Throbbing Gristle or "The Weirdest Moment of My Life"

I have to express somewhere what happened to me when I discovered this thing called Throbbing Gristle. Since it appears on the surface to be music, I think this is a good platform to give it a go. 

What is Throbbing Gristle? 

Well, colloquially in 1970s northern English prostitution culture, this means erect penis. However, it was also used to name the group of very serious artists lead by Genesis P-Orridge (Now Genesis Breyer P-Orridge). Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, and Chris Carter were the other members involved. That I said "very serious artists" is, in a way, cheeky because they were such psychedelic Dada artists that seriousness is kind of a paradox, but I must say that they were. Super serious.

It started with performance art like taking twenty four hours to cross a room and stripping sex down to it's most deranged forms and performing that spectacle. Then it evolved in to audible performance art. But, instead of having a band--as it was decided instruments are lifeless soulless pieces of nothing--this group created something that has since been dubbed "industrial" music. It's the mechanical sound of industry and scum.

So, strapped with instruments, amplifiers, and jars of bloody excrement for Genesis to consume before shows so s/he could vomit it on to the audience at will, they started making noise. To the layman, they were a band.

I've heard of industrial music. Isn't Nine Inch Nails industrial?

Sort of. Drum machines and electronic noise are the backbone of this turn from technical-skill rock music as far as I can tell; and Trent Reznor is good at taking out the rock and roll instruments. But Throbbing Gristle is so much more than just electronic noise. They encapsulated the actual literal sound of terror. And it's because of that that I can't let them pass by unmentioned.

How I discovered the sound of horror.

I mentioned that I read Peter Hook's autobiography Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division. I also mentioned that post-punk music is my obsession right now. Well all over my sources of information, Throbbing Gristle is mentioned. Hooky must have talked about them a hundred times in his book and Love and Rockets mentioned something about them and they keep popping up on my sidebar suggestions on YouTube; so I decided to just give them a listen and find out what was so very special about them.

The first "song" I came across was called "Slug Bait."

I was expecting something dark and creepy but this is on another level. The most obvious evidence are the lyrics. The words tell the story of climbing in to a pregnant woman's window; making her husband eat his own testicles; cutting her baby out of her stomach; biting it's head off; and then killing it (redundant point as the head has already been removed, but I digress) while the woman bleeds out. All to the phrase "Slug bait. Can't wait."

But, on top of the words--even if you couldn't hear what s/he was saying--there is a sound that is best explained by saying it's exactly what that situation would sound like. The calm ambiance of night interrupted by shrill insanity and robotic evil will of madness muffling the screams. I study serial murder as a strange hobby. I've read the books, seen the crime scene photos and, like a detective, have viewed it rather scientifically. But this brought me right back to Earth. It scared me. 

I could not stop listening. I kept going, listening to gems like "Hamburger Lady" and "Discipline" and feeling every bit more and more unnerved and sick. It was awful.

God damn if that's not powerful stuff! I mean, I was disgusted, frightened, and facing futile mortality there listening to this. I was incredibly uncomfortable. I was affected! I want to roll my eyes because this all makes me think of what would have happened if Andy Warhol were a serial killer (and Andy Warhol is a concept I despise) but I have to agree and call it art no matter how much it pains me to do so. Because what is art if it does not inspire some kind of emotion in the audience? They really did take me away from myself while I was listening and that is a rare thing to find anymore. What people called "shock rock" in the nineties is really laughable when you put the monstrosity that is Throbbing Gristle in to perspective. Marilyn Manson burning a flag and ripping up a Bible is naught but teenage angst (sorry Brian, you know I love you.). I never understood what was so shocking about such things and I always figured it was because I was at the right age to be desensitized. But then I found the grandparent of all depravity. It overjoys me to know that emotions are so strong. There's something to be said about the art of taking people to their limits. Psychological art.

By the way, I take much solace in the thought that me calling it art probably negates the artistry in their eyes. 

Anyway, listen of you're brave. Watch Genesis do their hour-and-a-half-long interview about how it all happened sometime. It's great.

Cabaret Voltaire is next on my list of things to discover. I hear they are similar. Sounds like a jolly good time.

 

Slug bait...ca-ca-ca-cahhhn't waaait...