Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Radio & Music >

Fucked up shit -James Chance & The Contortions

12:35 / 22.01.02

I was searching for some fucked-up stuff and happened to find some mp3s from James Chance & The Contortions.
Now I know I don't know jackshit about music when compared to the fearsome grant and other lithers - But I wouldn't be far from the truth saying that you don't get much more fucked up than this, do you?

This is like... chewing razorblades or something. I can't stop listening to it, and it's so bad. I'd be scared if I wasn't stunned first. Kinda of leaves a bad taste in the mind when it's over.
Anyone out there knows this band or would like to point me to the most abusive/fucked up acts around?

Red Cross Iodized Salt

09:32 / 23.01.02

Contortions are great - I'm always on the lookout for their stuff in second hand record shops but rarely manage to find anything. You might also want to check out the band Chance put together after Contortions split; James White and the Blacks (James White = James Chance = James Siegfried - he has another group now, called the Sardonic Sinphonics, but I've no idea what they sound like).

Best Contortions album is probably Buy Contortions. If you are looking for more stuff that's in a similar vein, try and get a copy of the No Wave compilation No New York, which has tracks by Contortions, Arto Lindsay's DNA Mars and Teenage Jesus and The Jerks (Chance's first band). Great stuff...

[ 23-01-2002: Message edited by: Vote for Iron Man Wang ]

09:32 / 23.01.02

Buy Contortions sounds the way it does because James refused to allow the producer (Brian Eno, IIRC) to mike the amplifiers. It's the sound of a man committing commercial suicide--entirely appropriate, given the man's ceaseless antipathy and negativity.

James practiced the great punk arts of crowd-baiting and stage-diving, and sometimes got the shit kicked out of him.

09:32 / 23.01.02

Contortions page here.

14:31 / 23.01.02

Jack, that page is, like, fucked up because it places the RAYBEATS in the same scene. Dude! That's totally bizarre!
Retro surf experimenters the RAYBEATS as a NO WAVE band? That's sooo peculiar! Looks like they shared some members with the Contortions.

By the way, for those of you watching from home, the Raybeats tradition was kind of carried on by Los Straitjackets - they share at least one member, and play a couple Raybeats songs.

Los Straitjackets are the surf band in the Mexican wrestling masks. Appeared on Conan O'Brian a couple times.

Oh, and as for hard noise: Harry Pussy. Miami noise legends. I knew the guy on the right.

15:09 / 23.01.02

Re: Harry Pussy

Oh, sweet Jesus...
grant, this is delight
Listening to "Showroom Dummies" right now!
Thank VERY much indeed. I, too, fear you!

05:29 / 26.01.02

may i also recommend, if you want to be abused by your stereo

*the no wave band Mars -- 10 times more out there than the Contortions

*Throbbing Gristle, never will we get as far out as they

*japanese noise musician Masonna of whom a friend of mine said, "he taught me to hate music"

*an excreble band named To Live And Shave In La who make me nauseous

*the two bass guitars and hunks of metal that make up Cop Shoot Cop

*Caroliner Rainbow

*The Sun City Girls

*and please, won't someone start a thread about The No Neck Blues Band already?