Diamanda Galas.....and other music to clear rooms...

[vi5]

I was listening to Malediction and Prayer today on the way to work, which is one of her more accessible works (and I still use the term loosely). I think she's a phenomenal artist, but there's no doubt that putting on anything by her is a good way to ruin a party and clear a room. What are some other favorites for this? Merzbow? Throbbing Gristle? Boyd Rice? Lydia Lunch? Some of Tom Waits more challenging material?

[Quahog]

1. Pere Ubu

Daisy Chainsaw will do the trick too.

(On edit: I LOVE both of these groups.)

[KAMouflage]

2. Plague Mass

Have you heard her Plague Mass performed at St. John the Divine? Heavy stuff.

[vi5]

3. I have some recordings of that work...not sure where....

She is a fearless performer and artist that is for darn sure. Even if I can't listen to her on a regular basis, I appreciate her work more when I pull it out and really sit down to absorb it.

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. "Schrei X", too.

Brilliant and tormented...and guaranteed to clear any room in thirty seconds. Diamanda's definitely not for the uninitiated.

[THX1138]

4. How about...

Public Image Ltd - Flowers of Romance? Honestly I love that album

More:

The Gerogerigegege:

http://www.artnotart.com/gero/index2.html

Jandek:

http://tisue.net/jandek/

Non, Monte Cazazza, The German Shepherds, Nurse with Wound, so many...

For anyone who actually enjoys challenging music, I would highly recommend Incorrect Music, broadcasting (and archived) on WFMU in NY:

http://www.incorrectmusic.com/

[vi5]

6. Ohh...good ones...But I'd go with PIL's Second Edition instead..

How could I forget Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed.

[CanuckAmok]

14. Even Lou admits never listening to it in its entirety!

I'd have to agree with Nurse With Wound, Throbbing Gristle, Sleeping Dogs Wake, Huntin Lodge (some) Laibach, Peter Hope, and Non.

But I love them.

We had a dinner party recently, and had the music piped through the ceiling from my laptop. Mostly Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, etc. Somehow, "Subhuman" got in the mix, and generated a few interesting remarks from our friends who had never heard it.

"...You make me dizzyyyyyy...with your diseeeeeeeeeeeaseeeeeee...
I want to smash youuuuuuuuu...and be at eeeeeeeeeeeease...!"

[chascarrillo]

24. There's a documentary on Jandek...

... supposed to be released in the near future. Follow the link here: http://tisue.net/jandek/

[Rooktoven]

5. I love her, but not all the time

I think Sporting Life is the most accessible.

[qwertyMike]

7. Early Leonard Cohen

That'll give you an early start on the clean-up after a party

[bif]

23. "Music to blow your brains out."

I like to call it. Make that ANY Leonard Cohen.

[bif]

8. Bagpipe music & Capt. Beefheart

These do it every time. Great way to clear people out of a party who have overstayed their welcome.

[quispquake]

10. Back when I worked in a record store in the '80's...

We had a pile of records we called "Five 'til Nine" records (we closed at nine)...we'd throw one of these on to clear the store:

Holy Modal Rounders-Indian War Whoop
DEFINITELY any Diamanda Galas...
Foetus
"Fluffy" by Gloria Balsam (possibly the worst song ever!!! My friends named their band after this song!).

Anyways, the list could go on and on...

BTW, had the GREAT HONOUR of seeing Merzbow back in '89...one of the noisiest shows ever (he had this box where he hit this switch, and this NOISE just enveloped everything! I want one of those boxes!!!)

pp23

[CanuckAmok]

15. MMMMM FOETUS....!!!!!!! n/t

[Tyler Durden]

11. "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

Absolutely garranteed to end your party in 30 seconds or less, and induce possible suicidal feelings in at least 10% of your guests.

[Bridget Burke]

12. The Red Krayola

They recorded in Houston's International Artists label (home of the 13th Floor Elevators) in the sixties. Weird-ass art-rockers ahead of their time, they were definitely important & influential in their way--but really hard to listen to. "Parable of Arable Land" has a few actual tunes rising out of the ambient mirk but "God Bless the Red Krayola & All Who Sail With It" exhibits severe art damage.

Someone above mentioned "Indian War Whoop" by the Holy Modal Rounders. I must agree--legend says they were far gone in drugs when this came out. Their first two LP's were "more accessible" old-timey music & remain classics.

[quispquake]

17. Holy Modal Rounders

Their best album is "The Moray Eels Eat the Holy Modal Rounders"...this record defines "Cracked"...mucho acidic damage here...I put Indian War Whoop up because it's the more annoying album...

And I agree about the Red Krayola...got to see a reformed version 7 or 8 years ago, and they still were great (highlighted by an amazing version of Hurricane Fighter Plane)...

pp23

[NightTrain]

13. G.G. Allin

For the uninitiated, Allin was a hardcore rocker whose song titles included:

I Fuck The Dead
Kill The Children, Save The Food
I Wanna Fuck Myself
Eat My Fuckin' Diarrhea
I'm Gonna Rape You

And the lyrics are quite discernible!

[Whitacre D_WI]

16. Wild Man Fischer

Schizophrenic Zappa protege.

There's a record store in Cincinnati called "Shake It" (owned by the guy who runs the Shake It record label), and they have a "difficult listening" section. It's worth checking out.

[bif]

19. Holy-Moley-someone else remembers Wild Man Fischer!

I thought I was the only one. I just wish I bought his LP back when it was released. I doubt it'll ever get released on CD. "Marry go on the merry-go-round!"

[Whitacre D_WI]

20. My name is Laaa-aa-ryyy.

nt

[Bossy Monkey]

18. Sacred Harp singing, Bulgarian folk music

or I can just start singing myself

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Actually, I used to belong to an Eastern European folk group

and when we had post-concert parties, the audience would stand around and listen to us sing impromptu renditions of songs that hadn't been in the concert.

However, the party would clear out immediately when two members of the group started singing "Laredo." (This happened several times over two years.)

("Your sweet and shining eyes,
Are like the stars above Laredo
Like meat and potatoes
To-o me-e!")

People either enthusiastically love or desperately hate Bulgarian folk music. I am an enthusiast. I will admit, though, that springing "I Ogreyala Mesechina" on someone unawares is cruel.

I ogreyala mesechina samde
Mempopili mempoza
Hubian hubeshish
Mete memere
Rituli tutule
Tash konya nahonayestra
(the above lines are sung by two singers mostly in seconds)
(Low yodel-like sounds followed by a high-pitched "Yee!")

[FlashHarry]

21. The Beach Boys sing Christmas Carols.

I used to use this record to clear parties, when the guests had overstayed their welcome. One listen to the BB's singing "We Three Kings" is all it took.


(BTW, I'm a huge Beach Boys fan. Don't get me wrong. I just think that they should stick to Pet Sounds.)

[mitchum]

25. "Harry Crews" (a side project of Lydia Lunch and Kim Gordon)

Boyd Rice and Merzbow were good calls

[mr blur]

26. Anything by...

Steely Dan. Music for lifts/elevators.