Hello and Happy Valentine’s Week — or as I like to call it, Valloween! If that doesn’t scare you, this weeks’ Video Clip just might! “Haunted” by LA Garage Rock legends The Sloths does double duty as a music video and a movie trailer, as the song also appears on the soundtrack to the independent horror film The Amityville Murders, which just hit theaters and VOD this past Friday! Coincidentally, Sloths’ frontman Tom McLoughlin is also a filmmaker, having directed more than 40 feature film and television projects, including Friday the 13th Pt. VI: Jason Lives (1986). Exciting!
My favorite memory involving Jon Spencer (he of the eponymous Blues Explosion) goes back to the time that I was assigned to write a cover story about him for a now long-defunct Rock magazine, whose editors would not allow writers to use the word “that” in any articles. Just being serious. For the interview, I arranged to meet Spencer at a Starbucks in the neighborhood where we both live, assuming it would not be impossible to settle in at an empty table and just chat over the reasonable din of people getting coffee and taking up space. When no tables were free at Starbucks, we attempted to find another nearby restaurant or bar to duck into, but there were no viable options, for some mysterious reason. Continue reading Video Clip The Week: Jon Spencer, “Do The Trash Can”→
If you’ve spent most of this past week sobbing hysterically and digging deep to find a reason not to slit your wrists, having lost all faith in 50% of humanity, then you might be ready to surrender your abused senses to a video that takes zero effort to appreciate, because it is rendered via the highly accessible medium of Claymation — just like Gumby! Yay! In the wildly engaging (and acid hangover-friendly) video for “Lost My Way” from NYC Garage Rock quintet, Cheena, we follow the psychedelic urban adventures of a tiny yellow pooch who looks quite like Mr. Bill’s dog Spot. Guest stars include a gang of mischievous serpents, a helpful cactus, and a ghost. Oh Boy!
Aurally, “Lost My Way” is mildly spooky, classic 60s-era fuzz-tone punk. What’s not to like? “Lost My Way” can be found lurking on Cheena’s debut album, Spend The Night With, which was released in August on Sacred Bones Records. Enjoy!
I’m always endlessly delighted when I can find an animated clip for the week’s featured video, because it reminds me fondly of watching my favorite cartoons on weekend mornings as a child (though I admit that this mostly took place on Saturdays). Nostalgia! This week’s video, “Sleepy Dog” is the masterstroke of a band called Wand. Directed by Meghan Tryon and Garrett Davis, the visual odyssey of this adorable little black dog comes on like a reined-in version of a monochromatic R. Crumb-induced hallucination. And since we already know that the dog is sleepy, it is pleasing to imagine that his many otherworldly adventures — which include a visit to an art museum — are, in fact, just a fever dream of sorts. There are also enough creepy, nightmare moments to make this choice appropriate for Halloween, which is just a few days off at this point. Nice.
Aurally, “Sleepy Dog” pays homage to the very best of ’60s garage rock psychedelia. Nothing more need be said. “Sleepy Dog” comes to us from Wand’s latest album, 1000 Days, which was released on September 25th, 2015Dragcity Records.
Was it easier to be a teenager in the ’50s, ’60s or even ’70s? I was a teenager during one of those decades and I’d say yes, yes it was easier. And you know why? Because life was just way fucking simpler. Back then, my worst problems were waiting for the latest Queen or Who album to be released so I could get a ride to the record store and buy it before any of my friends, coping with “Busy Signals” when making a phone call in the time before Call Waiting existed and dealing with my stupid parents. Teenagers today probably still have that last problem, but their lives are also infinitely complicated by needing to have the latest technological gadget that fits in your hand, which spawns endless problems in and of itself. Hand to God, you could not pay me to be a teenager in 2014. Ugh.
In this Black and White video for the garage rock rave up, “Teenager,” rock trio The Rich Hands lament about another universal issue — but one that is especially overwhelming to the teenage mind and body – falling in love. Interspersed with live action performance shots from this very fun band, you’ll see vintage (my guess, late 50s?) footage of teenagers dancing, going to movies, tailgating, dressing up for some kind of formal party and, in general, having fun without the obsessive need to look at their smart phones every 15 seconds. If there was any doubt that the featured footage is authentic, I am pretty sure I recognize a young Dick York (the original Darren on Bewitched) at the 18 second mark.
Recommended if you dig the music of The Ramones and Elvis Presley, The Rich Hands‘ new record, Out of My Head, is out May 6th on Burger and Fountain Records. Enjoy!
