Examine individual changes

'{{about|the music genre|the album by [[James Blood Ulmer|Music Revelation Ensemble]]|No Wave (album)}} {{short description|Music genre}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox music genre | name = No wave | bgcolor = crimson | color = white | stylistic_origins = {{flatlist| *[[Punk rock]] *[[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]] *[[noise music|noise]] *[[funk]] *[[jazz]] *[[free jazz]] *[[experimental rock]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawrence|first=Tim|title=Hold On to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973–1992|url=https://archive.org/details/holdontoyourdrea00lawr|url-access=registration|year=2009|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-9085-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/holdontoyourdrea00lawr/page/344 344]}}</ref> }} | cultural_origins = Late 1970s, [[New York City]] | derivatives = {{flatlist| * [[Avant-funk]]<ref name="murray">{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Charles Shaar|title=Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix & The Post-War Rock 'N' Roll Revolution|date=October 1991|publisher=Macmillan|page=205|isbn=9780312063245|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CiWtlIxnQ6gC&q=avant-funk+no+wave&pg=PA205|access-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> * [[punk jazz]] }} | subgenres = | other_topics = {{flatlist| * [[Art punk]] * [[avant-punk]] * [[industrial music|industrial]] * [[New wave music|new wave]] * [[post-punk]] * [[timeline of punk rock]] }} }} '''No wave''' was a transient [[avant-garde]] music and art scene of the late 1970s in downtown New York City.<ref name=romanowski /><ref>{{harvnb|Masters|2007|p=5}}</ref> Reacting against [[punk rock]]'s recycling of [[rock and roll]] clichés, no wave musicians instead experimented with [[noise music|noise]], [[dissonance (music)|dissonance]] and [[atonality]] in addition to a variety of non-rock genres while often reflecting an abrasive, confrontational, and [[nihilism|nihilistic]] worldview.<ref name="caz">{{cite web |first=Trevor |last=McLaren |date=17 February 2005 |url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=16407 |title=James Chance and the Contortions: Buy |access-date=17 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="pitchfork.com">{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/6764-no-the-origins-of-no-wave/|title=NO!: The Origins of No Wave}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/no-wave-ma0000005018|title=No Wave – Music Highlights – AllMusic|work=AllMusic}}</ref> The term "no wave" was a pun based on the rejection of commercial [[new wave music]].<ref>Alison Pearlman, ''Unpackaging art of the 1980s'', p. 188</ref> There are different theories about how the term was coined. Some suggest [[Lydia Lunch]] coined the term in an interview with Roy Trakin in [[New York Rocker]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=January 2008|title=NO!: The Origins of No Wave|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/6764-no-the-origins-of-no-wave/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-05-01|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref> Others suggest it was coined by Chris Nelson (of [[Mofungo]] and [[The Scene Is Now]]) in [[New York Rocker]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=August 1997|title=Mofungo|url=https://www.furious.com/perfect/mofungo.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-06|website=[[Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lang|first=Dave|date=July 1998|title=The SST Records story - Part 3|url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/sst3.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-06|website=[[Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever]]}}</ref> [[Thurston Moore]] of [[Sonic Youth]] claimed to see the term spray-painted on CBGB Second Avenue Theater before seeing it in the press.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=June 2008|title=Conversations with Thurston Moore: No Wave|url=http://charmicarmicat.blogspot.com/2008/06/conversations-with-thurston-moore-no.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-05-01|website=}}</ref> The movement was short-lived but influenced independent film, fashion and visual art.