No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980. (Hardcover)

~ Thurston Moore (Author), Byron Coley (Author), Lydia Lunch (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Art and music come together in this oral account of Manhattan's mid-1970s No Wave music scene. Moore, a founding member of the band Sonic Youth, and Coley, a music writer and editor, identify the likes of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, DNA, Contortions and Mars as the "core bands" that built No Wave. Shedding light on the personal relationships of these close-knit bands, the surprisingly reserved volume-graced with exquisite black-and-white photos with occasional splashes of poster-art color-also looks at how the devastated state of the city influenced their sound and performances: "As everything's collapsing... the music became the rebellion," says Teenage Jesus's Lydia Lunch in her scowling, astute foreword. Music sometimes described as "a car crash" gets heartfelt and intelligent commentary from the likes of DNA's Ikue Mori: "it wasn't about technique; it was more about new ideas and inspiration." The authors' personal interviews with the movement's other pioneers elicit raw, honest hindsight; along with revealing photographs, this volume takes readers straight into the heart of this zeitgeist.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

No Wave is the first book to visually chronicle the collision of art and punk in the New York underground of 1976 to 1980. This in depth look at punk rock, new wave, experimental music, and the avant-garde art movement of the 70s and 80s focuses on the true architects of No Wave from James Chance to Lydia Lunch to Glenn Branca, as well as the luminaries that intersected the scene, such as David Byrne, Debbie Harry, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, and Richard Hell.

This rarely documented scene was the creative stomping ground of young artists and filmmakers from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Jim Jarmusch as well as the musical genesis for the post-punk explosions of Sonic Youth and is here revealed for a new generation of fans and collectors.

Thurston Moore and Byron Coley have selected 150 unforgettable images, most of which have never been published previously, and compiled hundreds of hours of personal interviews to create an oral history of the movement, providing a never-seen-before exploration and celebration of No Wave.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Abrams Image (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810995433
• ISBN-13: 978-0810995437
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #178,179 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars eye candy and history , July 15, 2008

By	David M. Madden "nonnon/dj_webern" (salt lake, utah United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

1970's New York, a time of polemic filth and fury with displaced art kids crashing head first into the detritus to form bands without which we would have no Rapture, Yeah Yeah Yeahs or (insert a hundred names here). Framed around this incredible gathering of black & whites are interviews (conducted by the Thurston Moore and writer/editor/et cetera Byron Coley) with artists deep in the thick of said scene (i.e. James Chance, Glen Branca, Ikue Mori, Robert Quine and the ever-verbose Lydia Lunch), club owners, iconic groupies and passers-by, including Brian Eno who gives his perspective on the immortal Eno "produced" No New York compilation. Having been active participants during this era, the authors do a spectacular job of detailing the tenuous camaraderie, insular tension and the seeds of No Wave's demise. Not simply for those who know the difference between "No Wave" and "New Wave", the eye candy and history lessons make for an illuminating, universally appealing document.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive chronicle of the late '70s New York art-rock scene., October 2, 2008

By	C. Howe (Chicago, Ill) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980.Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and music critic Byron Cooley have created the definitive chronicle of the late '70s New York art-rock scene. Together they skillfully depict the culture, politics, and environment that formed the still-obscure and quietly influential bands of that era. The details are vast and at times daunting; all the who-dated-whoms, whens, wheres, and whys are included with factual reference points, oral histories, and extensive quotes and photography. The scene, created largely by emerging artists, was rich in photographers and creative writers, and a lot of the never-before-seen source material in No Wave is worthy of a book alone. No Wave fans, especially the art-school-leaning types, will appreciate the reproductions of Lydia Lunch fashion calendars, black-and-white behind-the-scenes photography, record covers, and concert flyers.

-from AlarmPress.com
http://www.alarmpress.com/4089/book-reviews/no-wave-post-punk-underground-new-york-1976-1980/

4.0 out of 5 stars Lesgal..., September 20, 2009

By	Marcos T. N. Andrade "Marcos Thanus" (Rio de Janeiro) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980. (Hardcover)

Legal o livro... um pouco chato o lance de ter um monte de entrevistas no meio da narrativa. Vc está lendo no fluxo, de repente um sujeito começa a dar um depoimento e passam 2 ou 3 páginas de fotos (incríveis, por sinal)... aí vc já não sabe exatamente onde, quando, etc... E podia ter mais free jazz (esse rótulo é um lixo, mas da pra entender do que estou falando). Não é o foco, mas as duas cenas estavam mais do que conectadas e isso é apenas mencionado.

Vale pelas fotos e o texto é lesgal... Se vc usar ele como "coffee table book" na sua sala de estar e uma menina chegar lá e não te achar um cara sensacional por vc ter ele ao invés de um do Matisse ou um de decoração de interiores é porque ela não vale a pena!!!