Martin and Me Cover – Burnt Cross?

[ruethewhirl]

Whats the story behind the cover for MARTIN AND ME?

On the back it has a naked woman next to a cross,
and one the front, the same picture but with the
cross burnt up.

Does anyone else find this odd?

[ammaringnyc]

If you look at it through a light its really cool. You can see the pole thorogh J’s head and the the road looks really cool.

[rambleon]

hey ruethewhirl, you should add this to the list of different interview questions to ask j – wherever that is …

[FlyingCloud]

hey ruethewhirl, interesting question I’ve been wondering about that, too

…its’s a good idea to put it into the ‘questions for interviews’ collection, rambleon

[ruethewhirl]

I recall hearing a guy talking on our local radio station years
ago about Dinosaur Jr, not sure what he had to do with the
band but I think he mentioned something about J Mascis’ past
music connections and Satanism?!?! Seeing that cover made me
think about that again, and I was wondering if anyone had any
insights on this…

I know J started out in a hardcore band called Deep Wound,
havn’t heard them, but judging from some of the song titles,
which deal with unsavoury subject matter, I guess you could
infer that there may have been satanic connotations in that
record. Again, any insights appreciated, and, if the administrator
of this site is compiling a list of questions to pose to J, I’d appreciate
it if the subject matter of this thread could be added to the list…

[Dinosaur_snr]

I hear that if you play the Dinosaur LP backwards there is some wierd Satanic rambling and a good recipe for chicken soup – which is kinda convenient if you have lots of sacrificed chickens lying round your house that would otherwise go to waste.

[AGAP]

Well I don’t know about the satanism deal, J did play drums in a satanic metal band way back in time, Upsidedown Cross. The following link has some info & links to some audio samples…

Upsidedown Cross

I’ll have to check out that backwards deal, love chicken soup

Seriously though…J Mascis is God :aliensmile:

[FlyingCloud]

J in an interview about Usidedown Cross:

Quote:

BL: While you continue making records you’ve also produced albums for fIREHOSE, wrote a soundtrack for Gas, Food, Lodging and played drums with the satanic metal band, Up Side Down Cross. (Upon mentioning Up Side Down Cross, Mascis for the first time during the interview, seems alert and remotely coherent)

JM: (laughs) Yeah, those guys are weird man. I’m mean weird. (laughs)

BL: The record was the real deal, it was pretty evil.

JM: (still chuckling) They’re no joke. (the back sleeve of the release has a pencil sketch of Mascis adorned with a crown of thorns assuming a crucified position)

BL: I like your portrait on that record.
JM: Man, they’re a great band. That may be one of the best recordings I’ve ever done.

and, taken out of the great Dino/J FAQ from wibble’s Dino site (…last updated in about 1995, though) :

Quote:

In 1985 he played guitar onstage for G.G. Allin, a sadomasochistic punk rocker who died of a heroin overdose early in 1994, at the Cat Club in New York

J about GG Allin in an interview (2001)

Quote:

Fun fact: J makes an appearance on shit-disturbing (in the literal sense of the term) N.Y.C. punk agitator GG Allin’s 1987 scum-rock opus, Hated in the Nation!
How the hell did you wind up on a GG Allin record?

"Oh yeah, I played a show with him in his band, it was pretty scary. Sounded like a good idea… till it was happening."

Then the shit started hitting the fan?
"Exactly. And then the mic started going up his butt."

[ruethewhirl]

Thanks for those insights Flying Cloud. I suspected that J would
participate in bands more for the music than the ideology. I still find
the use of symbolism on the cover of MARTIN AND ME a tad inappropriate.
I like the fold out part of the cover much more.

Actually, has anyone seen the fold out for FREE SO FREE? Interesting
image, and similar in many respects to the fold out for MARTIN AND
ME. Both feature J twice, but in both cases J’s image is obscured.
Recurring themes in J’s cover art is something I find interesting.

I am surprised that J was involved with C G Allen. Sounds like a
laugh for J, but personally I would have been worried about getting
out of any of the C G gigs alive.

[bob]

I remember there was an interview or something. Thurston Moore was there too I think. J showed up and everybody was like "Who is this nerd?" and then he started playing and everyone wowed.

I’m sure someone has the article.

[fata morgana]

I thought it was a naked picture of J.

[FlyingCloud]

sounds like an interesting article, bob hope it will show up here sometimes…

[fata morgana]

I reiterate, I really like this album cover because I think it spells the dichotomy between religion and pre-religion (paganism). That’s what I like about it. I think it is a very thought provoking image.

[ruethewhirl]

I found it a bit iconoclastic. As a Christian I found a burnt cross
fairly offensive. I’m not going to quit being a J fan because of
it, and I’m not going to fly a plane into J’s house either!

Hey, wasn’t there recently a fire at J’s, in which he lost a bunch
of old gear? Maybe it’s bad karma?

[Dinosaur_snr]

Quote:

Maybe it’s bad karma?

Are you serious?

[Author]

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