TG - Abridged canon of ‘Wreckers of Civilisation’

If there ever was a sound of a sonic revolution - as much as we admire Krautrockers, Eno, Bowie, Glass or, even, The Beatles - then it was to be found on the albums by Throbbing Gristle. Never compromising and always on the edge, flirting with chaos and tonal anarchy, disassembling and re-wiring genres to create antithesis.

Throbbing Gristle were discussed in the Parliament and accused of being ‘Wreckers of Civilisation’* because their arty anti-art guerrilla activities were affronting the social norm, decency and acceptability. Some 25 years later Oasis were guests at Tony Blair’s party… Sometime in-between it all went money’n’fame shaped and centred with even less a place for a band like TG.

For six years (1975-81) these four souls - Genesis P. Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson and Chris Carter - usurped, freaked-out [or whatever the slang was at the time - Linguistic Ed.] and challenged every note in the avant-rock encyclopaedia. Years late they explained their modus operandi:

“We wanted to re-invest Rock music with content, motivation and risk. Our records were documents of attitudes and experiences and observations by us and other determinedly individual outsiders. Fashion was an enemy, style irrelevant.“

TG existed in their own sphere and time-zone that stretched from ‘Zyklon B Zombie’ (a chemical used in Nazi camps and sounding as if recorded from within one of the death chambers) to an industrial apocalypse of ‘We Hate You (Little Girls)’, to electronic mayhem of ‘Dead on Arrival’ to spaced-out violins of ‘Weeping’… This ain’t pop music as your grandmother punk’d to!

Throbbing Gristle used music as a weapon against society… And, didn’t win but they certainly tried their hardest. This is a very abridged taster of TG’s canon [or should that be cannon? - militant Ed] and somewhat misleading due to the fact that these are more accessible tracks. Still, disturbing, brutal, confrontational and sounding pertinent after all these years whilst demonstrating why the band were true pioneers and without whom there would be no Industrial-rock [and no Nine Inch Nails] or agit-rockers [Gang Of Four, Sonic Youth] or The Sugarcubes, Einsturzende Neubauten, Laibach or, even, Radiohead…

Still, ‘The Taste Of TG’ is only a snack and further investigation into a maliciously delicious world of the noise terrorists is strongly advised. But, if you’ve grown up on Nirvana or, false deity forbid, someone even less rockist - beware the danger of a culture-shock and take adequate precautionary measures. A sonorous avalanche awaits!

Herewith are 14 gems of varying risk levels… French Situationists used to claim to be - reasonable but demanded the impossible! TG deliver it… Have a Throbbingly Gristle day.

9/10

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* Also a title of the book on their exploits, subtitled ‘The Story of Coum Transmissions & Throbbing Gristle’, by Simon Ford, published in 1999 by Black Dog