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In times of great uncertainty and confusion, we at The Placeholder often search for a voice of reason and clarity to show us the way. When that does not work, we turn to Mojo Nixon.
Mojo Nixon, for the unenlightened, is the devil. The good kind of devil. The one who drinks whiskey, blows shit up, and screams at odd intervals just to make sure you’re paying attention. A rockabilly madman with a penchant for saying all the wrong things at exactly the right times, Mojo made a name for himself in the 80s by penning a number of instant classics, such as ‘Elvis is Everywhere’, ‘Jesus At McDonalds’, and ‘Debbie Gibson is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Lovechild’. He’s still alive and kicking, cranking out new material and hosting his own political radio show, lovingly titled ‘Lyin’ Cocksuckers’. You can find more in depth write-ups on his sonic escapades and amazing adventures here and here, but today, we are going to focus on a very specific portion of Mojo lore, that being the short period in history when a guy like him was actually allowed to talk on national television.
As some people may recall, when MTV first started up it used to have musicians on it. In those days, they would put anyone on the air who took the time to make a video and pay the postage to send it to them. The one glaring omission, for a while there anyway, was our man Mojo. Distraught at being overlooked by the MTV bigwigs, he penned a little ditty about Martha Quinn, one of their many fresh faced bubbly VJs at the time, in hopes of getting their attention. Shockingly, ‘Stuffin’ Martha’s Muffin’ did indeed get their attention, and the network gave Mojo the opportunity to record a series of commercial ‘bumpers’ for the network. These commercials have thankfully found their way to youtube, and now belong to the ages.
Regardless of the nostalgia factor of remembering a time when MTV would actually roll the dice with what they put on the air every now and then, these videos serve as a reminder that passion and insanity are often just the same guy in a different shirt. From clip to clip, Mojo is like a hopped up preacher testifying to his own private religion. He is not yelling to get peoples attention, but because yelling feels good and is way more fun than just talking. Ranting about America, theme parks, revolution, alcohol, Elvis, and just about everything else, Mojo puts having no perspective into perspective. A glorious affirmation of not-give-a-fuckery that we could all aspire to. If the world is pissing you off, piss on the world. Such is the gospel of Mojo Nixon, and for that, we at The Placeholder salute him and these PSAs. Climb The Highest Mountain, and Punch The Face Of God.
