Teaser // Death Grips: JENNY DEATH

Summary

Jokermen Podcast: Teaser // Death Grips: JENNY DEATH

Release Date: June 23, 2026
Podcast Hosts: Jokermen

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Episode Overview

This teaser episode introduces the Jokermen Podcast's new series on Death Grips, with a particular focus on "Jenny Death," the second half of Death Grips' double album, The Powers That B. The hosts riff on the album’s historical release, its context as part of a polarizing double album, Death Grips’ notorious self-contradictory art project persona, and their evolution as a group—especially their pivot to a more “rock” sound. The hosts promise nuanced conversation, steering clear of superficial meme culture around the band.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Album Release Context and Timeline

• Dates Clarified:
  • Jenny Death’s release—after some back and forth—occurred on March 19, 2015, serving as the second disc of The Powers That B ([01:29]).
• Double Album Dynamics:
  • The hosts highlight that Jenny Death is deliberately paired as the latter half of The Powers That B, emphasizing its drastically different sound from its counterpart ([03:01–03:20]).
• Death Grips’ “Breakup”:
  • The band’s 2014 breakup via napkin announcement is revisited, reflecting on its authenticity and artistic intent ([07:55–10:12]).

2. The Anthony Fantano Naming Meme

• Album Title Controversy:
  • The hosts poke fun at the internet meme where fans bait Anthony Fantano into saying the name of the first half of The Powers That B (which contains the N-word), critiquing the juvenile humor surrounding it ([01:45–02:22]).
  • Quote:
    • Host: “This is the type of shit that I don’t like. This is the memeing of it... But also, you don’t need to turn it into a joke about how white guys... we get it.” ([02:07])
    • Co-host: “It’s understood, juvenile, and it’s stupid... By treating it, taking it seriously as an artistic statement... we’re not part of the problem.” ([02:22])

3. The "Rock Album" Shift

• Musical Evolution:
  • The hosts stress Jenny Death’s shift toward live instrumentation, especially electric guitar, contrasting with Death Grips’ earlier more electronic sounds ([03:20–03:46]).
  • Quote:
    • Host: “This is. Honestly, this is the rock album. This is Death Grips, the rock group. To me.” ([03:20])
  • Both hosts celebrate the embrace of rock forms, referencing how integral guitar is to their enjoyment ([03:31]).
• Reference to LCD Soundsystem:
  • An offhand mention to “Losing my Edge” for the second episode in a row ([03:46]), connecting the release’s attitude to broader rock traditions.

4. Comparing the Two Sides of The Powers That B

• Mood and Thematic Contrast:
  • Co-host dives into how the first disc is more “personal and inscrutable... abstract interiority,” while Jenny Death is “bloody and physical... more about how that [interiority] manifests in the world” ([05:34–07:08]).
  • Quote:
    • Co-host: “I stand by the feeling that the previous disc is more personal and inscrutable and has to do with abstract interiority. And this one is more about how that manifests in the world.” ([05:34])
    • “Jenny Death is more like bloody and physical.” ([06:57])
• Instrumentation as Metaphor:
  • The hosts tie the presence of guitar and drums directly to this increased tangibility and energy ([07:08]).
• Album Chemistry:
  • The pairing is compared to “yin and yang” and “sour and spicy,” with the two records’ different energies meant to balance each other ([05:34]).
  • Quote:
    • Co-host: “More like sour and spicy maybe is a better way to think of it. But they’re meant to be together.” ([05:36])

5. Death Grips’ Conceptual Art Project

• Album as Reckoning:
  • The hosts frame The Powers That B as a meta-commentary by Death Grips on their own identity, experimenting by remixing their own musical formula ([07:55]).
• Band “Death” as Performance:
  • They discuss whether Death Grips’ breakup was “real” or part of their elaborate conceptual presentation, noting the blurry lines between intent and mythmaking ([09:46–10:12]).
  • Quote:
    • Co-host: “I don’t know that those two things are different... It was an important part of their artistic process to say they were done, even if they weren’t.” ([10:12])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Album Naming Meme:
  • Host: “It’s the N word. You’re not supposed to say the N word. But it’s also the title of the album. It’s fine to write. But also, you don’t need to turn it into a joke about how white guys... we get it.” ([02:07])
• On ‘Rock Album’ Identity:
  • Host: “This is. Honestly, this is the rock album. This is Death Grips, the rock group. To me.” ([03:20])
• On Album Pairing:
  • Co-host: “More like sour and spicy maybe is a better way to think of it. But they’re meant to be together.” ([05:36])
  • Co-host: “Jenny Death is more like bloody and physical.” ([06:57])
• On the “Breakup” as Art:
  • Co-host: “I don’t know that those two things are different... It was an important part of their artistic process to say they were done, even if they weren’t.” ([10:12])

