual demands of a “regular industry goon.”
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Albini wrote:
“I would like to be paid like a plumber: I do the job and you pay me what it’s worth. The record company will expect me to ask for a point or a point and a half. If we assume three million sales, that works out to 400,000 dollars or so. There’s no fucking way I would ever take that much money. I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I have to be comfortable with the amount of money you pay me, but it’s your money, and I insist that you be comfortable with it as well… I trust you guys to be fair to me and I know you must be familiar with what a regular industry goon would want. I will let you make the final decision about what I’m going to be paid. How much you choose to pay me will not affect my enthusiasm for the record.”
With that letter, Albini got the job.
He produced Nirvana’s third and unfortunately final album: In Utero. The final tracks panicked the record label, but they didn’t question the end results. The album debuted at number one on Billboard Top 200 when it was released, selling 4.2 million copies. It also produced two number one singles in the Alternative category: “Heart-Shaped Box” and “All Apologies.” It has since been re-released for 10th, 20th, and 30th anniversary editions.
The end result of a marriage of working class, get-it-done, measure-twice-cut-once, no fanciness-needed attitude mixed in with artistic vision was an album that has been celebrated and shared for generations. Just letting professionals and artists just do what they do can allow great work to happen.
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Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
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While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
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The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
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