THROBBING GRISTLE: Thee involuntary muscular spasms of death perhaps, sound throbbing, body, blood, air, cunt throbbing, throbbing air conveying sound, affecting thee metabolism. Throbbing, pulsing, rhythmic direct. Throbbing of pain, bruising, injury of existence, throbbing with excitemento too. Gristle... hard, tough, neither skin nor muscle, a paradox, on thee boundary. Gristle, rejected by everyday consumers when they buy meat at butchers: meat, sign of human animalism, death to feed life, of our assumption to have right to genocide of other species that we might live. Gristle, cock, sexuality, fuck. Gristle, reject matter, unwanted, separated from good. Throbbing gristle, thee moment of orgasm, penetration of male into another body, joining of two people in most vulnerable moment, moment of immortality, sperm and thee moment of life injected. Possibility of birth, or masturbation and wastage. Throbbing gristle; crude colloquialism, working class street culture, ordinariness made unusual, something common place sex/fuck made oblique, subtle seen another way. Regional slang, parochial joke, rough humour, honesty of vision. Uncouth. TG. TG.
TG remain the most raw, primal, powerful and hair raisingly dark sound events I have ever seen. To experience them live is quite unexplainable! You must be in the presence of the physical wall of sound to truly get it! It shivers, provokes, is thoroughly engaging, rough, consummated, sacred and utterly profound! Literally throbbing! I have now seen them perform five times and will continue to go to any lengths to see them in the future, should they (hopefully) play again. I met the band in Berlin (KW & Volksbühne) and London (ICA). Bare in mind this clip is about thirty years old. Provocation indeed! There was no intention to please! Easy listening it's not. Best grit your teeth! If I could have figured out how to post an mp3 player in this blog I would have, but for now, all I can do for a bit of contrast is put in some sample links. Today, TG are most certainly on another level having moved from raw cutting uncouth towards a more hauntingly rich deep sublime, but they need no introduction, justification, or summery from me. As a devout admirer I am simply putting this down for the record! If I could have any band play at my funeral it's TG in all their pulsing throbbing glory! I actually dreamt it! It took place at the Camden Roundhouse and was truly a Nightmare Before Big Sleep as I was sacrificed! Frightening and brutal yes, but it sure would be one exciting way to go! I'd be watching from some purgatory side line as all squirm!
"We're troublemakers, really, 'cause otherwise the world's a very boring place to be..."
Sample Links
Vow of Silence [MP3]
Lyre Liar [MP3]
Rabbit Snare [MP3]
Almost A Kiss [MP3]
