All That is Seen and Unsane

Here's one that's bound to bother, deeply offend and/or spook the crap out of someone.

Given our mutual fondness for the disagreeable skronk of NYC noise-rock of the late 80's and 90's, my comrade EV Grieve shot me the below clip from the viscerally monochromatic Unsane circa 1993. I actually saw the Unsane play a handful of times in the 90s -- most notably opening for Cop Shoot Cop and Foetus at the late, lamented Palladium on 14th Street (now an N.Y.U. dorm ... oh goodie). While I liked the Unsane's tireless dedication to unrelenting punishment and gratuitous gore (every album sleeve came with a grisly cover image), they did get a bit samey after awhile (more so than their peers in bands like Surgery, Barkmarket, Prong, Helmet et al). Sonically speaking, "Body Bomb" below is no exception to the Unsane aesthetic. The video clip, however, is notable for a couple of other reasons.

While you may remember the Unsane's video for "Scrape" -- a hilarious/horrific (depending on your sensibility) montage of egregious skateboard accident footage that landed them a spot on "Beavis & Butthead" -- the video for "Body Bomb" is decidedly less celebrated. I'm fascinated by it as its disgruntled Travis Bickle-esque protagonist is portrayed by none other than Chris Nantz a.k.a. Jack Natz. Natz is a seasoned NYC rock veteran, having played bass for The Undead, Virus, the Black Snakes and -- wait for it -- Cop Shoot Cop. Fans of transgressive cinema might also recognize Natz from his bloody performance in photographer and erstwhile Black Snakes band-mate Richard Kern's "Submit to Me Now" (a disturbing little film wherein our Jack seems to wrap himself up in barbed-wire). Maybe not exactly a renaissance man, but Natz did make his mark.

I don't want to give away the ending and ruin everybody's day, but suffice to say that eighteen years after it was filmed, the very final scene of this video might very well give one -- especially a New Yorker -- a palpable chill. I'd be curious to hear what they'd say about it today. Anyway, watch it if you're curious.

The Unsane carry on today, I believe. Natz was playing bass with them himself, actually, along with serving in the ranks of Lubricated Goat for a while. I'm not at all sure what he's up to these days, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a Cop Shoot Cop reunion tour.

 

Comments

[Ivan]

Vassifer:
I worked on this video! What a blast from the past!
It was directed by Richard Kern, who asked me to provide the explosions stock footage (all of which was swiped from the Midnight Blue stock footage library--meaning that it had been swiped from movies galore--the final image of "Body Bomb" is from Zabriskie Point). The apartment where Natz is hanging/working was Jim (Foetus) Thirwell's studio/apartment; and where the band is playing is the basement of producer Martin Bisi's studio/fortress.
Keep up the good work!
--Ivan

[Battisti]

Hey, how did they know... ?