Visual Sound: October 2025

Written By Mike Greenblatt
My Chemical Romance
“Helena”
My Chemical Romance came out of Belleville in Essex County 24 years ago. In 2005, their second album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, contained the emo classic “Helena,” written for bassist Mikey Way’s grandmother. Filmed at a Los Angeles church, it was directed by Indiana filmmaker Marc Webb who would go on to direct The Amazing Spider-Man.
Clint Black
“Put Yourself In My Shoes”
In the country music boom of the 1990s, the cowboy-hatted Texan Clint Black always was a step ahead, a vocal powerhouse with a movie star presence that added grit, soul and style to his Western Swing and traditional honkytonk leanings. An actor, producer, guitarist, singer and songwriter, Black epitomized a handsome All-American aesthetic. Always gracious and humble with the press, he was one of the good guys. And it was no act. His 1989 Killin’ Time debut boasted four #1 country singles. This is the title tune of his 1990 follow-up which reached #4. Pretty good for a kid born and raised in Monmouth County.
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Rick Nelson
“Garden Party”
Rick Nelson was born into a show-biz family in Teaneck, Bergen County, in 1940, and died in a plane crash in 1985. He performed with his Stone Canyon Band at one of promoter Richard Nader’s multi-artist “Rock’n’Roll Spectaculars.” It was the seventh year of the event and Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Bobby Rydell all dutifully played their roles. But Rick wasn’t teen idol Ricky anymore. He was on to other things…like pioneering the new sound of country-rock. And he got booed off the stage. So he left in disgust without being part of the finale. But he got a great song out of it. And it went to #6. Bob Dylan loved the song, especially “but it’s alright now, I’ve learned my lesson well, you see, you can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself.” In fact, Dylan played it this year as his encore at the Outlaw Music Festival.
Annabelle Chairlegs
“Outside”
Lindsey Mackin of Kearny in Hudson County is now Annabelle Chairlegs of Austin in Texas. She’s been there for 12 years. This is the song that won her an Austin Music Award for “Best Music Video” in 2020.
Squanderers
“Theme for Insufficient Overpreparation”
The latest piece of ambient strangeness from the brilliant Kramer, formerly of Bergen County, and now based in North Carolina, is this quixotic clip from Squanderers, his band with guitarists Wendy Eisenberg and David Grubbs. Multi-Instrumentalist-Composer-Producer Kramer started Shimmy-Disc Records and worked with Penn & Teller, Shockabilly, Galaxie 500, White Zombie, GWAR, King Missile, Urge Overkill, Bongwater, New York Gong, Butthole Surfers, Ween, The Fugs, Half Japanese and many others. The track is off of Skantagio, their second album.
Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

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Visual Sound: September 2025