Lydia Lunch

Any fans?
I've had a long fascination with Ms Lunch since I picked up the Drunk on the Pope's Blood/The Agony Is the Ecstasy [EP] back in the '80s. I've found the early material with Teenage Jesus & the Jerks to be too rough for my liking, but have enjoyed some of her solo albums, especially Honeymoon in Red. I recently picked up Shotgun Wedding and am glad I did — the production, music everything works on this one.

 

Her "Queen Of Siam" album is one of my favorites!

 

Yes. It's an excellent debut.

 

I like her "13.13" album quite a bit. Very PiL-sounding

I once paid $10 to hear her complain in New Orleans once. J.G. Thirlwell later told me that was when he and she lived there.

Her porn career is, um, notable. Look for the Richard Kern films she did.

 

Love her big time. Her stuff with Roland S. Howard is deservedly legendary. Here's my favorite photo of her:

 

Yes!

 

Love Lydia:
13:13 the great lost goth album
Queen of Siam with the Billy Ver Planck Orchestra (Atomic Bongos!)
Teenage Jesus the scree heard round the world
And of course the truly monster Eight Eyed Spy, who were relentless and perfect. The few times I saw them they just brought it. Which is obvious considering who was in the band.

 

Somewhat dangerous, musically interesting and sooo freakin' hot...

 

My sister has been a huge fan of hers and used her as a fashion template for quite some time. Me, I dig some of her stuff (esp TJ and a lot of her '80s collaborations) but find her more an interesting character than anything.

 

I love Queen of Siam, and, to a lesser extent, 13.13. I also like the Teenage Jesus tracks from the No New York compilation. It is perhaps a conventional choice, but my favorite song of hers is definitely "Atomic Bongos". Brilliantly demented solo by Robert Quine.

Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where I love the music, but do not care for the person.

 

Definitely a character, but she was able to get the best players on the scene to work with her. I truly felt that Eight Eyed Spy could have been huge(ish), they were that good. But when George Scott died, they just lost their momentum.

 

Too lazy to google, but the NY Times did a story last week about how she;'s re-invented herself as a new-agey motivational speaker who makes big money on seminars. Really!

 

Read the article and it doesn't surprise me, and, all things considered, good for her.
Now for a reissue campaign!

 

Here's Lydia as part of the band Big Sexy Noise (Lydia Lunch, James Johnston & Ian White of the notorious Gallon Drunk):



She also recently did an EP with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of the Mars Volta that was pretty good!

 

She just finished a European tour fronting a group called Retrovirus that, as I understand it, plays a variety of material from her early bands. Bob Bert on drums!

 

She's one of the last people I might expect to make themselves over as a (relatively) mainstream self-improvement facilitator, but good on Ms L for doing the unexpected and gettin' paid well to do it.

 

My curiosity got the best of me, so I had to find the NYTimes article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/m...ine&adxnnlx=1387554392-0xt/rjU98WnKwvRdF1yApw

 

A provocative and controversial performer, always on the edge of the knife.
She was the female Punk version in many ways, an irregular but important work IMO.
Her autobiography "Paradoxia" shows its way of life, interesting but a bit turbulent and unfocused.

 

Anyone interested in the whole scene should read this. Great photos, Lydia does the forward and is interviewed pretty extensively along with just about everyone involved.

 

I was just about to post this. She comes out of the book really well. Some of the pics are incredible.

 

I love the old "pink" TJ&TJ 12" EP. Even though several of the songs overlap on No New York, I think the recordings on the EP have more impact. I'm another one who's glad I never met her, though.

Oh, and don't be fooled by the EPs alleged appearance as part of the Everything CD - the tracks were completely neutered with excessive reverb, presumably to cover a vinyl source. On the vinyl, everything is crisp, clear and powerful!

 

Is that the one on Lust/UnLust Records? I think I've got a copy stashed somewhere.

 

Yep, that's the one!! And it's probably on pink vinyl, too!

 

Still looking good.