Not-So-Hidden Symbolism On The New Baroness Album Cover

So the Blue Record came out today. I got my pre-order package about a week ago, God bless ya Relapse Mailorder. I mean, I totally downloaded the whole thing like a month ago, but I was amped to see the album art blown up to epic proportions on my new t-shirt. As impressive as it already looked on screen, JPEGs just can’t do justice to John Baizley’s art. It’s every bit as beautiful in a proper size as I’d expected. I had missed a few details in a compressed format, not the least of which was this phallic surprise:

Call me immature, but it looks like there’s a big eggy dick on the cover of the Blue Record. I know John Baizley’s lady was pregnant during the conception (hah!) of the album, so that explains the big-bellied woman. The yolky cock is aimed right at her woowoo, so it might represent fertility or something like that.

The Sweetest Curse

Some deep meaning has to be in there somewhere, as it always is with Baroness’ music and imagery (or at least that’s what I assume, because I have no fucking idea what the lyrics are about). The Blue Record, like the Red Album, is simply wonderful, up on some advanced artistic level that no critics or copycat bands have quite been able to put their greasy fingers on. These Virginians are masters at writing complete albums; the music is like a narrative. Themes and motifs poke in and out throughout. The pacing is beautiful. Diverse influences make this seem like a manifesto of everything that has been right with rock, metal, and Americana music in the last several decades. The best part is that even several dozen listens into the Blue Record, it still manages to surprise me like it’s one of the first times I heard it, just like it was when I looked down and saw the eggy penis on my chest.

~ Liam

Metal ‘Em Up – The Art of Tommy Gunz

I work with a guy, everybody calls him Tommy Gunz. He was a guitar player in some Boston-area metal bands during the ’80s. This dude is the fucking man, and he loves metal. To kill time at work, he “metals out” pictures he sees in the newspapers. A few days ago, before I knew that it was Tommy that drew these things, I found this in one of our booths:

For those of you from outside the Boston area, "Mumbles" Menino has served four terms as mayor of our fine city. He's likely to be elected to a fifth term this fall, probably because of this image.

Genghis Tron – City On A Hill

I found out it was Tommy’s handiwork when we were paired at a booth today. He busted out his “metaled out” photos from today’s papers:

"Diamond" David Lee Letterman. Note the exquisite detail the hair.

"I don't usually go with the mustaches or sideburns," said Tommy, "but since he's like a classical guy, I made an exception."

“I never thought I’d be the type of guy to say something like this, but man, the 80s, those days were the best, man,” he said to me today. “Everybody had hair like that.”

Brilliant.

~ Liam