No Wave: The Nihilistic New York Movement That Influenced 40 Years of Music - 368

Описание: This week we're diving headfirst into the gloriously pretentious world of No Wave - the three-year New York art scene that somehow managed to influence everything that followed. Chris has somehow convinced Mark and our resident Italian punk professor Ferro to explore how a bunch of art school dropouts in a financially bankrupt New York accidentally created one of music's most important movements.



We start with New York City in 1978: a proper shithole where you'd genuinely risk your life getting a taxi to Brooklyn, Times Square was basically a war zone, and the city had literally gone bankrupt. Perfect conditions, as it turns out, for a load of bohemian kids to move in, pay bugger all rent, and start making the most deliberately difficult music imaginable.



Enter Brian Eno, who's meant to be in New York producing Talking Heads like a normal person, but instead wanders into some art space gig and discovers bands like Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, DNA, Mars, and The Contortions doing something completely mental. Being Brian Eno, he obviously decides to document the whole thing, creating the legendary "No New York" compilation that basically put the entire movement on the map.



We get properly stuck into the key figures: Lydia Lunch being an absolute force of nature in Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, James Chance slapping music critics (literally - he assaulted Robert Christgau), and the various weirdos who decided that what punk really needed was to be even more antagonistic to its audience.



Ferro brings his encyclopaedic knowledge of the European connections, particularly the parallels between New York's urban decay and Berlin's post-war experimental scene. We explore how Einstürzende Neubauten were literally destroying studio floors with sledgehammers whilst Throbbing Gristle were essentially inventing industrial music in their Yorkshire squat.



The conversation sprawls magnificently through Swans' absolutely punishing early albums, the way Sonic Youth emerged from this scene, and how bands like Bush Tetras and Rat at Rat R kept the torch burning. We also dive into some proper tangents about Madonna apparently being in an art punk band with future Swans members (mental) and how this whole movement influenced everything from the Load Records noise rock scene to modern post-metal.



This is part two of our anti-rock trilogy. Last week we tackled the prehistory from musique concrète to Captain Beefheart, and next week we'll finally get to US Maple and try to explain why anyone would voluntarily subject themselves to their particular brand of musical torture.

Highlights


00:00 Introduction to No Wave and Brian Eno's Influence

00:33 Welcome to the Podcast

01:04 Recap of Previous Episode

02:14 The Rise of No Wave in Late 1970s New York

02:46 Sociological Context of 1970s New York

02:59 Key Figures and Bands in No Wave

03:43 The No New York Compilation Album

07:59 Brian Eno's Role and Impact

11:02 Musical Influence and Legacy of No Wave

20:04 James Chance and The Contortions

22:44 Sonic Youth and Swans: Post No Wave Evolution

25:51 The Influence of Swans on Post-Metal

27:25 Exploring Lesser-Known Bands: Rat at Rat R and Bush Tetras

28:48 The Impact of Foetus and Throbbing Gristle

35:13 Berlin's No Wave Movement and Einstürzende Neubauten

41:08 The Legacy of No Wave in Chicago and Beyond

45:03 Anti-Rock Bands and Their Influence

48:38 Concluding Thoughts and Teasers for Next Episode



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