After arriving in New York City at the age of 16, she worked as a bar maid and go-go dancer at the Baby Doll Lounge on White street in Tribeca. Lydia met Alan Vega (who became her first friend in NYC) and Willy DeVille (who gave her the name 'Lunch' because she'd often been stealing lunch for The Dead Boys). Then she moved in for about a year with then-boyfriend James Chance (born James Siegfried) who had come to New York (from Milwaukee) in the last week of 1975. They lived at a funky two-room fifth-floor walk-up apartment on East 2nd street (between Avenue A and B) and at a tiny storefront on Twelfth street.
Lunch moved into a large communal household of artists and musicians in NYC, including Kitty Bruce, daughter of Lenny Bruce. After befriending the 'godfathers of punk' Suicide at Max's Kansas City, she founded the short-lived but influential No Wave band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks in 1976 with her artistic partner, James Chance. Both appeared on the seminal No Wave compilation No New York. Lunch later appeared on two songs on Chance's album Off White (credited to James White and the Blacks; Lunch used the pseudonym "Stella Rico") in 1978.
She appeared in two films directed by the husband and wife film-making team of Scott B and Beth B; In the short film Black Box (1978) she played an unnamed torturer, and in the feature length, neo-noir thriller Vortex (1982) she played a private detective named "Angel Powers". During this time, she also appeared in a number of films by Vivienne Dick, including She Had her Gun All Ready (1978) and Beauty Becomes The Beast (1979), co starring with Pat Place.
In the mid-'80s she formed her own recording and publishing company called "Widowspeak" on which she continued to release a slew of her own material, including songs and spoken word.
A self-avowed "confrontationalist", identified by the Boston Phoenix as "one of the 10 most influential performers of the '90s", Lunch's solo career featured collaborations with musicians such as J. G. Thirlwell, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Nick Cave, Billy Ver Plank, Steven Severin, Robert Quine, Sadie Mae, Rowland S. Howard, Michael Gira, The Birthday Party, Einstürzende Neubauten, Sonic Youth, Die Haut and Black Sun Productions. She also acted in, wrote, and directed underground films, sometimes collaborating with underground filmmaker and musician Richard Kern (including several films, such as Fingered, in which she performed unsimulated sex acts), and more recently has recorded and performed as a spoken word artist, collaborating with such artists as Exene Cervenka, Henry Rollins, Don Bajema, Hubert Selby Jr., and Emilio Cubeiro, as well as authoring both traditional books and comix (with award-winning graphic novel artist Ted McKeever).
Simon Reynolds (author of Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984) wrote: "And although 'affection' is possibly an odd word to use in reference to a bunch of nihilists, I do feel fond of the No Wave people. ... there are great moments throughout Lydia Lunch's long discography." Selected quotations:
I'm nihilistic, antagonistic, violent, horrible - but not obliterated, yet.
I would be humiliated if I found out that anything I did actually became a commercial success.
There’re enough happy assholes out there, why should I be another one in the line...
It seems to me, that for over two thousand years now; mad-men, maniacs, and would be messiahs have been pilfering, have been pillaging, have been plundering, and have been raping the entire planet; and the way I see it, Mother Nature is getting pretty pissed off.
No pornography exploits women. It exploits men. It’s the men that are made to look stupid, silly and ridiculous, chasing after the golden elixir. Women look beautiful, do what they wanna do and get paid for it.
The only way to define the art of Lydia Lunch is simply not to.
3x3
Lydia Lunch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why can't I have more than one
To see to say to do what to
See you once a daydream stay too
Why can't you see what I'm saying
Why can't I have more than one
She can't, doesn't want to see me
Nothing can become of nothing
I give you all you give me nothing
Why can't we just try and do it
When it's only for a moment
It don't last...don't go away
Nothing to do or to say
She can't, doesn't want to see me
Hanging on your every movement
Do it once, please go away
It doesn't matter anyway
Just for you to be my own
For a moment all alone
Just as 3x3x3
I love you and she hates me
Lydia Lunch’s song, “3x3,” seems to explore the idea of love and relationships. The lyrics suggest that the singer is struggling with the idea of choosing just one person to love. She questions why she can’t have more than one love interest and implies that her current lover doesn’t want her to have anyone else. The lines “She can’t, doesn’t want to see me” and “Hanging on your every movement” support this idea. The singer is frustrated with the limitations of her relationship and the lack of reciprocity from her partner.
Line by Line Meaning
How does, who does, do we choose one
Who decides who we choose to be with
Why can't I have more than one
I want to be with multiple people
To see to say to do what to
What actions should I take
See you once a daydream stay too
I see you in my dreams and wish you were real
Why can't you see what I'm saying
I don't feel heard or understood
She can't, doesn't want to see me
Hanging on your every movement
She doesn't want me around, even though I want to be close to you
Nothing can become of nothing
If we don't try, nothing will happen
I give you all you give me nothing
I am putting in effort, but not receiving the same in return
Why can't we just try and do it
When it's only for a moment
It don't last...don't go away
Nothing to do or to say
Why not take a chance, even if it's brief and may not last, without worrying about what others may say or do
Do it once, please go away
It doesn't matter anyway
Just for you to be my own
For a moment all alone
We can have our brief moment together, then go our separate ways, but it's important to me to have that time
Just as 3x3x3
I love you and she hates me
It's a complicated situation with multiple parties involved, but my feelings for you are real
Contributed by Jake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jazminekill
Her lyrics are what I love best about her, she's very powerful and inspiring.
@aaroneblyston7387
shes helped me out of many a spot so i concur
@Donkey_Glossolalia
Ahoy Jaz, you have great taste in musik; just been through your tou yube playlist- loads of my favourites plus a few things to look up, cheers x
@lowellginsberg4440
I was playing this record everyday at least 1 time per day when I was in like 10th grade probably so very grateful for this whole album was my spiritual sanctuary away from the crap that really pissed me off so hardcore to an emotionally sickening state to border on the edge of violent social disorders caused by the likes of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN JON COUGAR MELONCAMP PETER GABRIEL I do believe 13:13 was and always will be for me a singular and unparalleled work highly regarded and ritualistic consideration as an religious experiential
@aaroneblyston7387
much love to you 💜💚
@caseyworldsfair
hell yeah brother
@mircograssilli1014
I discovered the 13.13 album when in 1988, that is to say 7 years later than when it was released and I got really stunned by it. I think I used to listen to the whole album every day, in the car, traveling during the night. This has been one of the most important album of my like, togerther with Pornography by the Cure, Garlands by the Cocteu Twins, Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division.
Thanks!
@TheNothingEverything
I think your my soulmate
@blackcatno9
Love this song so much, specifically for female empowerment and the killer bass and the lyrics
@joeyrider
great album awesome track... thanks for posting