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Key Timestamps

• 00:40 – Announcing focus on Jenny Death
• 01:29 – Confirming the 2015 release date, placing album in context
• 01:45–02:22 – Discussing the album naming meme and associated controversies
• 03:01–03:46 – The “rock band” identity of Death Grips on this album
• 05:34–07:08 – Thematic and sonic contrast between the two discs of The Powers That B
• 07:55–09:46 – On Death Grips releasing a “posthumous” album after announcing breakup
• 09:46–11:02 – The band’s “breakup” as a conceptual statement/art gesture

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Summary Takeaways

• The episode sets up an in-depth, critical series on Death Grips’ Jenny Death, intentionally avoiding meme and surface-level discourse.
• The hosts highlight the dramatic tonal and instrumental shift from the first to the second half of The Powers That B, framing the album’s evolution as essential Death Grips behavior: contradiction, meta-commentary, and reinvention.
• They treat the band’s infamous “breakup” as both a performative gesture and a sincere creative act, reflecting Death Grips’ ambiguous relationship with their own mythos.
• Throughout, the hosts maintain a conversational, wry tone, gently ribbing fan culture while celebrating the chaotic, genre-defying spirit of Death Grips.

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For further Death Grips discussions and deep dives into other artists, listeners are encouraged to subscribe for exclusive episodes via Patreon.

Transcript

[Host]

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[Co-host]

It's Jenny Death now. Jenny Death. Currently Jenny Death.

[Host]

When you may have been asking yourself. Turns out today, it looks like June 22nd on the schedule, if I'm reading that correctly. That's when. Jenny Death.

[Co-host]

That's right. Yeah.

[Host]

That's when it's coming out.

[Co-host]

When did it actually come out? It was 20 years.

[Host]

We talked about this last time it was March. I think it was March 2015.

[Co-host]

Yes. Well, what we're talking about, in case you're just catching up, which would be weird, I guess, because.

[Host]

No, I didn't see you there. Come on in. Sit down.

[Co-host]

This is. Yeah, sit down. We have to talk. Death Grips have just released the on. On today. March 12, 2015. Actually, no, that was just the track release.

[Host]

March 19.

[Co-host]

March 19, 2015. It's the second half of the double album by Death Grips. The powers that be follow up to the previous album by Death Grips, which also has a name.

[Host]

That's right.

[Co-host]

I think that we got around that issue. I think we got through that issue. Actually, I don't even think it's an issue. I don't think it's an issue either. People make a big fuss about it. Well, they really just troll Anthony Fantano about it. Cause he very conspicuously doesn't say it. And then they're like. All the comments are like, remind me what's on the moon, Anthony. I forget.

[Host]

Yeah. See, this is the type of shit that I don't like. This is the memeing of it. It's like, yes, it's the N word. You're not supposed to say the N word. But it's also the title of the album. It's fine to write. But also, you don't need to turn it into a joke about how white guys. You know, it's just like, we get it.

[Co-host]

It's understood, juvenile, and it's stupid. And I think that by. By treating it, taking it seriously as an artistic statement and gesture, which I Think, Lord knows the group themselves take seriously such things.

[Host]

Certainly.

[Co-host]

I think we. We are. We're not part of the problem.

[Host]

I hope not.

[Co-host]

But here we are with Jennifer Death.

[Host]

Sound like me. Michael Mouse.

[Co-host]

Michael Mouse. That's not that. That straight up doesn make sense at all. Because I don't think that his name is Michael. I don't think his name is Mickey.

[Host]

Mickey is short for Michael. It can be, at least.

[Co-host]

Okay, so the powers that be is here, all in one piece. All in its two pieces, the two tablets of this double album. And if you didn't like the last one, good news, this sounds nothing like the last one. Sort of, pretty much, mostly, yeah.

[Host]

This is. Honestly, this is the rock album. This is Death Grips, the rock group. To me.

[Co-host]

Well, it's, I think, to most people, on account of the electric guitar being.

[Host]

We love the guitar. We love the guitar on Jokerman podcast, one of our favorite instruments.

