♫♪  Brother JT - “Baked Alaska”

Brother John Terlesky, the “Ornette Coleman of Easton, Pennsylvania,” is back with Tornado Juice on Thrill Jockey. Or is he? After spending an entire afternoon watching episodes of Trippin’ Balls with Brother JT [Editor’s Note: I don’t think this website exists, Ryan?] episodes, I can’t even tell if I’m here or not, let alone if Brother JT is, or whether there’s really a new album or even a thing called a “Thrill Jockey” or whatever. Is that me on the TV?

[rubs eyes]

There’s this video for “Baked Alaska,” though, and I guess it’ll have to do as proof of the existence of something, I guess, but hell, it’s a deep and dirty dive into the exact pool of incomprehensibility I’m already swimming around in. JT is cracked out. Who is Flip Jitney? Is this basically a commercial for Tornado Juice? The album keeps floating in the background. Is “Baked Alaska” a euphemism? I kind of want some “Baked Alaska” right now.

I guess the real question is whether or not you’re a serious person or a cartoon man who thinks “Hullabalooza” is still the funniest word in the dictionary you made up.

I’m the cartoon, and this is my MK Ultra.

OH BROTHER JT, I’M SO SORRY! IT WAS ME WHO STOLE THE BABY JESUS FROM THE NATIVITY SCENE IN FRONT OF THE BETHLEHEM PUBLIC LIBRARY. IT WAS ME, BROTHER JT! [sobbing] IT WAS MEEE-EEE-EEE…

That actually feels pretty good to admit finally.

But it’s a total lie.

That feels good to admit, too.

As does this: “Baked Alaska” is the “stop worrying about everything so much” rock tonic you need to dissolve the ramrod you got jammed up your serious-hole. Take it from me, a dude who went to high school with one of The Original Sins’ touring guitarists’ kids.1 That’s some goddamn street cred right there.

1. The Original Sins were Terlesky’s first breakout band.

Chocolate Grinder

CHOCOLATE GRINDER is our audio/visual section, with an emphasis on the lesser heard and lesser known. We aim to dig deep, but we’ll post any song or video we find interesting, big or small.

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