cristina martinez Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Boss Hog “I Dig You”

sfilzen — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 20:35:47 +0000

Boss Hog “I Dig You” 1995. 12″ single. Today is Joe’s birthday so I’m spinning our unofficial theme song ☺️(In ’99 on our drive up to my folks’ farm for our wedding rehearsal dinner, Joe had our friend Buzz spin this track on his WMSE radio show “Buzz’s Garage.”) “I Dig You” appears on Boss Hog’s ’95 s/t album and it’s a sexy and hilarious duet between power couple Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez:

[Jon Spencer]
I ate scum off the street
Eat raw macaroni
Messed up in a minute
Come on now girl
You got to show me…
[Jon Spencer]
I dig your groovy hips
[Cristina Martinez]
I dig your barbecued lips
[Jon Spencer]
I dig you much and more
[Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez]
I dig you baby and I want you to know

Besides “I Dig You,” there are three other previously unreleased tracks: “Hell Mary,” the ass-shaking rocker “Soultrap” and a cover of Wire’s excellent postpunk anthem “12XU” from their 1977 album Pink Flag which Boss Hog has slinkified and darkened with Spencer’s signature blues sound while still keeping the sharp angles of the original.

The post Boss Hog “I Dig You” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Boss Hog “Action Box”

sfilzen — Tue, 25 May 2021 17:59:16 +0000

Boss Hog “Action Box” released 30-ish years ago (mid-1991). Double 7″ EP on Amphetamine Reptile Records. Punk blues Boss Hog is Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s Jon Spencer (guitar, vocals) and Cristina Martinez (vocals) along with Jens Jurgensen (bass), Charlie Ondras (drums) and Kurt Wolf (guitar) on this recording. Guest starring on “Black Throat” is Bob Bert (Sonic Youth, Jon Spencer & the Hit Makers), Jim Thirlwell (Foetus) and DJ Cream O’Wheat. It’s such a wild track, originally the theme from a movie made by the Dark Brothers. Also on the EP is “Big Fish,” “Bunny Fly” and “Not Guilty.” The story on the name of the EP is awesome – this from the most excellent Pop-Catastrophe website: Charlie Ondras: “Ever since Cristina, Jon and I met Billy Idol at Jones Beach a couple of years ago, the phrase, ‘More, more, more’ really got into my mind.” Cristina: “We got to go to a Billy Idol photo shoot,” she continues, “and he kept going into the bathroom with his assistant. I wasn’t really paying attention, got bored after he started grabbing his crotch, and left. But I heard the next day that he’s infamous for going to do coke in the bathroom. And then we heard this story…” Jon: “…that he was in the toilet stall getting a blow job and he was yelling, ‘More, more, more!‘” Jon concludes with a flourish.” Charlie: “So after that I started referring to Billy Idol as ‘the action man,’” smirks Charlie. “And ‘action’ was one of the many catch phrases I popularized amongst me and my friends. We were on this tour in Germany, and on the first rest stop we were in, they had these condom machines, and there was this condom package which they sell, two pretty bad condoms, actually……and this mysterious creme in a tube,” Charlie continues enthusiastically, “packaged inside this box with this firework display and wild type on it and it was called the ‘Action Box.’” Cristina: “We tried to duplicate the cover,” explains Cristina, “and we were initially going to put in two condoms and a little tube of lubricant – stay hard creme – but it was way too expensive. It didn’t work. We wimped out.”

The post Boss Hog “Action Box” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Boss Hog “Cold Hands”

sfilzen — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 21:00:41 +0000

Boss Hog “Cold Hands” released 30 years ago today, November 16th, 1990. Amphetamine Reptile Records. Produced by Steve Albini. Punk blues/noise rock, Cold Hands is Boss Hog’s was the band’s first full length release (their EP Drinkin’, Lechin’ & Lyin’ came out in ‘89, also produced by Albini) with their original line-up: über-cool couple Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez, along with noise rock notables – Kurt Wolf (guitar, also in Spencer’s band Pussy Galore), Charlie Ondras (drums, also in noise rockers Unsane; he died in ‘92) and Jerry Teel (guitar, also in Honeymoon Killers), and joined by new addition Pete Shore (bass, guitar). It’s loud, crazy, noisy, crazed and awesome. My top tracks are the opener “Gerard,” the malevolent “Eddy,” the industrial-noise “Red Bull,” the growling slink of “Go Wrong” and “Pop Catastrophe.” “Pop Catastrophe” is particularly great because its title spawned the name for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s archivist’s webpage: http://www.pop-catastrophe.co.uk.