<ref name="Masters, Marc 2007, p. 200">{{harvnb|Masters|2007|p=200}}</ref> ==Musical styles and characteristics== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:EeatVE.jpg|thumb|150px|[[East Village]] Eye cover featuring [[James Chance]]{{Deletable image-caption|Thursday, 11 March 2010|date=May 2012}}]] --> No wave is not a clearly definable musical genre with consistent features, but it generally was characterized by a rejection of the recycling of traditional rock aesthetics, such as [[blues rock]] styles and [[Chuck Berry]] guitar riffs in punk and new wave music.<ref name="pitchfork.com"/> Various groups drew on or explored such disparate styles as [[funk]], [[jazz]], [[blues]], [[punk rock]], and the [[avant-garde music|avant garde]].<ref name=romanowski>{{cite book | editor=Romanowski, P. | others=H. George-Warren & [[Jon Pareles|J. Pareles]] | title=The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll | orig-year=1983 | edition=Revised | year=1995 | publisher=Fireside | location=New York | isbn=0-684-81044-1 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonee00patr/page/717 717] | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonee00patr/page/717 }}</ref> According to ''Village Voice'' writer Steve Anderson, the scene pursued an abrasive reductionism which "undermined the power and mystique of a rock vanguard by depriving it of a tradition to react against".<ref name="anderson">{{cite book|last1=Foege|first1=Alec|title=Confusion Is Next: The Sonic Youth Story|date=October 1994|publisher=Macmillan|pages=68–9|isbn=9780312113698|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sw6GE_5XTz4C&q=New+York's+last+stylistically+cohesive+avant-rock+movement}}</ref> Anderson claimed that the no wave scene represented "New York's last stylistically cohesive avant-rock movement".<ref name="anderson"/> There were, however, some elements common to most no-wave music, such as abrasive atonal sounds; repetitive, driving rhythms; and a tendency to emphasize musical texture over melody—typical of [[La Monte Young]]'s early [[downtown music]].<ref name="Masters, Marc 2007, p. 200"/> In the early 1980s, Downtown Manhattan's no wave scene transitioned from its abrasive origins into a more dance-oriented sound, with compilations such as [[ZE Records]]'s ''[[Mutant Disco]]'' (1981) highlighting a playful sensibility borne out of the city's clash of [[hip hop]], [[disco]] and punk styles, as well as [[dub reggae]] and [[world music]] influences.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=269}} No wave music presented a negative and nihilistic world view that reflected the desolation of late 1970s downtown New York and how they viewed the larger society. In a 2020 essay, [[Lydia Lunch]] stated there were many problems in the years that led into the 1970's, and that calling 1967 the Summer of Love was a bold-faced lie.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-16|title=Beth B: War Is Never Over|url=https://iffr.com/en/blog/beth-b-war-is-never-over|access-date=2020-10-02|website=IFFR|language=en}}</ref> The term "no wave" was probably inspired by the [[French New Wave]] pioneer [[Claude Chabrol]], with his remark "There are no waves, only the ocean".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=O'Brien|first1=Glenn|title=Style Makes the Band|journal=Artforum International|date=October 1999}}</ref><ref>Kalat, David. "Ch 20 The Story of Chabrol." The Strange Case of Dr. Mabuse: A Study of the Twelve Films and Five Novels. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2005. N. pag. Print.</ref> ==History== In 1978 a [[punk subculture]]-influenced [[noise (music)|noise]] series was held at New York's [[Artists Space]].<ref>[http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/31364/Interview_Interview_James_Chance James Chance interview | Pitchfork]</ref> No wave musicians such as [[the Contortions]], [[Teenage Jesus and the Jerks]], [[Mars (band)|Mars]], [[DNA (American band)|DNA]], [[Theoretical Girls]] and [[Rhys Chatham]] began experimenting with noise, dissonance and atonality in addition to non-rock styles.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=140}} The former four groups were included on the compilation ''[[No New York]]'', often considered the quintessential testament to the scene.<ref>{{cite book |last=Masters |first=Marc |title=No Wave |publisher=Black Dog Publishing |location=New York City |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-906155-02-5 |page=9}}</ref> The no wave-affiliated label ZE Records was founded in 1978, and would also produce acclaimed and influential compilations in subsequent years.