Song Of The Day 6/17/2015: Geneva Jacuzzi – “Bad Moods”

Synthesizers That Are Dead Inside: I scheduled Geneva Jacuzzi for this theme week some time ago – in case you didn’t know, this blog is programmed with the help of brass tablets that show up mysteriously in my Char-Broil with little explanation, except not to let anyone else see them or get them wet – but when I started the research for this week I discovered something about her that probably would have fast-tracked her through to this week anyway: She, like me, was raised a Jehovah’s Witness. So should this blog ever get an actual office building, Geneva’s getting her own parking space, whether she works here or not. I’m informed she’s also Ariel Pink’s ex, which must carry a wealth of preconditions and expectations.

There’s a high quotient of performance art in Geneva’s regular approach, which shows up in spades in her video for “Bad Moods.” The video is based on the Biblical account of Salome’s dance. For those not acquainted with Bible lore, this is the story of King Herod’s birthday party, in which his daughter Salome performs a dance so stunningly choreographed and presumably arousing that he tells her she can have any gift she wants in lieu of a tryout with the Rockettes. Salome asks for the head of John the Baptist on a plate. Which, being the typical doting upper-class daddy, Herod’s only too happy to provide.

I would love to think Geneva chose this story for reasons related to our mutual religious upbringing, ’cause Jehovah’s Witnesses are not allowed to celebrate birthdays. When hit up for the “Biblical” reason why this was the case, all the Jay-dubs pointed to the story of King Herod and Salome, and how terrible things can happen at birthday parties. As if this was the only birthday party ever celebrated in Biblical times. They completely omit the other hundred-thousand or so birthday parties that didn’t end in slightly incestuous dancing and beheadings of local clergy. Surely there must have been some more chaste, rigidly monitored birthday parties where everybody had a good, clean time and nobody got dinged up. But we didn’t hear about those parties. We only heard about the Fox News alarmist birthday parties in Jehovah’s Witnesses – the ones that result in shame, death and a high Chuck E. Cheese bill. Stay strong, Geneva.

Just for laffs, here's an interview Geneva did with Harper Simon in which the JW association is discussed in detail. You'll learn a great deal.