The post Boss Hog “Cold Hands” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Boss Hog “Boss Hog”

sfilzen — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 20:45:24 +0000

Boss Hog “Boss Hog” released 25 years ago today, October 10th, 1995. One of my absolute favorite records from the 90′s, Boss Hog was the garage-punk blues band’s second LP (there are also a few EP’s) featuring indie dream-team couple Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez (vocals for both, guitar too for Spencer) plus Jens Jurgensen on bass and Hollis Queens on drums. I know this record backwards and forwards and love every single track, but the standouts for me are the opener “Winn Coma” (weirdly featured in the film Joes Apartment from ‘96 that heavily features talking cockroaches), “Ski Bunny” (“ski bunny suicide!”), the ass-kickers “Green Shirt” and “What the Fuck,” the loose Ike and Tina Turner cover “I Idolize You” and most especially “I Dig You” – released as a single in ‘96 – with the best, romantic lyrics ever sung ever by both Spencer and Martinez: “I ate scum off the street, eat raw macaroni! Messed up in a minute, c’mon girl you got to show me….I dig your groovy hips! I dig your barbecued lips! I dig you much and more, I dig you baby and I want you to know.”

The post Boss Hog “Boss Hog” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Honeymoon Killers “Turn Me On”

sfilzen — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 20:45:57 +0000

Honeymoon Killers “Turn Me On” 1987. Buy Our Records. Noise-rock via New York/New Jersey, Turn Me On is the band’s fourth studio LP, this one particularly notable for Cristina Martinez on guitar (and some vocals). She must have been only around 16 years old at the time; a couple of years she later joined Jon Spencer to form Boss Hog (their EP Drinkin’ Lechin’ & Lyin’ from ‘89 also features Honeymoon Killers’ founder, guitarist and frontman Jerry Teel). As noise rock, Turn Me On is definitely noisy, full of distortion and growling, but it also has a dark psychobilly/campy horror movie vibe, especially on tracks like “Dolly w/a Dick,” “You Thrill Me,” “Fingerlickin’ Spring Chicken” and “Octopussy,” making the album far more melodic – catchy at times even! – than a lot of other noise rock albums. “Choppin’ Mall” is particularly great, with a Bo Diddley-esque rhythm and a harmonica solo that portends the punk blues sound of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (Mr. Judah Bauer!). Punk blues with a lot of crazed feedback and distortion is also present on “Dazed ‘n’ Hazey” (a great track!). I’m not as fond of the less melodic noise rock track “Flophausen” but other than that I’m super-psyched to have this record in our collection (it’s a recent acquisition, found on Record Store Day when our local record shops bring out the really cool stuff).

The post Honeymoon Killers “Turn Me On” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Boss Hog “Brood X”

sfilzen — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 14:54:52 +0000

Boss Hog “Brood X” 2017. In The Red Records. Brood X is Boss Hog’s first full-length since 2000′s Whiteout but during those 17 years they haven’t lost that bluesy-punk swagger that will make you “feel good and greasy” (Allmusic). Cristina Martinez’s voice is still cooly menacing (on “Signal” in particular) and Jon Spencer is always filled with bravado, punctuating occasionally with signature “C’mon’s!” and “Yeah’s!.” I love it when Martinez and Spencer share vocal leads; “Rodeo Chica” is a bit kitschy but when the two sing together it’s the best – like we’re being let in on a slightly twisted inside joke (one of my all-time favorite Boss Hog songs is “I Dig You” from their ‘95 album Boss Hog: “I dig your groovy hips” “I dig your barbecued lips!”). Overall, Brood X is darker, more no-wave than their past recordings. Tracks veer from musically sparse to wall-of-sound dense (“Elevator” and “Formula X”), though Jens Jurgensen’s bass lines and Hollis Queens’ drumming provide a smooth funk throughout, creating a slow-mo ass-shaking cohesion. “Sunday Routine” floats a bit out into space, with a hazy stoner jam. “17″ goes proggy and experimental with organ, startling punctuated guitar and weird fuzzy sound effects that go on for a few minutes into the runoff groove to complete the album (according to a review of the album in Pitchfork, the sound is representative of a swarm of cicadas, emerging after 17 years underground). Speaking of runoff grooves: Side A (labeled as Exuvia) etchings: “Mars in Pisces” and Side B (labeled as Creature) says “#resist – activate your scope!”

[UPDATE: just learned today, April 10th, is Jens Jurgensen’s birthday]

The post Boss Hog “Brood X” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Pussy Galore, “Pussy Gold 5000″

sfilzen — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 19:53:50 +0000

Pussy Galore, “Pussy Gold 5000″ 1987. EP on Buy Our Records Inc/Shove Records. I think today is Pussy Galore member and Boss Hog singer Cristina Martinez’s birthday (the internet is a bit murky, but Boss Hog’s Instagram did a birthday shoutout to her today so I’m thinking they have it correct). She joined Pussy Galore around 1987 at age 16, so my best guess is she was born in ‘71 (hey, we’re the same age!). She recorded this EP and a limited-run vinyl cover of Exile on Main Street, which we sadly do not have, before leaving the band later in ‘87. I’ve blogged about this record two years ago (copy of that text below) and to spice it up, here is a copy of a photo from Boss Hog’s Instagram of Jon Spencer and Cristina at the Women’s March in January.

