Lungs is the first EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Post-hardcore

Post-hardcore

Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...

 band Big Black

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 Naked Raygun...

. It was released in December 1982 on Ruthless Records

Ruthless Records (Chicago)

Ruthless Records was the name of a Chicago punk record label. Founded in 1981 by the Effigies, it was not a real business, but a name used by Chicago and Minneapolis punk bands from 1981 to 1990: Big Black, the Effigies, End Result, Naked Raygun, Rifle Sport and Urge Overkill...

, and was reissued in 1992 on Touch & Go Records. A 19-year-old Steve Albini

Steve Albini

Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...

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

Roland TR-606

The Roland TR-606 Drumatix is a programmable analog synthesis 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 to guitarists without...

," a drum machine

Drum machine

A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...

 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 4-track

4-track

4-track or 4-track tape may refer to:* The 4-track cartridge as an analogue music storage format popular from the late 1950s* A 4-track tape used in professional recording studios for multitrack recording...

 recorder loaned to Albini in exchange for a case of beer. Albini has since described the record as the worst he has ever made.

The original EP came with an array of objects, including loaded squirt guns, bloody pieces of paper (one of Albini's friend suffered from a nosebleed), dollar bills, condom

Condom

A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...

s, concert tickets, Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...

trading cards, pictures of old people and firecrackers. Things like fishhooks and razorblades were discounted, fearing lawsuits.

Track listing

1. "Steelworker" – 4:15
2. "Live in a Hole" – 3:01
3. "Dead Billy" – 3:28
4. "I Can Be Killed" – 4:28
5. "Crack" – 3:55
6. "RIP" - 2:21