[Co-host]

Yes, that's indisputable. Yeah. Death Grips have sold their synthesizers and bought guitars.

[Host]

Boy, we have the second Losing my Edge reference in two consecutive episodes, folks.

[Co-host]

It's rock music yet again. And I don't know about you, I was very excited when this came out. And I was very titillated that it was so rock music.

[Host]

Like, I feel. Similarly, I think that we've talked about this throughout the series so far, the extent to which Death Grips is a rock band. And that's more or less applicable in some cases, musically speaking. But I think just in terms of their image, their approach to the art form of making songs, I think it's indisputable that they fit into that matrix. And then here we are on a record that really just does away with any sort of pretense on some songs at least, that they aren't a rock band, because it is a rock band. There's the electric guitar, there's drums. There is not singing necessarily, but it isn't always rapping either. I think that it's yet another example of how every release from this group is totally its own new universe. Even though this is back to back with the previous album making up a double album. I feel like the two records that compose the Powers that Be are maybe as dissimilar as any two other records in the Death Grips discography. There's some connection here and there. And certainly, like, lyrical moments, there are callbacks between the two records, but you could match, you know, no Love, Deep Web and Government Plates up and call that a double album. And I think that would make about as much sense as putting these Two records together and calling it a double album?

[Co-host]

I don't think so.

[Host]

Okay.

[Co-host]

I think that these two records are dissimilar, obviously, but I think that the choice to put them together is so deliberate and in some ways overstated. Maybe even that it can't help but be conflated as like one gesture. That these are like a yin and yang. This is. This is sour and sweet. More like sour and spicy maybe is a better way to think of it. But they're meant to be together. And I think these two moods are there to balance each other out in a way. I stand by the feeling that the previous disc is more personal and inscrutable and has to do with abstract interiority. And this one is more about how that manifests in the world. Like what's the out facing relationship with reality? It's not very friendly, but is spirited. It is like much more vivacious than the previous disc, which I think is. Is kind of in some ways like very dead. Not like lifeless, but kind of like. Kind of like it's sort of disembodied, I would say. Disembodied versus this. Jenny. Death is more like bloody and physical.

[Host]

Okay, that makes a little bit more sen. Yeah, I mean, it's tangible. And I think, you know, honestly, I think the guitar and the drums is. Plays a large part in that because it sounds real and physical and analog in some cases in a way that the previous album doesn't. But I do. I think there is certainly like a. Like a. An energy to the previous record that is here.

[Co-host]

Also, it's funny because I saw. I forget where some. One of the reviews reviewers said that Neighbors on the Moon was their least energetic or their least the least intense. There's like. Obviously it's the least intense Death Grips album so far, and I.

[Host]

Seems patently false.

[Co-host]

It's absurd not to like, backtrack too much, but the conversation we were having about whether or not that record is like something new. I still stand by this idea that what it is is like a. It's not necessarily new ingredients, but they're being combined in very radically new ratios. And there is one new ingredient with the Bjork stuff, but it's more about like playing around with the formula of what they do. And I think that that is what the Powers that Be as a whole represents. It is like a reckoning with what is Death Grips by Death Grips. And it's also important to note that it's. It's a posthumous album because Death Grips broke up right in 2014. Of course, via a napkin. If you look at the old news of Pitchfork.com July 2, 2014, death grips break up. They released a napkin, a photo of a napkin here which says, we are now at our best. And so Death Grips is over. We have officially stopped. All currently scheduled live dates are canceled. Our upcoming double album, the Powers that Be, will still be delivered worldwide later this year via Harvest Third World Records. Death Grips was and always has been a conceptual art exhibition anchored by sound and vision, above and beyond. A quote band to our truest fans. Please stay legend.

[Host]

Please stay legend. How much of that do you think was real at the time?

[Co-host]

Do I think that they believed that was true when they wrote that?

[Host]

Do you think that they actually broke up and then got back together? Or do you think that this was just another brick in the wall, so to speak, of the Death Grips conceptual art project? That is the existence of the band itself.

[Co-host]

I don't know that those two things are different. I think that when they put that out, I believe they thought, this is what we should do. We should break up like we are. This is it for what we're doing. Whether or not they felt that was going to be true forever, I mean, we can only speculate. I think the. The ending of this record being Death Grips 2.0. I think that basically, whether they thought they would be done forever or not, it was an important part of their artistic process to say they were done, even if they weren't. Because I think that that was the mood and the intent and the concept behind this record, in many ways.

[Host]

Fair enough.