"NON LIVE IN OSAKA"
Caciocavallo
Boyd Rice is at the center of that spurious underground milieu which
rose to quasi-prominence in the eighties, combining industrial and
noise culture with LeVay-style Satanism, social Darwinism and fascist
aesthetics. The work of NON, and of its progenitors and followers,
influenced a generation of Dungeons and Dragons players, rivetheads and
white supremacists to unite their interests under an anti-establishment
banner that seemed pretty dangerous and sexy when it was new, but
appears a bit silly in retrospect. In truth, Boyd Rice created nothing
that hadn't been suggested previously by David Bowie, and especially
Throbbing Gristle. TG's interest in musical performance and noise as
cultural exorcism, agitation and political rally was clearly a
precedent for NON's subsequent exploitation. Boyd's only contribution
was to narrow and delineate these interests, and to incorporate his
neo-Satanic views and his sadistic sense of camp. Coming after the
double disappointment of last year's tepid Children of the Black Sun 5.1 surround-sound album, Soleilmoon officially releases Non Live in Osaka
on DVD, a frequently bootlegged recording of a legendary 1989 concert
in Japan. This concert was legendary because it was the first to unite
Boyd Rice, Douglas P., Rose McDowall, Tony Wakeford and Michael
Moynihan on one stage. They appear in a thick fog, flanked by red beams
of light, decked out in paramilitary gear, beating on giant barrel
drums, while Rice performs a series of propagandistic invocations in
his familiar modulated monotone. He spouts off the usual monologues
about war, might and superiority. None of this is particularly
ingenious, but it's very much better than any NON performance I've been
unfortunate enough to witness in this decade. In fact, it all seems
quite potent, with the big martial drumbeats, the grinding noise sweeps
and Boyd Rice's booming, echoing voice. I especially appreciated the
long introduction of Iron Guard marching songs directly preceding and
following the performance. Watching this transported me back to a time
when I thought it was quite daring to adopt an amoral, nihilistic
viewpoint and wear Nazi totenkopf symbols on my clothes. In addition to
some nifty photo slideshows accompanied by hilarious Japanese girl-pop,
the DVD also includes illuminating commentary and two experimental
short films by Boyd Rice. I've often heard these films compared to
Kenneth Anger's ritual-on-celluloid masterpieces such as Lucifer Rising and Invocation of My Demon Brother. Judging by the first film, Invocation,
Mr. Anger has nothing to worry about. This grainy, pornographic footage
has all the genius of any Hi-8 video made by a 13-year old goth
teenager from Des Moines. The second film, Black Sun, is much better, a Stan Brakhage-style celluloid trance-meditation on a spinning swastika.
Boyd Rice is at the center of that spurious underground milieu which
rose to quasi-prominence in the eighties, combining industrial and
noise culture with LeVay-style Satanism, social Darwinism and fascist
aesthetics. The work of NON, and of its progenitors and followers,
influenced a generation of Dungeons and Dragons players, rivetheads and
white supremacists to unite their interests under an anti-establishment
banner that seemed pretty dangerous and sexy when it was new, but
appears a bit silly in retrospect. In truth, Boyd Rice created nothing
that hadn't been suggested previously by David Bowie, and especially
Throbbing Gristle. TG's interest in musical performance and noise as
cultural exorcism, agitation and political rally was clearly a
precedent for NON's subsequent exploitation. Boyd's only contribution
was to narrow and delineate these interests, and to incorporate his
neo-Satanic views and his sadistic sense of camp. Coming after the
double disappointment of last year's tepid Children of the Black Sun 5.1 surround-sound album, Soleilmoon officially releases Non Live in Osaka
on DVD, a frequently bootlegged recording of a legendary 1989 concert
in Japan. This concert was legendary because it was the first to unite
Boyd Rice, Douglas P., Rose McDowall, Tony Wakeford and Michael
Moynihan on one stage. They appear in a thick fog, flanked by red beams
of light, decked out in paramilitary gear, beating on giant barrel
drums, while Rice performs a series of propagandistic invocations in
his familiar modulated monotone. He spouts off the usual monologues
about war, might and superiority. None of this is particularly
ingenious, but it's very much better than any NON performance I've been
unfortunate enough to witness in this decade. In fact, it all seems
quite potent, with the big martial drumbeats, the grinding noise sweeps
and Boyd Rice's booming, echoing voice. I especially appreciated the
long introduction of Iron Guard marching songs directly preceding and
following the performance. Watching this transported me back to a time
when I thought it was quite daring to adopt an amoral, nihilistic
viewpoint and wear Nazi totenkopf symbols on my clothes. In addition to
some nifty photo slideshows accompanied by hilarious Japanese girl-pop,
the DVD also includes illuminating commentary and two experimental
short films by Boyd Rice. I've often heard these films compared to
Kenneth Anger's ritual-on-celluloid masterpieces such as Lucifer Rising and Invocation of My Demon Brother. Judging by the first film, Invocation,
Mr. Anger has nothing to worry about. This grainy, pornographic footage
has all the genius of any Hi-8 video made by a 13-year old goth
teenager from Des Moines. The second film, Black Sun, is much better, a Stan Brakhage-style celluloid trance-meditation on a spinning swastika.
