Jawbreaker’s tribute to an iconic Christopher Walken character
Whilst Hollywood is brimming with unique individuals, a character rarely comes along and finds success just for being themselves. Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper and Paul Newman are just three figures who fit into this category, with one of the standouts of this set being Christopher Walken. He comes with an unmistakable New York inflexion, piercing, almost serpent-like eyes, and an ice-cool presence that can strike fear or stir humour, depending on the context.
Walken’s CV reads like a dream. In the world of movies, he’s featured in Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Batman Returns, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Catch Me If You Can, and Seven Psychopaths, to name but a few. Undoubtedly a fine actor, there’s no surprise that Walken has fans in Johnny Depp, Sam Rockwell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mads Mikkelsen, and even the late film critic Roger Ebert. The esteemed film analyst once provided a lucid account of Walken’s ability to flip between light and dark. He wrote of At Close Range in 1986: “When he is given the right role, there is nobody to touch him for his chilling ability to move between easy charm and pure evil”.
Walken’s reputation is so extensive that he’s even enjoyed a nod from eminent punks Jawbreaker. Massively influential on the development of modern punk and emo, the Blake Schwarzenbach-led trio have many notable moments to their name, with one of the most famous being the track ‘Boxcar’ from 1994’s 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. One of their other highlights is their 1995 album Dear You, their major label debut on DGC, which is sometimes maligned by elements in the punk community because it is so. However, it’s a cracking record, with one of the standout cuts being the bleak ‘Jet Black’.
This is where the connection to Christopher Walken comes into play. The track opens with a sample of Walken’s unhinged character Duane from Woody Allen’s 1977 hit Annie Hall. Duane is the eponymous Annie’s brother in the film. At one point, he confesses to protagonist Alvy that he fantasises about steering his car into oncoming traffic and the ensuing explosion and shattering glass. This is one of the most unforgettable moments in the movie, with Walken’s unflinching delivery utterly terrifying. Therefore it plunged the dark themes of Schwarzenbach’s lyrics in ‘Jet Black’ to greater depths.
The piece opens with Duane saying to Alvy: “I tell you this, because, as an artist, I think you’ll understand.” As the track climaxes, Duane is sampled again, going into more detail about his nihilistic fantasy: “Sometimes when I’m driving, on the road at night, I see two headlights coming towards me. Fast, I have this sudden impulse to turn the wheel quickly head-on into the oncoming car. I can anticipate the explosion, the sound of shattering glass, the flames rising out of the flowing gasoline.”
Schwarzenbach would describe ‘Jet Black’ as the “epitome of pathological white angst”, so there was no one better to sample than Duane Hall. Interestingly, as Jawbreaker were no strangers to using samples in their songs when they signed with Geffen, they had to now be official about the practice. This meant getting the personal seal of approval from Woody Allen to sample his film, which they did seemingly with ease.
The story doesn’t end there for Christopher Walken, Annie Hall and legendary punk bands. Another widely influential outfit also referenced the scene in one of their finest cuts around the same time.