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=269}} By the early 1980s, artists such as [[Liquid Liquid]], [[the B-52s]], [[Cristina (singer)|Cristina]], [[Arthur Russell (musician)|Arthur Russell]], [[James White and the Blacks]] and [[Lizzy Mercier Descloux]] developed a dance-oriented style described by [[Luc Sante]] as "anything at all + disco bottom".{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=268}} Other no-wave groups such as [[Swans (band)|Swans]], [[Suicide (band)|Suicide]], [[Glenn Branca]], [[the Lounge Lizards]], [[Bush Tetras]] and [[Sonic Youth]] instead continued exploring the forays into noise and more abrasive territory.{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=139–150}} No wave inspired the "Speed Trials" [[noise rock]] series organized by [[Live Skull]] members in May 1983 at White Columns, which included British band [[The Fall (band)|the Fall]] and American bands [[Sonic Youth]], [[Lydia Lunch]], [[Beastie Boys]], [[Elliott Sharp]], [[Swans (band)|Swans]], [[the Ordinaires]], [[Arto Lindsay]] and Toy Killers. This was followed by the after-hours Speed Club that was established at [[ABC No Rio]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Carlo McCormick]], ''The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984'', [[Princeton University]] Press, 2006</ref> ==Cinema== {{main|No Wave Cinema}} [[No Wave Cinema|No wave cinema]] was an underground film scene in Tribeca and the East Village. Filmmakers included [[Amos Poe]], [[Eric Mitchell (filmmaker)|Eric Mitchell]], [[Charlie Ahearn (director)|Charlie Ahearn]], [[Vincent Gallo]], [[James Nares (artist)|James Nares]], [[Jim Jarmusch]], [[Vivienne Dick]], [[Scott B and Beth B]] and Seth Tillett, and led to the [[Cinema of Transgression]] and work by [[Nick Zedd]] and [[Richard Kern]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.luxonline.org.uk/articles/no_wavelength(1).html|title=No Wavelength: The Para-Punk Underground}}</ref> ==Visual art== [[Visual arts|Visual artists]] played a large role in the no wave scene, as visual artists often were playing in bands, or making videos and films, while making visual art for exhibition. An early influence on this aspect of the scene was [[Alan Vega]] (aka Alan Suicide) whose electronic junk sculpture predated his role in the music group [[Suicide (band)|Suicide]], which he formed with fellow musician [[Martin Rev]] in 1970. They released ''[[Suicide (1977 album)|Suicide]]'', their first album, in 1977. Irish artist and film maker [[Vivienne Dick]] made a number of Super 8 films with Lydia Lunch in the mid-1970s in New York. An important exhibition of no wave visual art was [[Colab]]'s organization of the ''[[The Times Square Show]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Masters|2007|p=19}}</ref> In June 1980, more than 100 artists installed their works in an empty massage parlor near Times Square that included [[punk visual art]]ists, [[graffiti art]]ists, [[feminist art]]ists, political artists, [[Xerox art]]ists and [[performance art]]ists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timessquareshowrevisited.com/|title=Times Square Show Revisited}}</ref> No wave art found an ongoing home on the Lower East Side with the establishment of [[ABC No Rio]] Gallery in 1980, and a no wave punk aesthetic was a dominant strand in the art galleries of the East Village (from 1982 to 1986).<ref name="ReferenceA"/> ==Legacy== In a foreword to the book ''No Wave'', [[Weasel Walter]] wrote of the movement's ongoing influence: <blockquote>I began to express myself musically in a way that felt true to myself, constantly pushing the limits of idiom or genre and always screaming "Fuck You!" loudly in the process. It's how I felt then and I still feel it now. The ideals behind the (anti-) movement known as No Wave were found in many other archetypes before and just as many afterwards, but for a few years around the late 1970s, the concentration of those ideals reached a cohesive, white-hot focus.<ref name=Masters>{{harvnb|Masters|2007}}</ref></blockquote> In 2004, [[Scott Crary]] made the documentary ''[[Kill Your Idols (film)|Kill Your Idols]]'', including such no wave bands as Suicide, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, DNA and Glenn Branca as well as bands influenced by no wave, including Sonic Youth, Swans, [[Foetus (band)|Foetus]] and others. In 2007–2008, three books on the scene were published: Soul Jazz's ''New York Noise'',<ref>[http://www.souljazzrecords.co.uk/releases/?id=10566 Soul Jazz Records – ''New York Noise – Art and Music from the New York Underground 1978–88'']</ref> Marc Masters' ''No Wave'',<ref name=masters>[http://www.blackdogonline.com/all-books/no-wave.html ''No Wave''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114153805/http://www.blackdogonline.com/all-books/no-wave.html |date=14 January 2009 }}, with a foreword by Weasel Walter (London: Black Dog Publishing, 2007), {{ISBN|978-1-906155-02-5}}.