The Chrome Cranks - Hot Blonde Cocktail

What this video is

Released in 1996, 'Hot Blonde Cocktail' represents a rare moment of mainstream MTV visibility for the New York City underground punk-blues scene. The Chrome Cranks occupied the same ecosystem as Pussy Galore, the Honeymoon Killers, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion — a lineage of deliberately raw, blues-deconstructing acts working in the shadow of the Stooges, the Cramps, and the Gun Club. Their label PCP…

Why it matters

The Chrome Cranks were regarded as one of the leading acts of the 1990s NYC punk-blues movement, and 'Hot Blonde Cocktail' was their highest-profile single. The track and its video represent the genre's closest brush with mainstream exposure, preserving a document of sleaze-rock garage-punk…