New York Noise: Art and Music from the New York Underground 1978-88: Photographs by Paula Court

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 208 pages
• Published by: Soul Jazz Records August 1, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0955481708
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0955481703
• Book Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.5 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 3 pounds

Book Description
Between 1975 and 1988 New York City spawned an incredible and wild array of artistic communities that overlapped and interbred with scant heed for generic "purity" (let alone posterity): every musician, it seemed, was also an artist, every artist a filmmaker and every filmmaker was in a band. These heady years saw the births of Punk at CBGB and Max's Kansas City, of Hip Hop in the Bronx, the emerging Art music activities of Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson, Free Jazz and the No Wave art/rock scene around James Chance, Lydia Lunch and Mars. New York Noise is Paula Court's photographic tour of these colliding worlds. From her arrival in New York City in 1978, Court diligently photographed the likes of Glenn Branca, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, David Byrne, Rhys Chatham, Lou Reed, James Chance, Patti Smith, Afrika Bambaata, John Cage, Robert Longo, Jim Jarmusch, Cindy Sherman and Richard Prince, as well as bands like DNA, Suicide, Bush Tetras, ESG and the Rock Steady Crew. Also captured in these pages are nascent musicians and actors such as Michael Stipe, Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe and Madonna, who came into artistic maturity amid these diverse scenes. With over 400 images, many of them previously unpublished, New York Noise follows Soul Jazz Records' critically acclaimed CD series, providing an unprecedented visual record of one of New York's liveliest cultural eras.

Reader Reviews
What a great find. I just stumbled across this book a few days ago and it's going right on my shelf next to THE DOWNTOWN BOOK: THE NY ART STORY 1974-1984, and SO80s by Patrick McMullan. These three will give you a great summary of the East Village and SOHO art/music scene in the late 70s and early 80s. This brief period in NY was every bit as fascinating as that of the Abstract Expressionists in the 1940s and 50s, or The Factory and the Pop artists in the 1960s. That time is long gone, but it is invigorating to see John Sex, the Squat Theatre, the Alien Comic, z'ev (!) and other old NY favorites again. NEW YORK NOISE is filled with great photos and the reminiscences of many of the people who created the scene. There is always more to be written about though - 8BC, Pizza-A-Go-Go, Polyrock, Richard Hambleton, and the Speedies. We need someone to bring out a compilation from the archives of The SOHO Weekly News for some more first-hand documentation. There's still plenty of material out there for all you writers and memoirists to tackle. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)