In Blow Job, an unnamed man seen in static close-up receives an unseen blow job. A sly commentary on voyeurism and audience expectations, Blow Job classifies the act among the same kind of quotidian activities Warhol documented in many of his productions of the period: sleeping, kissing, eating, getting a haircut. It is one of his most effective uses of off-screen filmic space.

This idiosyncratic adaptation of Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange featured Warhol protégé and poet Gerard Malanga in the role of the reprobate youth, Alex (here, Victor). Malanga performs his famous “whip dance” before his arrest and subsequent deprogramming, with the result here given a decidedly sado-masochistic twist. Warhol incorporated Vinyl into a multimedia extravaganza that he mounted in the spring of 1966 at the Dom in the East Village under the title “The Exploding Plastic Inevitable.” Essentially a discotheque, the piece consisted of multi-screen projections, strobe lights, recorded music, and live performance by the Velvet Underground.

The film documents The Velvet Underground and Nico rehearsing at the Factory and contains uncharacteristic wild camera work and psychedelic zooming (by Paul Morrissey), possibly indicating its intended use as an eventual multi-media projection behind the band’s live performances. The second reel records an actual visit from the NYPD, acting on a noise complaint, and reveals Warhol in negotiations with a cop as the band members mill about.