This is an interview with Julian Lennon from March 18th 1999 with Dini Petty. He speaks of his new album, his TRUE feelings of Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Paul M...
You have the right idea. To most people a lot of the stuff she paved way for and influenced in some way or the other, directly or indirectly in more experimental music scenes, probably still sounds awful. And it’s not like this cult of personality thing people tend to have with hit and hip bands like The Beatles, but more about the whole scene and movement. She was involved with a lot of cool people back in the day - hell she was involved with Fluxus and if she didn’t do anything else at all that’s a big enough of a merit in it’s own right.
The Japanese noise scene would definitely not be the same, Yamataka Eye and his work with Hanatarash, pre-‘Super æ’ Boredoms, Naked City, is vocally very similar. Yoko is just as much proto-noise/japanoise as Black Sabbath is proto-metal.
As lowly as Diamanda Galás speaks of her (Galás says that she can’t sing, which is true, but it really is beside the point), I’d be hard pressed to believe she wasn’t at least indirectly paving the way for her work. Hell they both draw from free jazz and both collaborated with Ornette Coleman.
Members of Sonic Youth have said she has influenced them, Thruston even did a track for ‘Rising Mixes’ (a la Ono’s ‘Rising’ album) that featured, and Kim has been even more vocal about her. On the same album you can find Tricky (Massive Attack) and Ween as well. Ween has talked about her on at least one occasion. You can find quotes from Mike Watt of Minutemen and fIREHOSE talk very highly of her. Iggy Pop is apparently also a fan, which doesn’t really surprise me. Björk?
And then finally for one very much direct and clearl influence: Dagmar Krause of Art Bears. There are times she sounds a little too similar, but to as much it does with Yamataka Eye and Diamanda Galás, they did it better. It’s not like she’s single-handedly made bands like Sonic Youth form their sound or anything. Influence can be more than just bands going “hey that sounds cool, let’s do that, but like, in our own way”.
Velvet Underground and Laurie Anderson I’d fathom as well and you put some of my thoughts (and many of these people’s thoughts) nicely into words with that second paragraph. Especially considering the work of groups like Fluxus, among others.
I’m trying to be as coherent as possible I haven’t slept in a couple of days.
You’re coherent as hell, I know exactly what you’re trying to say. I’m not a New Yorker but I am old and very much an art lover, so I remember a lot of the names you just threw. Though I wasn’t a fan of pretty much anything she was involved with, her influence is inescapable and has a much farther reach than just pop music.
And maybe I’m remembering incorrectly, but while she wasn’t the most generous of patrons that ever lived, she did throw some of that ex-Beatle cash into the art scene from time to time as well, and was involved in many a fundraiser, maybe still is. That may not make a whole lot of difference in terms of changing a band from Sound A to Sound B, but over time, quietly, she really has changed the art world.
You took people and events I barely remembered and fleshed it out into actual facts very handily. Thank you for taking the time, and I hope by the time you’re reading this you’ve gotten some sleep.
You have the right idea. To most people a lot of the stuff she paved way for and influenced in some way or the other, directly or indirectly in more experimental music scenes, probably still sounds awful. And it’s not like this cult of personality thing people tend to have with hit and hip bands like The Beatles, but more about the whole scene and movement. She was involved with a lot of cool people back in the day - hell she was involved with Fluxus and if she didn’t do anything else at all that’s a big enough of a merit in it’s own right.
The Japanese noise scene would definitely not be the same, Yamataka Eye and his work with Hanatarash, pre-‘Super æ’ Boredoms, Naked City, is vocally very similar. Yoko is just as much proto-noise/japanoise as Black Sabbath is proto-metal.
As lowly as Diamanda Galás speaks of her (Galás says that she can’t sing, which is true, but it really is beside the point), I’d be hard pressed to believe she wasn’t at least indirectly paving the way for her work. Hell they both draw from free jazz and both collaborated with Ornette Coleman.
Members of Sonic Youth have said she has influenced them, Thruston even did a track for ‘Rising Mixes’ (a la Ono’s ‘Rising’ album) that featured, and Kim has been even more vocal about her. On the same album you can find Tricky (Massive Attack) and Ween as well. Ween has talked about her on at least one occasion. You can find quotes from Mike Watt of Minutemen and fIREHOSE talk very highly of her. Iggy Pop is apparently also a fan, which doesn’t really surprise me. Björk?
And then finally for one very much direct and clearl influence: Dagmar Krause of Art Bears. There are times she sounds a little too similar, but to as much it does with Yamataka Eye and Diamanda Galás, they did it better. It’s not like she’s single-handedly made bands like Sonic Youth form their sound or anything. Influence can be more than just bands going “hey that sounds cool, let’s do that, but like, in our own way”.
Velvet Underground and Laurie Anderson I’d fathom as well and you put some of my thoughts (and many of these people’s thoughts) nicely into words with that second paragraph. Especially considering the work of groups like Fluxus, among others.
I’m trying to be as coherent as possible I haven’t slept in a couple of days.
You’re coherent as hell, I know exactly what you’re trying to say. I’m not a New Yorker but I am old and very much an art lover, so I remember a lot of the names you just threw. Though I wasn’t a fan of pretty much anything she was involved with, her influence is inescapable and has a much farther reach than just pop music.
And maybe I’m remembering incorrectly, but while she wasn’t the most generous of patrons that ever lived, she did throw some of that ex-Beatle cash into the art scene from time to time as well, and was involved in many a fundraiser, maybe still is. That may not make a whole lot of difference in terms of changing a band from Sound A to Sound B, but over time, quietly, she really has changed the art world.
You took people and events I barely remembered and fleshed it out into actual facts very handily. Thank you for taking the time, and I hope by the time you’re reading this you’ve gotten some sleep.