LogFAQs > #956349257

100. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Bellbottoms (1994)
from the album Orange

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlTqcshkmc8

When we talk about great works of art, there is an overemphasis of the influencers at the expense of the experimenters. Those who arrive first garner more attention than those who perfect. In many cases, the originators are exceptional no one would follow directly in their footsteps if what they stumbled upon did not work. But what always captures my attention are the artists who, seeing the ever-evolving music scene, fuse together such a specific sound that it denies the possibility of influence. Bands like The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion exist at a very specific extreme Bellbottoms may be classified as a punk blues song, but that reads as an approximation. Too much is going on here to be meaningfully classified.

Bellbottoms is a song in motion. The opening very much evokes the downtempo expectations of a punk blues track, though a gliding string backdrop hints at the impending sonic insanity. This is not exactly an instrumental piece, but Jon Spencer works more as an announcer than a vocalist. About a third of the way through, the bassline picks up a bit more intensity as a wall of screaming takes over, only for the music to stop entirely as Jon Spencer addresses the audience. From this point on, the song erupts into a psychotic jam session, always ramping up its frenetic energy. After a certain point, genre indicators lose meaning Bellbottoms is the traditional rock arrangement distilled into a raw force. Blues Explosion is an apt name, as Bellbottoms feels like a musical Big Bang using blues as the spark.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/