Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch on June 2, 1959 in Rochester, New York) i… Read Full Bio ↴Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch on June 2, 1959 in Rochester, New York) is a controversial American post-punk singer, spoken word artist, poet, writer, photographer, and actress. Her extensive, 30-year-plus body of multimedia work is characterized by its extreme obsessiveness with the darkness of the human psyche, often focusing on nihilism, rage, violence, eroticism, surrealism, and pornographic art as key points of topic.
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.
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.
Dance of the Dead Children
Lydia Lunch Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Lydia Lunch:
1000 Lies We hang our heads in the heavy house With halls that…
3x3 How does, who does, do we choose one Why can't I…
Afraid of Your Company 13 dimensions If we stretched this hour It would go on for…
Archives of Blood History draws its substance from the archives of blood Your…
Atomic Bongos I am bongo crazed with the crazy beat Makes me stamp…
Black Juju Bodies Bodies Touched by the toil and plunged into his a…
Blame I gotta let you go Watch you walk away Never meant to…
Bowery Blues The story of man makes me sick Inside, outside, I…
Burning Skulls In my time of dying I don't want nobody to cry All…
Cesspool Called History I am an island in this cesspool called history I inhabit…
Cisco Sunset Alabaster moonshine Thunder burns at midnight Drinking fir…
Come Fall I am king I can do anything Come follow Come fall I will…
Dead in the Head Blood and guts in the movie house, slaughterhouse, slaughter…
Dead River Take the right bank to the night river Watch the dreary…
death valley Groooooahhh! Coming down Sadie, I love it Now now now …
Disease of the Night And delirium is just a disease of the night Delirium is…
Done Dun It′s raining at the border, tears of love like blood…
Dread Dread, that subterranean world Where one awakes from dread …
Endless Fall If these were the last things That I could remember…
Escape To escape the perimeter of this Fleshy prison...to escape …
Fields of Fire It's raining at the border, tears of love like blood Spilt S…
Friday Afternoon We've dug our graves under separate candlestick tonight, The…
Gloomy Sunday is gloomy My hours are slumber less Dearest the shado…
Gone City You ever wake up with hangover The size of Mississippi Fee…
Hangover Hotel Somebody broke in, but all that was missing were the…
Heart Attack and Vine Liar, liar with your pants on fire White spades hanging on…
Hot Tip There must be ninety two degrees in the shade You want…
I Love How You... Tell me that you're sick of me Warn me that our…
I Wish With knees that crush the deafened stones With silent incant…
In My Time Of Dying In my time of dying I don't want nobody to cry All…
In Spite of God We come spinning out of nothingness Scattering stars Hopin…
Incubator Yours is a history of torture and cruelty An incubator of…
Inverted Dream The void is just an inverted dream In which we…
Johnny Behind The Deuce Johnny had a habit Didn't stand a chance Walked right up b…
Knives In The Drain My windows are on the street And there's knives in my…
Lady Scarface We had a date 12th street at eight If you're done I'll…
Lightning I've told you that I'm Lightning's girl But you keep hanging…
Lock Your Door I would not like to not know Lock your door I would…
Los Banditos Slipping seething living breathing Ghost on my mind Ponder…
Lost World Everybody smokes in hell Everybody smokes in hell Up pop…
Mechanical Flattery Fingers move fingers My wrists made of satin Don't be afraid…
Need To Feed The need to feed The need to feed, to feed in…
Pass Like Night Wanna desappear into the ether Find the place where time be…
Pigeon Town I live round the shack outback It's full of rats and…
Portrait of the Minus Man Lonesome train cries like a deadman Bruised skin blood kiss…
Psychic Anthropology psychic anthropology an abstract image that the eye tricks…
Run Through The Jungle Whoa, thought it was a nightmare, Lo, it's all so true, They…
Smoke in the Shadows Close the curtains Don't answer the phone Got an unlisted …
Snakepit Breakdown He slits my throat and drinks my blood And says that…
So Your Heart So, your heart may not be broken, we can only…
Solar Hex This is called Solar Hex, and it's about blood-sucking fr…
Solo Mystico In the beginning,in the beginning Before they had inveted go…
Some Boys Oh my god awful ugly, and I could end up…
Some Velvet Morning Lee: Some velvet morning when I'm straight I'm gonna open u…
Spooky In the cool of the evening When everything is getting kinda…
Stares to Nowhere The plastic crumbles and the walls fall in The sidewalk's m…
Still Burning Take the wheel, of the world, And drive, drive, drive, driv…
Suicide Ocean The clock died at a quarter to midnight Frozen angels on…
Sway Show me Show me Loosen it up Let it flower Tickle it a l…
The Gospel Singer Pig Mountain Valley in the middle of the South Sweet white…
This Side of Nowhere Dead still the hour in the middle of the day Dead…
Three Kings The moon's at night like you and maybe stars are When…
Tied And Twist Sour, dour, drowning Wrists tied and twisting Dance a nurs…
Touch My Evil Picked up in a roadside diner Just a hair short of…
Trick Baby How bad you want it, when you can't have it And…
Vandal This door it swings both ways You′re so self-centered, solit…
What Did You Do Could get very lost a cove no bigger than a…
What Is Memory Blood is just memory without language The sins of the flesh…
Why Don't We Do It In The Road Why don't we do it in the road Why don't we…
World of Whispers This is forced up from the world of whispers Where terror…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@JMHawkins9608
I wish I could find this masterpiece on Spotify. Gave me goosebumps since I first heard it 20 years ago.
@drumier
for those who dont know,lydia had underground credibility all to herself in the 80's..an artist
@52barney
I've got students who can play Chopin in stride. I give them one listen of this and then tell them to play it. You can hear their egos pop. Part of the beauty of No Wave.
@MitskiExceptItsMiku
Me when I lie online:
(Idk u sound rlly entitled and hoity-toity which makes me automatically assume ur lying. It's a good piece, also it's by Lydia lunch so ovi I'm biased to saying it's good, but like it's def not harder than some Chopin pieces, I mean it def wouldn't be a bad recital piece if someone wanted to)
@960random
You can call it No Wave, but its hard to find anything as gothic before Lydia Lunch.
@ForARide
Nico's Marble Index (1968) arranged by John Cale: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL98C5467E8406E0BE
@retroqueen
This is eearily one of the most beautiful songs..
@slugluv1313
WOW! i never knew she did a video to this!!! that is 13.13 -- or maybe just her on piano? (i love the stuff she did with 13.13)
@ign.c.7693
This is the most gothical track that I know a little masterpiece
@urbangrouse
Good god, i forgot how GOOD this album is!!