Pussy Galore, “Pussy Gold 5000″ EP, 45 rpm, 1987. Buy Our Records Inc./Shove Records. Recorded in ‘86 and released in Jan. ‘87, the single pressing of 3,000 sold out in one month. This would be the band’s last release on their own Shove imprint (co-released with NJ hardcore label Buy Our Records) before they signed with Caroline later in the year.

We picked up a 2014 reissue of this album over this past holiday weekend, but the one pictured here is an original pressing (the vault, being what it is, we kinda forgot we had it). 5-song EP, featuring 4 original trashy punk tracks (including “Pretty Fuck Look,” “Spin Out,” “Walk,” and “Get Out” plus one cover song, performed live, “No Count” by Ty Wagner.

Pussy Galore’s lineup changed frequently during their recording years of ‘85-’90 and this iteration features Jon Spencer on vocals and guitar, Julia Cafritz on guitar and vocals, Neil Hagerty on guitar, vocals and drums, Bob Bert on drums and metal, and Cristina Martinez on guitar and organ. I believe this is the last released recording that Cristina played on before joining Spencer in marriage and Boss Hog in ‘89 just prior to the breakup of Pussy Galore.

Reading indie label run-off groove scratchings is always a delight: this one reads Side 1 “Take lots of drugs” and Side 2 “Kill indscrimmately” (yes, it’s misspelled, though not sure if on purpose or not).

The post Pussy Galore, “Pussy Gold 5000″ appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Various Artists “Battle Hymns”

sfilzen — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 22:24:46 +0000

(via Quasi: Battle Hymns) “Battle Hymns is a compilation album created in direct response to the current political situation in the U.S.A – it is a protest record! It will be released digitally on inauguration day in opposition to the incoming administration. The album is available pay what you want at www.quasiband.com with all proceeds divided equally between Planned Parenthood, The ACLU and 350.org. Battle Hymns features new unreleased music by Doug Martsch, Stephen Malkmus, Cristina Martinez, Jon Spencer, Mickey Finn, Mac McCaughan, Ash Bowie, Carrie Brownstein, Katie Harkin, Sean Croghan, Drew Grow, Mary Timony, Carl Newman, Corin Tucker, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, Bill Rieflin, Kurt Bloch, Kathy Foster, Rebecca Gates, Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss, with art by Chris Johanson and Johanna Jackson. Website magic by CASH Music. The collaboration was spearheaded and assembled by Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss of Quasi (who also serve as the backing band for some songs.) Participants generously donated their music, studios, art and time.”

The post Various Artists “Battle Hymns” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Boss Hog “Brood Star”

sfilzen — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 19:55:01 +0000

Boss Hog “Brood Star” 4 song EP on In The Red Records, released last week (release date given as July 1st but my man Dan at Rush Mor wasn’t able to get it until Friday July 15th). Brood Star is Boss Hog’s first release in 16 years and the reason why (in an interview with New Noise Magazine) according to Cristina Martinez is “Because I fucking felt like it.”

Like Boss Hog’s earlier releases, Brood Star is noisy urban art punk. “Wichita Grey” and “Disgrace” are fast and dirty while “Devious Motherfucker” and “Nymph Beat” are slower-paced insidiously slick grooves filled with funk. A full-length album, Brood X, should be released later this year, hopefully with a full tour to support it. The last time we saw Boss Hog was in 2000 while they toured for their last album, Whiteout.

Run-off groove etchings – Side A “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for and Side B “Resistance is futile”

The post Boss Hog “Brood Star” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.

Boss Hog “Boss Hog”

sfilzen — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:27:07 +0000

Boss Hog “Boss Hog” 1995. Geffen Records. Today’s pull from the vault in honor of Joe and my 16th anniversary tomorrow, May 22nd; on our way to the rehearsal dinner on May 21, 1999 Joe called in a request to our friend Buzz, who dj’s at 91.7 WMSE to play “I Dig You” in honor of our impending nuptials. Seriously, so romantic:

I ate scum off the street
Eat raw macaroni
Mess up in a minute
Come on now girl, you got to show me
If you want me to
Anything I would
Solid gold guarantee
My love

Baby, I dig you

I love this album so much – Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez snarl and wail over punk blues rhythm and guitar, messy and in love. Side A (or as the record indicates “Beef Side”) highlights: “Winn Coma” (which appears in the film Joe’s Apartment), “Ski Bunny,” “I Dig You” and “What the Fuck.” Side B (or “Mah-Jongg” side): “I Idolize You” and “Strawberry.”

The album includes a Boss Hog turntable platter, a particularly nice touch.

The post Boss Hog “Boss Hog” appeared first on Vinyl From The Vault.