Twittering Machines

James Chance and The Contortions
Buy

This 1979 release is the only LP from James Chance and The Contortions. Following on the heels of his previous band Teenage Jesus & the Jerks with lover/band-mate Lydia Lunch, James Chance, aka James White of James White and The Blacks, was infamous for beating up audience members at the Contortions shows.

“…the whole passivity of audiences used to really bother me. I wanted it to be beyond just a bunch of people standing around on a stage. As far as the form it took in terms of actually attacking people, it was spontaneous at the beginning. You know, the people at the early Contortions gigs were these Art-types in Soho and Tribeca and their attitude just really bugged me because they acted so superior. ” from an interview on The Blow Up

No-Wave, punk-funk, post-punk Chance cites Ornette Coleman, Monk, Lester Young, Film Noir and of course James Brown as influences. And I can hear that and more. I say buy Buy – it’s a timeless slice of raw punk funk free jazz energy. Contort Yourself!