[Washing Machine]

No-wave was essencially an 'Anti-Music' Movement. It was a later more underground version of what was going on with music in the early part of the 20th century. Like Shoenberg and Werbern, DNA, Branca and to some extent the youth were ripping up the rule book of what 'rock' music was. I see No-Wave less of a movement and more like the ultimate conclusion of Punk.

[Everyneurotic]

harry pussy

[DJ Rick]

I always like the broader definitions of genre descriptives more than the narrow ones.

Once the name of a new genre begins to catch on, the genre is already on its way to becoming homogenized by and large, as a second wave of artists and subsequent later-comers mostly just mimic the elements of their favorite pioneers which they enjoy most.

Yet, the pioneers who conceived or prefigured the new genre were singled out as different somehow on account of their altogether different set of inspirations, musically, aesthetically, politically, and/or technologically. Their influence funnel included such diverse elements, but the bands of the subsequent zeitgeist always mimic only "the guitar sound" and "the skeletal rhythms" and the "confrontational or nonsensical lyrics." With just one or a few hero pioneer bands looming so large as an influence, these new bands can't see past them in their rear view mirror.

The reception of "No New York" when it came out was not very good, but it did have its effect on certain bands and artists immediately. When I interviewed Bruce Licher of Savage Republic in 1995, he told me that "No New York" dominated his turntable when he was making early music, and that the only music he was aware of that was stranger yet just as compelling to him was the music of the L.A. Free Music Society, which included Smegma, Le Forte Four, Doodoo-ettes, etc. You can hear hallmarks of LAFMS and no wave all over early Bruce Licher music: Them Rhythm Ants, Neef, and the first Savage Republic album.

This is a link that reveals a similarity between NY no wave, the music of LAFMS, and music going forward in the 1980's.

Later, you'd read things that Steve Albini said about the "Tragic Figures" LP, and you might take note of the fact that Chicago's most immediate answer to "No New York" was the band Silver Abuse, and Big Black would include a member of Silver Abuse, and then also figure that the first Albini production that resulted in an actual record that wasn't one of his own band's records was the "Ward" LP by a Chicago band called End Result, who were admittedly very deeply touched by NY no wave.....and no wonder Steve Albini doesn't play his guitar like an ordinary guitar.

No wave in NYC in the late-70's was a small milieu that had a reputation for keeping to themselves and alienating each other. A lot of extreme pompousness, for sure. There was a high rate even among the pioneers of dropout and disavowal. It was a rare case of a musical genre that came and went without much, if any, of a homogenizing zeitgeist and the pathetic-ness of hangers-on. Inasmuch as the whole scene was paradoxically über-punk in its ethos and very much against punk rock a scene that could achieve assimilation in droves and a culture that could be ridiculed or despised, the later activity of no wave pioneers into 1979 and beyond largely embraced punk's anathema, disco. Hence, the Bush Tetras, Dark Day, et al. Stylistically, these bands naturally fit into postpunk or other genres, and thus, many historians signal this as the death of no wave.

But aside from the fife and drum music of Carolinian Appalachia which died when the last dude doing it couldn't convince any of his descendents to give a rat's ass about their musical heritage, just about every style and movement that has ever existed still has its hangers-on, and they're not all pathetic revisionists. Not if they're authentic in every way, from the aura and texture to the moral or political or artistic convictions at the artist's heart, and into their bone marrow.

Relationships between genre ghettos are more interesting to me than their borders.

AIDS Wolf are also a helluva lot more than a DNA record sped up. They're certainly a lot friendlier than the offputting attitude of the bands of "No New York," and while the style of the music is certainly an influence on AIDS Wolf, I don't think that the band tries too hard to define itself as "no wave" or "neo no wave" or whatever. I think it's okay for people to be disappointed in a record like the split 7" or "The Lovvers," but that is a pretty dynamic and diversely influenced band, and if you sleep on them, you may miss out on something really rad later.

[Dead-Air]

Originally Posted by Cardinal Rob

Pretty much anything considered no wave is awesome, apart from Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. They are absolutely atrocious. I'm seeing the Contortions next month! ^_____________________^

When I hear the words "no wave" I immediately think of Lydia Lunch singing "Orphans" and dismembering her electric guitar. Teenage Jesus to me were the epitome of art punk at it's most brutally direct and unique. Certainly not anywhere close to pleasant, but their attrocity is absolutely perfect.

[tesla69]

Woah - the sample on the website is freaking nuts, this moves my crazy music timeline back by years...

http://nowave.pair.com/ugexplode/merch%20tab.html

*Artist: JACK RUBY
Title: s/t
Format: CD
Label: ugExplode
Country: USA
Price: $11.00
"The first recordings unearthed of this seminal proto-punk/no wave
unit from New York City, circa 1974-1977!!! Twisted, aggressive,
weird rock on par with the Electric Eels, Debris, Simply Saucer and
early MX80-Sound! Featuring George Scott (Contortions)" - ugExplode.

“Seven years ago, a guy named Gary Reese wrote me and said he was
friends with the late Contortions bass player George Scott, and that
he could probably help me out with some information on the mythic
band Jack Ruby. Up until that point, nobody knew of any surviving
recordings by this unit. They remained a shady footnote in
underground rock history. After years of cajoling and pursuit, Gary
finally convinced Georges brother to let him make a dub of a ratty
old cassette tape with two Fall 77 Jack Ruby rehearsals on them.
Those rehearsals belied an incredible amount of guitar-skree bombast.
I mastered the tracks to eke out the most clarity possible from them
and the result was circulated amongst very few cognoscenti with
little fanfare. In 2009, another Jack Ruby tape surfaced. Gary was in
contact with Scotts old girlfriend Leslie, who had a mysterious 1/4
reel of tape with the bands name and some song titles scrawled on it.
It took some time, but I had the reel baked and transferred . . .
and, lo and behold, it featured four crystal clear-sounding 74 studio
demos! I kept playing these great demos and I thought to myself, “If
Im listening to this stuff so much, somebody else is going to want to
hear it too!” Thats the point where I knew it was my duty to
release this anthology. So, we found all the surviving ex-members of
the group and put together this fully-authorized package featuring
eight killer tracks of noisy, high-energy greatness and designed a
full-color package featuring extensive liner notes and tons of period
photos. This release is a must-have for those who crave those truly
bizarre missing links from the pre-punk past. Jack Rubys tough,
sleazy sound is a direct antecedent to both PUNK and NO WAVE.” -
Weasel Walter, September 2011.

“Maybe it was 1976. Maybe it wasnt. Maybe I stumbled into Bleeker
Bobs. Maybe a lanky giant with an immense toxic cloud of frizzy hair
and huge hands lumbered toward me. Maybe it was Chris Grey. Somehow I
ended up in a dank rehearsal space. Face to face with George Scott.
Having my head torn off by my ears. Jack Ruby. Music to murder by.
Like 3 hits of acid and a shot of crystal meth after a month long
beer binge. A brutal psycho-delic teenage scream of sexual
frustration, disappointment and misery channeled into sonic
overdrive. A beautifully violent horrible throttling. I loved it” -
Lydia Lunch, August 2011.
(the above from the latest Fusetron update)

[the ikara cult]

Teenage Jesus for aesthetic and mission
James chance and the Contortions for musicianship and "tunes"

I was bounding down the street listening to Buy today wishing id had the imagination/awareness to inflict this type of thing on people when i was 17, and everyone was either listening to ska punk or The Strokes (including me)