Each month in the magazine we play an artist or group a series of tracks which they are asked to comment on – with no prior knowledge of what they are about to hear.

In The Wire 493 it is the turn of writer, vocalist, performer and broadcaster Lydia Lunch.

Here you can listen to a mix of the tracks our correspondent Claire Biddles played to Lydia during the interview, which is published in full in The Wire 493. To find out what Lydia said about them, subscribers can read the interview in our online magazine library here. Or you can buy a copy of the magazine in our online shop.

But first, a brief biography of our subject:

Born in Rochester, New York in 1959, Lydia Lunch moved to New York City as a teenager and quickly became a key figure in the downtown no wave scene with her band Teenage Jesus And The Jerks. Her debut solo album Queen Of Siam was released in 1980, and was followed by dozens more solo and collaborative musical projects, most recently the noise rock bands Retrovirus and Big Sexy Noise.

A frequent collaborator, Lunch has recorded and performed with underground artists including Rowland S Howard, Eugene S Robinson and Sonic Youth, and has appeared in experimental films by the likes of Richard Kern, Vivienne Dick and Beth B, whose documentary Lydia Lunch: The War Is Never Over was released in 2019. And last year Lunch and Jasmine Hirst screened their documentary Artists: Depression, Anxiety & Rage. She has been a prolific poet and spoken word artist, publishing over ten books of memoir, poetry, photography and recipes, most recently 2019’s essay and poetry collection So Real It Hurts.

Lunch is currently involved in a project with French musician Marc Hurtado, performing the songs of Alan Vega and Suicide. She also presents the weekly podcast The Lydian Spin with longterm musical collaborator Tim Dahl, hosting conversations with both established and upcoming artists, musicians and writers from the counterculture.

In addition to all the above, Lunch is notable for being one of the only artists to be featured in the Invisible Jukebox twice, having previously been tested by Hopey Glass in The Wire 114 in August 1993. Subscribers can also read that interview in our online magazine library.

Lydia Lunch’s Invisible Jukebox playlist

Buñuel
“High. Speed. Chase.”
From Mansuetude
(Overdrive/Skin Graft)

Étant Donnés
“Construction”
From Le Paradis Blanc
(WARM)

Alan Vega
“Nike Soldier”
From Mutator
(Sacred Bones)

These Immortal Souls
“Marry Me (Lie! Lie!)”
From Get Lost (Don’t Lie!)
(SST/Mute)

Tongue In The Mind
“Pretty Canary”
From Tongue In The Mind
(Pan)

Meredith Monk
“Sigh”
From Our Lady Of Late
(Minona)

Diamanda Galás
“Pardon Me, I’ve Got Someone To Kill (Live)”
From Diamanda Galás In Concert
(Intravenal Sound Operations)

Jayne Cortez
“For The Brave Young Students In Soweto”
From Unsubmissive Blues
(Bola Press)

Tina Kit
“Brass Nut”
From The Brass Nut
(Haptic Exit)