"Juke Joint Jezebel" is a song by

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

group

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project. ...

from their 1995

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Nihil ''Nihil'' is the eighth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on April 4, 1995, by Wax Trax! Records. The album marked the return of former band member Raymond Watts and the first appearance of journeyman drummer Bill Rieflin, ...

''. It is KMFDM's most widely known song to date, with around three million copies of the song sold across various releases.

Background and composition

The music for the song was written primarily by

frontman

Sascha Konietzko Sascha Kegel Konietzko (born 21 June 1961), also known as Sascha K and Käpt'n K, is a German musician and record producer. He is the founder, frontman and "anchor" of the industrial band KMFDM. Konietzko jokingly purports himself to be the fath ...

, who asked returning band member

Raymond Watts Raymond Watts (also known by his former stage names Nainz, Nainz Watts and Ray Scaballero) is an English musician, the founding and sole member of the industrial music project PIG, sometimes written as <PIG>. Watts was an early member and p ...

to write the lyrics for "Juke Joint Jezebel" as well as a few other tracks from ''

''. Also credited as authors are

En Esch Nicklaus Schandelmaier, (born 23 March 1968) is a German musician, better known by his stage name En Esch, and has been a member of the bands KMFDM, Pigface, Slick Idiot, and . And more recently with NUKES, a 16 member band that includes Chris C ...

and

Günter Schulz Günter Schulz (or Guenter Schulz) is a German musician, songwriter and former member of the industrial band KMFDM. Biography Schulz's first credited appearance (as Svetlana Ambrosius, or Svet Am) was on the band's ''Naïve'' album (1990). H ...

. When mixing the song, Konietzko thought it sounded too "awful" to be included on ''Nihil'', but

TVT Records TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, ...

, to whom KMFDM were signed at the time, wanted to put it on the album, certain it would become a hit. In KMFDM's profile for ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'',

Neil Strauss Neil Darrow Strauss, also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American author, journalist and ghostwriter. He is best known for his book '' The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists'', in which he describes his ...

highlights Watts' lyrics and looped guitar riffs and electro-funk beats as the song's main features. In a 2013 book '' Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music'', musician and scholar S. Alexander Reed called the song "iconic", citing it as an example of industrial music's "use of gestures from traditional African-derived musics...", and notes "a massive gospel choir" of backup singers in the chorus. In addition to this, the "sleazy and exuberant" chorus features a harmonic use of the

Mixolydian mode Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' or ''tonoi'', based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; or a modern musical mode or diatonic scal ...

, which seems to "set the song apart from industrial conventions," with lyrics describing pleasure from self-destruction, "tapping into shallow perceptions of religious fervor and lasciviousness."

Release

"Juke Joint Jezebel" single was initially released on February 28, 1995. After the release of ''Nihil'', a second version of the single was released with additional remixes by Italian

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

. The Canadian release of ''Juke Joint Jezebel: The Giorgio Moroder Mixes'' includes a bonus CD titled ''The Year of the Pig Collection'', which features one track each from KMFDM's previous six studio albums, as well "Fuck Me" from ''

Sin Sex & Salvation ''Sin Sex & Salvation'' (1994), is an EP released by KMFDM and Raymond Watts (as PIG). The artist for it is usually listed as KMFDM vs. PIG. Track listing Personnel *PIG: **Raymond Watts - vocals, programming *KMFDM: **Sascha Konietzko ...

''. "Juke Joint Jezebel" was also released on a 12" entitled ''Year of the Pig''. The single did not enter the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, but peaked at number 27 on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart. The song was accompanied by two music videos, both directed by Eric Zimmerman. The first, set to the single edit of album version and featured later on ''

Beat by Beat by Beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

'' compilation, combines the live footage with the animations from the ''

Patlabor 1 is a 1989 Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Mamoru Oshii, with an original story by Headgear. It was produced by Bandai Visual, Tohokushinsha and animated by Studio Deen and I.G. Tatsunoko. It is part of the ''Patlabor'' ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

. The other video, set to Moroder's "Metropolis" remix, was released to promote the 1995 ''Mortal Kombat'' film and uses footage from the film.

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

was reluctant to air the video, objecting to the footage featuring violence. The original version of the song is used in the 1995 film '' Bad Boys'', while the "Metropolis" remix mentioned above appears on the 1995 ''Mortal Kombat'' soundtrack. Both soundtracks eventually went platinum. The album version of the song can also be heard in the "Home Is Where the Tart Is" episode of ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...

''. The original single version was re-released as a 7" in 2009. On October 25, 2010, "Juke Joint Jezebel" was made available as a downloadable song for the ''Rock Band'' Network.

Critical reception

"Juke Joint Jezebel" has received significant critical acclaim. Heidi MacDonald of ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' called the song "nearly flawless". Andy Hinds of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, mentioning the song in the main album's review, called it "an enduring and indispensable dancefloor favorite at goth/industrial clubs around the world."

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' said it "swaggers like a Bourbon Street hooker, with crunching guitars and a swooping, gospelish chorus". "Juke Joint Jezebel" was listed at No. 23 on ''COMA Music Magazines "101 Greatest Industrial Songs of All Time" feature in 2012. The track was also featured on ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' list of "10 Industrial-Rock Classics That Completely Defined the ’90s." Holding a negative opinion of the song since mixing it, Konietzko admitted in 2016 he still did not like the song, which was retired from the band's concert setlist in 2003. It was pointedly left off the band's

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album ''Rocks — Milestones Reloaded'', along with other songs such as "

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" because the group felt such songs were not part of their ideal setlist. Even so, he was pleased that the song had become successful enough that it continued to sell: "It pays the rent, to this day."

Track listings

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(Juke Joint Jezebel) *

– vocals,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

– vocals,

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s, vocals *Jennifer Ginsberg – female vocals (Juke Joint Jezebel)

Production

*Sascha Konietzko –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, mixing *

Chris Shepard Chris Shepard is an American recording engineer and general manager at Chicago Recording Company. He is best known for his work with KMFDM, having engineered some of their most popular albums. He also worked on some of Sascha Konietzko's side pr ...

– engineering, production, mixing *Sam Hofstedt – assistant engineering *David Collins – mastering *

– mixing (The Giorgio Moroder Mixes) * Chris Cox – mixing (The Giorgio Moroder Mixes) *

Aidan Hughes Aidan Hughes is a commercial artist. He was born in 1956 in Merseyside, England, and was trained as an artist by his father, himself a landscape painter. In the 1980s, Hughes published a pulp-style magazine called ''BRUTE!''. ''Brute!'' has b ...

– artwork *Chris Z – type *Greg Knoll – type

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{authority control 1995 singles KMFDM songs TVT Records singles 1995 songs Wax Trax! Records singles Songs written by Sascha Konietzko Songs written by Günter Schulz Songs written by En Esch Songs written by Pig (musical project)