| No New York | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by various artists | |
| Released | 1978 |
| Recorded | Spring 1978 |
| Studio | Big Apple,New York City |
| Genre | |
| Length | 43:46 |
| Label | Antilles |
| Producer | Brian Eno |
No New York is acompilation album ofno wave music released in 1978 by record labelAntilles under the curation of producerBrian Eno. Although it only contains songs by four different artists, it has been considered important in defining and documenting the scene and movement, with the name "no wave" being influenced by that of the album according to some accounts.[1][2]
Early in 1978,New York'sArtists Space hosted a five night undergroundno wave music festival, organized by artistsMichael Zwack andRobert Longo, that featured ten local bands; includingRhys Chatham'sthe Gynecologists, Communists,Glenn Branca'sTheoretical Girls, Terminal, Chatham's Tone Death (performing his composition for electric guitarsGuitar Trio)[3] and Branca's Daily Life (withBarbara Ess, Paul McMahon and Christine Hahn).[4][5] The final two days of the show featuredDNA and theContortions on Friday, followed byMars andTeenage Jesus and the Jerks on Saturday.[5] English musician and producerBrian Eno, who had originally come to New York to produce the secondTalking Heads albumMore Songs About Buildings and Food, was in the audience.[5] Impressed by what he saw and heard, and advised byDiego Cortez to do so, Eno was convinced that this movement should be documented and proposed the idea of a compilation album with himself as a producer.[6]
When Eno recordedNo New York, some of the sessions were done without much of the stylized production he was known for on other artists' albums.[6]James Chance stated that the Contortions tracks were "done totally live in the studio, no separation between the instruments, no overdubs, just like a document."[6] In 1979, Eno stated in his lecture "The Studio as Compositional Tool" that, "On 'Helen Thormdale' [sic] from theNo New York album, I put an echo on the guitar part's click, and used that to trigger the compression on the whole track, so it sounds like helicopter blades."[7]
No New York was released in 1978 byAntilles Records.[8] The original pressing of the LP contained a lyric sheet that was intentionally printed on the inside of the record sleeve, which forced the owner to have to tear apart the sleeve to read the lyrics.[9][10] The album was first reissued on CD byIsland Records in Japan.[11] It was reissued in 2005 by Lilith Records onvinyl anddigipak form on CD.[12][13]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[14] |
| Pitchfork | 8.3/10[10] |
| Q |  [15] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[16] |
Critic Richard C. Walls, writing forCreem, describedNo New York as the most "ferociously avant-garde and aggressively ugly music sinceAlbert Ayler puked all over my brain back in – what? – 64" and stated "If you're intrepid enough to want to hear this stuff (a friend, 3/4 into the first side, complained that the music was painful – she wasn't referring to any abstract reaction, she was grimacing), be advised that Antilles is a division of Island Records, which ain't exactlyTransamerica Corp. You'll probably have to make a little effort to procure it, because there's no way it's going to come to you."[9]
On February 17, 1979, Pete Silverton ofSounds reviewed the album, excerpt: "'NO WAVE' is the rather unoriginal tag given to a loose group of new bands which have emerged in New York since the original CBGB's explosion [...] To date the best-known No Wave artefact is theNo New York compilation on Antilles, the Island subsidiary, which contains hasty sessions of four bands — DNA, the Contortions, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and Mars. I spoke to three of the bands and they all thought the album sucked and that producer Eno should have stayed home. Nor have any of them got much time for the No New tag itself. As James Chance of the Contortions growled with beautifully weedy menace, "I wish I could get my hand on whoever made it up".[17]
No New York is mentioned on the back cover ofthe Fall's 1979 studio albumDragnet.
Retrospective reviews of the album have been positive. Todd Kristel ofAllMusic stated that "this seminal album remains the definitive document of New York's no wave movement", but also echoed Walls's statement from 1978, saying, "Some listeners may be fascinated by the music onNo New York while others may find it unbearable".[8]
In 2007,Blender placed the album at number 65 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever".[18]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dish It Out" | James Chance | Contortions | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Flip Your Face" | Chance | Contortions | 3:13 |
| 3. | "Jaded" | Chance | Contortions | 3:49 |
| 4. | "I Can't Stand Myself" | James Brown; arranged by Contortions | Contortions | 4:52 |
| 5. | "Burning Rubber" | Lydia Lunch | Teenage Jesus and the Jerks | 1:45 |
| 6. | "The Closet" | Lunch | Teenage Jesus and the Jerks | 3:53 |
| 7. | "Red Alert" | Lunch | Teenage Jesus and the Jerks | 0:34 |
| 8. | "I Woke Up Dreaming" | Lunch | Teenage Jesus and the Jerks | 3:10 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9. | "Helen Fordsdale" | Nancy Arlen,China Burg, Mark Cunningham, Sumner Crane | Mars | 2:30 |
| 10. | "Hairwaves" | Arlen, Burg, Cunningham, Crane | Mars | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Tunnel" | Arlen, Burg, Cunningham, Crane | Mars | 2:41 |
| 12. | "Puerto Rican Ghost" | Arlen, Burg, Cunningham, Crane | Mars | 1:08 |
| 13. | "Egomaniac's Kiss" | Robin Crutchfield,Arto Lindsay | D.N.A. | 2:11 |
| 14. | "Lionel" | Crutchfield, Lindsay | D.N.A. | 2:07 |
| 15. | "Not Moving" | Crutchfield, Lindsay | D.N.A. | 2:40 |
| 16. | "Size" | Crutchfield, Lindsay | D.N.A. | 2:13 |
Contortions
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks
Mars
D.N.A.
Additional personnel
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1978 | Antilles Records | LP | AN-7067 |
| 2005 | Lilith Records | DigipakCD | LR102 |
Works cited
