Tag Archives: jon spencer

Music, Pop Culture

Video Clip The Week: Jon Spencer, “Do The Trash Can”

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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. I then suggested that perhaps we could just go to his apartment that he shares with wife Cristina Martinez, but Spencer said no way in Hell was that going to happen. Lovely. We ended up doing the interview while sitting on a bench in Union Square Park. Whatever. He was a decent interview, and now I have been able to share this fun story with you, so it all worked out.

This brings us to our featured video clip, with Spencer flying solo for “Do The Trash Can” – which was described to me as being “a Molotov cocktail of sound,” so I am just going to go with that.  If you are already a fan of the kind of take-no-prisoners,  eardrum-excoriating noise rock that Spencer is, dare I say it, the absolute best at churning out, then you will go crazy over “Do The Trash Can.” It’s a Jon Spencer song, what can I say? If you have no previous exposure to this true garage rock legend, consider this a test drive. Your mileage may vary.

Visually, “Do The Trash Can” is a bit of a softer sell, because this video ranks as a Work of Art.  “Do The Trash Can” rates up there in the top five or so “most fun to just look at” video clips I’ve featured in five years of running this column. With Spencer dressed up as a vendor of the kind of fast food that you might find at, say, Coney Island, the video focuses on artfully directed images of him interacting with hamburgers, hot dogs, soda, french fries, and pop corn, while also introducing The Trash Can as some kind of minimal dance, and of course playing guitar. This is all presented against the most highly-saturated palette of primary colors that I can recall seeing in a video since DEVO’s “Whip It,” which everyone agrees was ahead of its time. I’m hungry and I want to go to an art gallery, just thinking about it.

As an aside, it has also never dawned on me how much Spencer’s guitar playing sounds to have been influenced by that of the late, great George Harrison. For a point of aural reference, revisit the breakdown in The Beatles’ “Tax Man” and tell me I’m not on to something. “Do The Trash Can” can be found on Spencer’s first ever (no kidding) solo album, Spencer Sings The Hits!, which is out on November 9, 2018 via In The Red Records! Enjoy!

Spencer Sings The Hits

Music, Pop Culture

Video Clip of The Week: Boss Hog, “Ground Control”

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I believe that if you happen to be a famous person — and good-looking famous person at that — it is worthwhile to reinvent your look every so often, if only to keep people from getting bored of looking at you. Take The Beatles as an excellent example; a band whose members’ personal styles and sense of fashion evolved wildly from album to album, just as their sound morphed from the Backstreet Boys to Radiohead. No wonder they continue to serve as such significant cultural touchstone. But what started me thinking along this path on a Sunday morning is this week’s Video Clip, “Ground Control” from the legendary NYC band, Boss Hog. For those not in-the-know, Boss Hog’s core members are husband and wife team Jon Spencer (of the eponymous Blues Explosion) and Cristina Martinez (ex-Pussy Galore). As you will see by this video, since we last saw them, Martinez has adopted a sort of Pris from Bladerunner persona, while Spencer is rocking a classic Andrew Eldrich look which, I  think you will agree, works for him. Bravo, you two.

Keeping things close to home, the video for “Ground Control” appears to have been shot on early-morning location at Coney Island, as you will see the band members pass by the How & Nosm mural at the Coney Art Walls as well as recognizing the unmistakable sky line of the Luna Park thrill rides. The complete desolation of the landscape works well for this modern, dystopian protest song, on which Martinez and Spencer share vocal duties in their own unique  styles. “Ground Control” does not disappoint as a minimalist, punk-blues aural assault, punctuated by with James Bond-soundtrack flourishes. Pretty awesome.

“Ground Control” can be found on Brood X, the band’s first album of new music in 17 years – wow! – which was released in March. Read a true New York Story about the last time I spotted Martinez and Spencer wandering anonymously on the Streets of NYC at This Link Right Here! Enjoy!

Boss Hog By Jeri Lampert
Boss Hog’s Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer By Jeri Lampert

Books and Periodicals, Music, Pop Culture

Celebrity Sighting: Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer at Bowery & Houston

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Following a brief visit to the New Museum this afternoon (2nd and 5th floor galleries closed = brief visit) I decided to try and catch the M103 bus uptown at the corner of Bowery and Houston. It’s a rare warm day (40 degrees, woo hoo!) in the city, and while that’s considered to be fine weather for a long walk home, I was actually a bit over-dressed and wanted to cut the trip short. Waiting at the stop with me, I couldn’t help but recognize a couple of local rock stars: the very handsome Jon Spencer (of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) and his equally attractive wife, Cristina Martinez of Boss Hog, despite the fact that they were covered up by their “winter uglies” (i.e. bad beanies and, like me, too much outerwear). I have interviewed both Martinez and Spencer on separate occasions for publications that are surely long out-of-print at this juncture, and will confess that while he isn’t necessarily the easiest person in the world to have a conversation with, she is certainly quite lovely. After about 10 minutes of the sun beating down on us, they hailed a cab, piled in with their bags from Whole Foods and sped away. I waited a few more minutes before giving up on the bus and following suit: trudging up Bowery towards 14th Street, navigating sidewalks that had transformed into rivers between banks of rapidly melting snow, and feeling happy about life in general.