There comes a time when nothing else but a brain-hammering session with Pussy Galore‘s 1989 album Dial M For Motherfucker will do. And not just to clear the house of your so-called friends who’ve been sloshing cheap wine on your expensive new carpet all night. (Although it might work for that, too.) Jon Spencer, the man who shocked and awed the world with the noisiest band in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, went on to form three more exhilarating combos: Boss Hog (with his wife Cristina Martinez), Heavy Trash (his most recent band) and, of course, the stunning Blues Explosion, whose recent career-spanning compendium, Dirty Shirt Rock ‘N’ Roll (Majordomo), tells you plenty about the DNA of the man in charge. (The label is reissuing expanded versions of out-of-print Blues Explosion albums Now I Got Worry and Controversial Negro this week.) Spencer is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Spencer: When I moved here, it was because I was really in love with the music and art scene, bands like Swans (pictured) and Sonic Youth. I loved the Swans, and when I first came here, I found out where they rehearsed in the East Village, near the corner of Avenue B and Sixth Street. I’d go by and be able to catch them rehearse. It was this totally boarded-up place, but they were so loud, anybody could just sit outside and hear them. They were such a great band. Extreme bands like that and crazy filmmakers like Richard Kern were what made me want to move here. There was music, there was painting, there was performance art. All sorts of stuff was going on, and if you wanted to be a freak, you could do it in Milwaukee or Providence, but if you came to New York City, you could get in touch with other like-minded people. It’s different now. I think you could go out in the country, and with the Internet, you’re a lot closer. It kind of plugs back into the worship and mythology of bands like the Velvets. Like Lou Reed was singing about: People come to the city to remake themselves and to find kindred souls.
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caqxHral2iY
