Tag: Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Rewind Review: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Meat and Bone (2012)

Meat and Bone was the first album in eight years by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion when it was released in 2017. The trio (Jon Spencer – guitar and lead vocals, Judah Bauer – guitar, Russell Simins – drums) had worked on various side projects here and there and thankfully returned for another wild ride.

Opener “Black Mold” drops you right back into that solid grove the JSBX can only seem to pull off – chaotic yet tight at the same time. You can tell that they felt like they wanted to make up for “lost” time and unleash plenty of power in just three minutes or so.

“Are you ready for your new career?” Spencer asks at the beginning of “Bag of Bones,” prompting us to wonder if we need to tip over our desks and cubicles and strut around like the rock stars we are instead of the tired, locked-in-the-past worker bees we’ve become. “Boot Cut” has a great, gritty grind all the way through it.

“Get Your Pants Off” is a wild, wicked track about wanton women doing naughty things. The bass tone on “Ice Cream Killer” is as cool as its namesake. “Stranger Baby” has Spencer and his mates screaming the chorus and growling the verses. “Bottle Baby” has some of Simins’ wildest drumming. He seems to switch tempos every thirty seconds and yet he’s in the groove all the time.

“Danger” is a vicious rocker, and “Black Thoughts” has so much guitar fire in it that I’m not sure if Spencer or Bauer is putting out the most volume. “Unclear” is a fast, fuzzy cut, and “Bear Trap” snaps hard and has a heavy, swaggering menace to it. Spencer’s vocals are often distorted almost to the point of becoming just weird sounds, which is often the point.

I love that the album ends with an instrumental, “Zimgar,” showcasing the band’s wild and sometimes weird sounds. The JSBX returned from an eight-year hiatus and showed they hadn’t lost a thing. It’s almost like they went into cryogenic hibernation, shook off the frost, and walked into the studio and proceeded to melt everything around them.

As they always did.

Keep your mind open.

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Steve Albini loved music more than money.

Steve Albini, who recently died of a heart attack at just 61 years of age, might have been the last producer who frequently and joyfully stuck his middle finger in the eye of the music industry. He enjoyed being outside the mainstream, even when working with well-known acts such as Nirvana.

Nirvana were rulers of the radio, college campuses, pop culture, and practically everything else after the success of Nevermind. The whole world wanted a new album, and they went to Albini to produce it. That album became In Utero, which was originally considered “unreleasable” by the band’s label – which Albini and the band found baffling and, looking back, humorous…especially since it’s sold millions of copies by now.

Albini, by the way, collected no royalties on In Utero, or any other album he produced. He only charged his production fee of less than eight hundred bucks a day, and he’d often let friends use his studio for free. He could’ve been a millionaire off royalties from In Utero alone, but he didn’t care about that. He cared about music first and foremost and helping bands catch something raw and pure (“If a record takes more than a week to make, somebody is fucking up.” – from a letter he wrote to Nirvana before the In Utero recordings began).

He was one of the last to not really give a crap about what labels, radio programming managers, and music festival promoters thought. He openly hated most music festivals (and, somewhat famously, Steely Dan), and only played Primavera Sound in Barcelona with his band Shellac…who were due to release a new album, To All Trains, ten days after he died.

The list of Albini’s credits is insane. His most famous works are In Utero, Pixies‘ Surfer Rosa, The Jesus Lizard‘s Pure, and P.J. Harvey‘s Rid of Me. The following is a list of albums he produced that I personally own:

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – self-titled album (1992), Acme (1998), Xtra Acme USA (1999), and Plastic Fang (2002), Failure – Comfort (1992), Helmet – Meantime (1992), Nirvana – In Utero (1993), Pixies – Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies (2004), Living Things – Ahead of the Lions (2005), Screaming Females – Ugly (2012), Live at the Hideout (2014), and Rose Mountain (2015), Man or Astroman? – Defcon 5 4 3 2 1 (2013), Flat Worms – Antarctica (2019), Fuzz – III (2020).

Antarctica, by the way, was my top album of 2019.

Albini will be greatly missed, but he left a big legacy and massive shoes to fill. I hope someone picks up his band-loving torch and runs with it.

Keep your mind open.

Enjoy this Albini-produced banger.

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WSND set list: Deep Dive of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Thanks to all who listened to my deep dive of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. It’s always great to hear them. Here’s the set list:

  1. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – 2 Kindsa Love
  2. Pussy Galore – Pig Sweat
  3. Boss Hog – I Dig You
  4. The Honeymoon Killers – Whole Lotta Crap
  5. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Rachel
  6. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Shirt Jac
  7. Charlie Feathers and His Musical Warriors – Get with It
  8. Cochran Brothers – Latch On
  9. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Cherry Lime
  10. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Pant Leg
  11. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Bellbottoms (live)
  12. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Dang
  13. R.L. Burnside – Boogie Chillen
  14. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Get Over Here
  15. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Blues Explosion Man (live)
  16. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Magical Colors
  17. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – I Wanna Make It All Right
  18. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again
  19. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Sweet N Sour
  20. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – She Said
  21. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Burn It Off (live / acoustic)
  22. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Rattling
  23. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Get Your Pants Off
  24. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Do the Get Down
  25. 20 Miles – All My Brothers, Sisters Too!
  26. Russell Simmins – Public Places
  27. Heavy Trash – Dark Hair’d Rider
  28. Jon Spencer and The Hitmakers – Death Ray
  29. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Greyhound (Moby remix)

I’m back next week with a deep dive of The Flaming Lips! Don’t miss it.

Keep your mind open.

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