Adrift On the Sea of No Wave: Part I
Alright, I'm bored so I think I'm gonna take you all on a trippy journey through no wave. *waves hands and fingers in a spooky fashion* If you don't know what no wave is, then basically what death metal is to thrash, no wave is to post-punk. If you want a better explanation then go away. I'm too lazy to make an in depth thing here. I'm not even really gonna tell you about the bands unless I feel like it. On that note, this isn't a subject I'm all that well versed in. I am familiar with a few of these bands, sorta kinda familiar with a few others, and have never listened to some of them. This is just me giving impressions on bands that I feel like listening to over the next few days or weeks or whatever. So if this comes across as some jackass who doesn't know what he's talking about, it's because he doesn't.
P.S. I am led to understand that these are some arty ass bands. I am not arty. Andy Warhol can chug on my cock while Emily Dickinson lovingly fondles my balls. So yeah, it is what it is.
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks: The Pink EP
First of all, before I even listen to this, I'd like to say that Teenage Jesus and the Jerks is a terrible name. For a band that hated punk and wanted to destroy it along with the rest of rock'n'roll they sure picked a generic punk rock name. It doesn't even seem to be ironically mocking punk rock. It just sounds like Lydia Lunch sucks at naming things. Imagine, someone named Lydia f
ucking Lunch who sucked at naming things. Thank god I'm not her cat. So, without further ado I'm gonna listen to their debut EP...
...Alright, if I were more confident in my musical knowledge I'd say that this definitely had an industrial vibe to it with it's repetitiveness and the sort of monotone nature of the music. The way the guitars sort of sound like metal hitting metal at times doesn't hurt either. I get a vaguely creepy Throbbing Gristle vibe at times, and the drum beat that kicks in on "Baby Doll" reminds me of Einstürzende Neubauten, which is weird cause I checked and this album was released in '79 and EN didn't release their first album 'til '80. Whatevs. I don't really know much about industrial either, so take that with a grain of salt.
Lydia Lunch's vocals sorta sound like some pretentious art chick who does unfortunate performance art after hours at coffee shops and makes sculptures of Reagan out of toothopaste, but they are nihilistic enough that I can't complain. I can take pretentious, so long as it isn't boring.
The music on here seems to have been simplified to the point where the personal element of the musicians' playing has been removed, and all you're left with is pure sound. It's emotionless, monotonous, relentless and conjures up images of a dark, bleak New York street where you will likely end up when your heroin addiction finally gets the better of you. The band has tried hard to take any of the charisma or melody of rock'n'roll out of the music, but there is still catchiness to be had, and after a few spins I find myself not getting bored. The standout song for me would have to be "Orphans". It has this relentless, harrowing cadence that never lets up or changes and you can't help but be swept up in it while Lydia Lunch repetitively shouts along to the beat. Not bad. I like Teenage Jesus and the Jerks more than I thought I would.
So, I guess I'm gonna quit while I'm a head (huhuhuh) and leave you for now.