Po-Mo sounds

[Dave Monroe]

On 10/1/07, robinlandseadel at comcast.net <robinlandseadel at comcast.net> wrote:

> So, just throwing out to you—what is your idea of what Po-Mo music is or would
> be or should be?

Masters, Marc.  No Wave.  London: Black Dog, 2007.

No Wave traces the history of this noisy and uncompromising genre,
from its most famous names down to its many offshoots and sidetracks.
>From early pioneers like Suicide and Richard Hell, to forgotten
treasures like Red Transistor and Bush Tetras, and descendents like
ESG and Sonic Youth, No Wave charts all the cracks and crevices of a
surprisingly diverse movement.

Flashing through the New York underground in the late 1970s, No Wave
was the ultimate anti-movement. Its bands consisted of artists and
poets untrained in music, looking to explode rock and disappear before
the smoke cleared. No Wave tells the fascinating story of this
radical, anarchic and hugely influential musical movement.

Best known for short songs and even shorter life-spans, No Wave bands
fused disparate styles to fashion abrasive, rhythmic songs that were
completely original and utterly compelling. The primary perpetrators –
Lydia Lunch's howling Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, James Chance's
skeletal Contortions, the dark-noise groups Mars and DNA – all drew on
primitivism, performance art, and the avant-garde.

The book also delves into No Wave cinema, where pioneers like Amos
Poe, Eric Mitchell, and Beth and Scott B. translated the aggression
and innovation of No Wave music to the screen. Musicians often starred
in these films, and figures like Jim Jarmsuch and Steve Buscemi first
cut their teeth in this vibrant scene.

Illustrated with rare and previously unseen concert photos, record
covers, and other ephemera of the times, and featuring exclusive
interviews with key protagonists from the scene, No Wave is the
definitive guide to a genre whose sounds and ideas still vibrate
through alternative culture today.

http://www.blackdogonline.com/all-books/no-wave.html