</ref> and Thurston Moore and Byron Coley's ''No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976–1980''.<ref>[http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/No_Wave-9780810995437.html Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ''No Wave'']</ref> Coleen Fitzgibbon and Alan W. Moore created a short film in 1978 (finished in 2009) of a New York City no wave concert to benefit Colab titled X Magazine Benefit, documenting performances by DNA, James Chance and the Contortions, and [[Boris Policeband]]. Shot in black and white and edited on video, the film captured the gritty look and sound of the music scene during that era. In 2013, it was exhibited at [[Salon 94]], an art gallery in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon94.com/video-wall|title=Pulse Generator Pastry, NY Mix—Salon 94|work=Salon94}}</ref> ==Music compilations== * ''[[No New York]]'' (1978) [[Antilles Records|Antilles]], (2006) Lilith, B000B63ISE * ''[[Just Another Asshole]]'' #5 (1981) compilation LP (CD reissue 1995 on Atavistic # ALP39CD), producers: [[Barbara Ess]] and [[Glenn Branca]] * ''Noise Fest Tape'' (1982) TSoWC, White Columns * ''Speed Trials'' (1984) Homestead Records HMS-011 * ''All Guitars'' (1985) [[Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine]] #10, [[Harvestworks]] * ''N.Y. No Wave'' (2003) [[ZE Records|ZE]] France B00009OKOP * ''[[New York Noise (album)|New York Noise]]'' (2003) [[Soul Jazz]] B00009OYSE * ''New York Noise, Vol. 2'' (2006) Soul Jazz B000CHYHOG * ''New York Noise, Vol. 3'' (2006) Soul Jazz B000HEZ5CC ==Documentary films== * [[Scott Crary]], ''[[Kill Your Idols (film)|Kill Your Idols]]'' * Céline Danhier, ''Blank City'' * [[Coleen Fitzgibbon]] and [[Alan W. Moore]], ''X Magazine Benefit'' * [[Ericka Beckman]], ''135 Grand Street, New York, 1979'' ==See also== {{Portal|1980s}} *[[Colab]] *[[Mudd Club]] *[[Tier 3 (nightclub)|Tier 3]] *[[Just Another Asshole]] *[[New wave music]] *[[No Wave Cinema|No wave cinema]] *[[Post-punk]] *[[East Village Eye]] == References == {{Reflist|30em}} ==Sources== * Berendt, Joachim E. ''The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to Fusion and Beyond'', revised by Günther Huesmann, translated by H. and B. Bredigkeit with Dan Morgenstern. Brooklyn: Lawrence Hill Books, 1992. "The Styles of Jazz: From the Eighties to the Nineties," p.&nbsp;57–59. {{ISBN|1-55652-098-0}} * {{cite book|first=Marc|last=Masters|date=2007|title=No Wave|location=London|publisher=Black Dog Publishing|isbn=978-1-906155-02-5 }} * Moore, Alan W. "Artists' Collectives: Focus on New York, 1975–2000". In ''Collectivism After Modernism: The Art of Social Imagination after 1945'', edited by Blake Stimson & Gregory Sholette, 203. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007. * Moore, Alan W., and Marc Miller (eds.). ''ABC No Rio Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery''. New York: Collaborative Projects, 1985 * Pearlman, Alison, ''Unpackaging Art of the 1980s''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. * {{cite book |last=Reynolds |first= Simon |chapter=Contort Yourself: No Wave New York |title=Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-punk 1978–84 |location=London |publisher= Faber and Faber, Ltd. |year= 2005 |pages=139–157}} * Taylor, Marvin J. (ed.). ''The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984'', foreword by Lynn Gumpert. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. {{ISBN|0-691-12286-5}} ==External links== *{{Allmusic|class=explore|id=style/d2691}} *[http://nowave.pair.com/no_wave/ New York No Wave Photo Archive] *[https://www.myspace.com/llikyouridols Official MySpace page] for ''Kill Your Idols'', a documentary about the Cinema of Transgression & the No Wave scene *[https://archive.org/details/punkcast1382 Video of Thurston Moore] talking about his book "No Wave:Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976–1980" {{punk}} {{New wave and post-punk}} {{Avant-garde}} {{Industrial music-footer}} {{Experimental music genres}} {{Sonic Youth}} [[Category:No wave| ]] [[Category:Artscene]] [[Category:Industrial music]] [[Category:Music scenes]] [[Category:Performance art in New York City]] [[Category:Avant-garde music]] [[Category:Music of New York City]] [[Category:American rock music genres]] [[Category:American styles of music]]'