'No New York' at 35: A Bibliography

To quote Berfrois' "33.333" quoting of 3:AM Magazine's "No New York: A Jade Anniversary," "in short, there could be no definitive No Wave album."

So, by simple association, perhaps there cannot--there should not--be any kind of No Wave bibliography.

That's good news, then, because there are only two great books specifically about No Wave music.

Both titles, Marc Masters' No Wave (Black Dog) and Thurston Moore/Byron Coley's No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980 (Abrams Image) came out virtually on top of each other (late December 2007 and early June 2008, respectively).

Whereas Masters' deft exegesis--replete with endnotes--makes for the more academic read, Moore and Coley's handsome compendium is still a compelling oral history interspersed with photos from the scene.

As a friend of Marc's, a fan of Byron's and a student of Thurston's, Classicalite could not recommend their words heartily enough.

A scant year before Masters, Moore and Coley flooded the market, Simon Reynolds (a friend, as well) included a short, but stellar chapter on No Wave in his book for Penguin Non-Classics, Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984.

More than five years removed now, all three, really, have proven invaluable, first-call contributions to the nascent No Wave canon.

Of course, there's still a great deal more to add to the discourse.

In a way, No Wave was too sullied for Masters' ivory tower, much too rude for Moore and Coley's coffee table.

And that dirt and defiance deserves a lot more words than Reynolds' U.S. editors allowed him.

True, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't be writing this post; all the same, however, it's time to give No Wave a new due.

After all, the natives are getting convalescent.

Right now, Amazon is bundling the Masters and Moore/Coley volumes with an earlier 2007 offering from Paula Court entitled, New York Noise: Art and Music from the New York Underground 1978-88 (Soul Jazz Recordings).

Short on words, it's merely a pictorial companion to the same-named compilation of 2003--which, itself, was rather light on No Wave noise.

Similarly, Will Hermes' Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever (Faber & Faber) from last year hardly mentions No Wave, much less No New York, at all.

If it's true No Wave, and No Wave only, you desire, don't waste your money on either the Court or the Hermes.

Given the recent spate of reissues and previously unreleased material from several first wave No Wave bands--exemplified by Feeding Tube's Mars: Live at Artists Space from January 2011--the timing could not be more no for an update.