When Lydia Lunch revealed six of her favourite songs
Within the musical world, there are some artists who like to share every intricate detail of their lives with fans, whereas others prefer to remain largely in the shadows. New York poet and songwriter Lydia Lunch is one such enigmatic artist who has amassed a cult following over the decades while never giving too much of herself away. You only need to listen to the inventively distorted sounds of Lunch’s celebrated discography to realise that she is an artist unlike any other.
Having originally risen to prominence within the seedy underground of New York City during the era of no wave, Lunch quickly established herself as one of the city’s most original voices. Her early material as a singer and guitarist with Teenage Jesus and the Jerks remains some of the finest work to be produced by the no wave movement, perhaps only eclipsed by the noise rock solo career she embarked upon during the 1980s or the various collaborative projects she has participated in over the years – with Sonic Youth’s ‘Death Valley 69’ maybe the greatest example.
The no wave scene was a particularly interesting cultural moment in New York. A reaction against the complacency and pop tendencies of the new wave scene, as well as the commerciality of disco, no wave was famously broad and hard to pin down. On the face of it, there are few links between, for instance, the disco influences of Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s Press Color and the abrasive wall of sound that characterised Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. However, these seemingly disparate exploits were united by the comradery of the New York underground, at least for a little while.
Given the distinctive sounds of Lunch’s early work, you would be forgiven for thinking that her list of influences is composed entirely of obscure, forgotten noise rock bands from all four corners of the globe. In reality, though, Lunch’s record collection appears to be as broad and varied as her own discography, which has explored countless different genres, styles and lyrical themes over the course of her long and illustrious career.
Luckily, back in 1982, Lunch took to the pages of the New Musical Express to list some of her favourite tracks at the time. While the list is certainly not exhaustive, at only six songs in total, it does provide a fascinating insight into Lunch’s listening habits during the early period of her solo career. Some of the poet’s choices are to be expected, like The Fall’s ‘Various Times’, given the hero worship correctly afforded to Mark E. Smith by every artist who has ever flirted with post-punk or alternative rock, but there are a fair few curveballs in the list too.
It is difficult to imagine, for example, anybody listening to Lydia Lunch and drawing immediate parallels between her work and that of the country star Patsy Cline, yet Cline’s classic track ‘I Fall to Pieces’ is reportedly a favourite of the artist. The queen of no wave also demonstrated a clear appreciation for the sweet sounds of soul and jazz, with both King Floyd and Patty Waters prominently featured on the list.
Speaking to the wide-reaching listening habits of the songwriter, the list even includes the pop-centric new wave of the Psychedelic Furs, which seems to be completely at odds with her roots within the no wave scene. Thankfully, she clarified the choice by adding “(How uncool!)” underneath ‘Imitation of Christ’.
If you wish to immerse yourself in the listening habits of one of no wave’s greatest artists, the full list of Lunch’s picks is included below.
