![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
On the Shelf 207:Chris Carter
Dec. 11th, 2018 07:36 amOne of the most Earth-shifting bands in music was Throbbing Gristle. The band notoriously released an album called 20 Jazz Funk Greats- a confrontational record hidden by a nice cover and title with expectations that it might be accidentally purchased by unknowing record shoppers.
The band's legacy looms large (and Genesis P Orridge's legacy becomes more and more complicated as time goes on, see the excellent recent Guardian article) but so does the groups that splintered off.
Coil, perhaps eventually became the most interesting one- the project of Peter Christopherson, while Genesis's Psychic TV was equally influential as it explored industrial, rave, house and psychedelic music. Meanwhile, the other two members made music as Chris and Cosey.
I spent the 90s unashamedly going through cutout bins and pawn shops and slowly gathered most of the Chris and Cosey records to be had. Mostly instrumental, it was great 'background music'.
It may be unfair, but as much as I enjoyed the music and certainly some songs in particular, I never viewed Chris and Cosey as much more as interesting. Great music, sure, but not essential. Similarly, Allmusic only gives two four-star reviews in 20 years- 1984's Songs of Love and Lust and 1990's Reflection.
As Throbbing Gristle and Chris and Cosey are both retired. Chris Carter released an album this March called Chemistry Lessons, Vol 1.
At over an hour, it is a widely varied record. I don't listen to a lot of instrumental music, but last year saw two discs from industry veterans I really enjoyed (JG Thirwell 'as Xordox' and Martin Rev). This record solidly fills in that trilogy.
It plays very much like a soundtrack that certainly falls in line with the TG lineage and experimental works by Richard H Kirk and harder dance like Frontline Assembly and Front 242.
I think it is worthwhile and certainly more than a 'background' record. Though, it probably will all depend on your tolerance for this style of music.
The band's legacy looms large (and Genesis P Orridge's legacy becomes more and more complicated as time goes on, see the excellent recent Guardian article) but so does the groups that splintered off.
Coil, perhaps eventually became the most interesting one- the project of Peter Christopherson, while Genesis's Psychic TV was equally influential as it explored industrial, rave, house and psychedelic music. Meanwhile, the other two members made music as Chris and Cosey.
I spent the 90s unashamedly going through cutout bins and pawn shops and slowly gathered most of the Chris and Cosey records to be had. Mostly instrumental, it was great 'background music'.
It may be unfair, but as much as I enjoyed the music and certainly some songs in particular, I never viewed Chris and Cosey as much more as interesting. Great music, sure, but not essential. Similarly, Allmusic only gives two four-star reviews in 20 years- 1984's Songs of Love and Lust and 1990's Reflection.
As Throbbing Gristle and Chris and Cosey are both retired. Chris Carter released an album this March called Chemistry Lessons, Vol 1.
At over an hour, it is a widely varied record. I don't listen to a lot of instrumental music, but last year saw two discs from industry veterans I really enjoyed (JG Thirwell 'as Xordox' and Martin Rev). This record solidly fills in that trilogy.
It plays very much like a soundtrack that certainly falls in line with the TG lineage and experimental works by Richard H Kirk and harder dance like Frontline Assembly and Front 242.
I think it is worthwhile and certainly more than a 'background' record. Though, it probably will all depend on your tolerance for this style of music.
