Lydia Lunch – Video Hysterie: 1978 – 2006 DVD
MVD Visual
Lydia Lunch has been an icon in the underground culture for three decades now. She has had a very long and diverse career that took her from punk rock singer to artist, to poet, to author, to film star, to “celebrity crush” of a teenage MXV, to so much more, the woman has done it all like no other before or likely after. Whether working alone or collaborating with any number of people, she’s consistently put out interesting and original material in every medium she’s put her hands in. What’s even more amazing is she is still at it today and shows no signs of ever quitting.
This DVD compiles live footage from various projects in the long career of Miss Lunch. It starts off with the legendary Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and goes on to 8 Eyed Spy, then is followed by lots of collaborations that spanned the course of another two decades. The one project I was always a big fan of which wasn’t represented at all here was her work with Clint Ruin (aka: Foetus) under the name Stinkfist. Most of the projects only feature one live song but the really early stuff has anywhere from two – six live songs which was a pretty amazing inclusion considering those shows were almost 30 years ago.
Video quality varies by clip and ranges from very good to excellent with a few of them being shot on just one camera. All the footage is full frame. The audio has two options: stereo and 5.1 surround with the nod going to the 5.1 mode which filled the room up nicely. Bonus materials include a view various interview clips and a really cool photo gallery featuring some really great photos of Lydia. Total run time of the main feature is around 80 minutes.
Since I have been a fan of Lydia Lunch for more than 2/3 of her career, I was pretty excited to check this disc out when I received it in the mail. It is a cool document that shows a good slice of her long and varied career and will enjoy repeated viewings and a permanent place in The Punk Vault.
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