No Wave

[Profane Methane]

No Wave was a short-lived but influential art music and art scene that thrived briefly in New York City during the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk subculture. The term No Wave is in part satiric wordplay rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre. The term also highlights the music's experimental nature: No Wave music belonged to no fixed style or genre.

No Wave is a bit weird as far as music goes, taking many musical influences and kind of jamming them together to make this loud music with not much melody and with lo-fi recording. It sounds like it would be crap but I quite like it. I would say its' like post punk but one step further.

Some notable No Wave bands/artists (be warned this music is wierd):
Lydia Lunch (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=29533109)
James Chance and the Contortions (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=111306524)
DNA (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=142055363)
And the most famous Sonic Youth (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=31545506&MyToken=28ec2d25-5cb4-46f5-af5b-b639ff1ae107)
Tell me what you think of it.
Also if you like No Wave heres some similar bands:
Gang of Four (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=24334472)
Television Personalities (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=48076220)

[Tweek]

I only really knew Sonic Youth, but they are awesome so I could imagine the other bands being pretty good.

James Chance and The Contortionists is sweet music. A lot different to Sonic Youth, but a rival in my tastes.

DNA is okay, I guess.

[Profane Methane]

As wikipedia says, No Wave has not set formula. The music varies a lot.

[Android]

Gang of Four's first album Entertainment! is really awesome. Even for being released in 1979 it has an intensity and originality not since duplicated. I would also recommend checking out Big Black (http://www.dementlieu.com/~obik/bigblack/main.html) and The Swans (http://www.swans.pair.com/). Steve Albini (frontman for Big Black) also went on to found a group called Rapeman which is also good.

The Swans are definitely and acquired taste, but are 100% noisy and original. The frontman of the Swans went on to form a group called the Angels of Light that is this really beautiful music with dark lyrics and deranged themes, you'd have to hear it to really understand what I mean.

I never really considered Sonic Youth to be in the No Wave category though. I guess they kind of had their roots in the No Wave movement, but they went a lot further musically. According to their wikipedia page:

In their early career, Sonic Youth were associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City. Part of the first wave of American noise rock groups, the band carried out their interpretation of the punk rock ethos throughout the evolving American indie underground that focused more on the DIY ethic of the genre rather than its specific sound. They have found moderate mainstream success, and are generally seen as one of the leading alternative rock groups of their time.

[Idioteque]

Gang of Four and Sonic Youth are fucking fantastic, I just didn't know that there was a whole movement related to them, thats pretty cool.
I think I'll check out the other more obscure bands you mentioned, sounds interesting.