A couple of weeks back, my friend/former sorta-colleague Phil Freeman asked me if I wanted to write up a little something about the new Jon Spencer Blues Explosion record for his formidable blog, Burning Ambulance. Given both my fandom for the band and the purportedly NYC-nostalgic bent of their new album, Freedom Tower No Wave Dance Party 2015 (which I spoke of back here), Phil figured I’d be a good fit.
Honored and flattered (I have tremendous respect for Burning Ambulance — Phil writes with passion and authority and dives deep), I said yes.
I already owned the album, as I’d been looking forward to it for some time, being the bona fide JSBX fan that I am. That’s them up top as captured by rock photographer Stephanie Chernikowski, by the way, lounging manfully against the storied wall of Old St. Patrick’s in SoHo.
The trouble, however, is that I’m being pulled in a million different directions these days. I’ve now been out of a job for quite some time. Mercifully, there’s been a bump in momentum, and I’m currently in talks with a small array of diverse outlets, but no offers are on the table as yet. I’ve come close before, though, and had it all fall away, so I’m trying to stay grounded and focussed and not get my hopes too high as I jump through the respective hoops.
On top of that, I’m also wrangling my two little kids . Last week, they had the whole week off, and this week, my wife’s away in London on business.
I’ve also been freelance contributing to a site called The Mid and still endeavoring to regular keep Flaming Pablum up to date.
All told, I got a lot going on.
With that in mind, my review for Burning Ambulance was beginning to mentally hound me. I was able to fully digest and absorb the album (I’ve listened to pretty much nothing else for the past three weeks), but there’s a lot to be said about the band at this stage of the proceedings and the theme of this particular record. I really wanted to (a) honor my commitment to Phil and give him something worthy of Burning Ambulance and (b) do justice to the record.
Weirdly, I see Jon Spencer around town on a quasi-regular basis. My kids’ school is right near his home (he lives somewhere in Gramercy). I’ve never accosted him, although he did once wish me a “Merry Christmas,” ….. which was sorta mind-blowing.
Anyway, blah blah blah. Thankfully, Phil was very patient and I managed to get him my piece on Freedom Tower No Wave Dance Party 2015 earlier this week and PRESTO it’s now on Burning Ambulance. You can check it out here.
For the uninitiated, here’s the Jon Spencer Blue Explosion firing on all combustive cylinders….
Recent Comments