Here's some news. New Millennium Records has just released "Widowspeak-The Original Soundtrack," a comprehensive compilation of Lydia Lunch's notorious musical collaborations. Meanwhile, Atavistic Records has reissued "Crimes Against Nature," a dynamic, 3-CD collection of Lydia's spoken word performances. For those of you that don't know, Lydia Lunch has been pushing the outer limits of artistic expression for nearly twenty-five years. While Lunch's vitriolic vocals and corrosive guitar style with No Wave pioneers like Teenage Jesus & The Jerks and 8 Eyed Spy are legendary, her early Manhattan performances merely scratched the surface of the lady's considerable talents. Mixing raw nihilism with a confrontational intellect and ambivalent sexual rage, Lunch has vented her bilious perspective in music, spoken word, books, film and even comic books. Psychotically intense and often intimidating in person, Lunch can offer up a softer side that has an allure all its own. Whether screaming at her audience, denigrating the male gender or illuminating the abuses of power and domination, Lydia Lunch never loses control. Musical dialects like hard rock, swamp blues, scronk-jazz and avant-punk are simple vehicles to be consumed and spit out again in the house of Lunch.
Ms. Lunch's dark influence is perhaps best understood by examining the company that she keeps. In the past quarter century she has collaborated with the likes of Sonic Youth (as well as working with Kim Gordon and Thuston Moore on separate musical projects), Nick Cave, Michael Gira of The Swans, Jim Thirwell of Foetus, Rowland S. Howard of The Birthday Party, James Chance, Marc Almond and even performance artist Annie Sprinkle. In the realm of spoken word she has shared the stage with Henry Rollins, Exene Cervanka, Hubert Selby Jr. and poet/playwright Emilio Cuberio. Lunch has also partnered up with comic book artists Ted McKeever (to produce "Toxic Gumbo") and Bob Fingerman ("Bloodsucker") with predictably stimulating results. By working as a writer, actress and director in a variety of underground films, Lunch has shown uncanny resourcefulness in almost all aspects of the entertainment industry. These two newly released collections are twin peaks. They illuminate Lydia Lunch's creativity in two separate areas and are equally compelling. For pure unadulterated Lydia go with the spoken word collection. If you need a little musicality to wash down your Lunch then go with the Widowspeak soundtrack. Either way you're going to get more than you bargained for.
by Mitch Myers
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.