Ranting for a living
'Road Rant' (Merrill Aldighieri, MVD Visuals 2012, 50 mins.) es una filmación de recitales en Francia en 2007 de la escritora, performer, músico (y otras fechorías) Lydia Lunch junto a los músicos Joseph Budenholzer y Terry Edwards (Madness, Gallon Drunk, PJ Harvey...) y, más interesante aún, una muy breve captura de la paralela promoción radiofónica de su relato 'Paradoxia' (publicado originalmente en 1996), promoción que aprovecha para dar rienda suelta a su costumbre de afrentar públicamente las convenciones y despotricar contra todo lo establecido, provocaciones que le han valido ser denostada y apreciada (incluso imitada) a partes iguales a pesar de permanecer, por lo general, como una figura sumamente desconocida. Merrill y Lydia ya trabajaron juntas en el incendiario cortometraje 'The Gun Is Loaded' (1989).
“He sido tratada de loca, sociópata, desquiciada, lunática, chalada, demente, cruel, perra, ladrona, zorra, puta, paranoica maníaco-esquizofrénica… perversa androide, fría, calculadora y controladora. Todo ello por gente que me amaba o decía o pensaba que me amaba. Aunque probablemente jamás llegaron a conocerme. No conocieron mi auténtico yo. Únicamente lo que yo les permití conocer. Sólo un poco.” ― Lydia Lunch, 'Paradoxia: Diario De Una Depredadora'.
'Road Rant' (Merrill Aldighieri, MVD Visuals 2012) is a filming of some French 2007 gigs by writer, performer, musician (and other misdeeds) Lydia Lunch with musicians Joe Budenholzer and Terry Edwards (Madness, Gallon Drunk, PJ Harvey ...) and, more interestingly, a very brief look at the paralell French radio promotion of her book 'Paradoxia' (first published in 1996), a promotion that she uses to unleash her habit of defying and ranting agaisnt conventions, provocations that have earned her being equally beleaguered and appreciated (even imitated) despite remaining generally quite unknown. Merrill and Lydia already worked together on the incendiary short film 'The Gun Is Loaded' (1989).
“No easy way out. No escape. From yourself. You had to LEARN to DEAL with the cards you were dealt. Had to learn the hard way that the world doesn't OWE you a fucking thing. Not a reason, nor excuse. No apologies. Had to learn that some forms of insanity run in the family, pure genetics, polluted lifelines, full of disease. Profanity. Addiction. Co-addiction. Inability to deal with reality, what the fuck ever that's suppose to mean when you're born into an emotional ghetto of endless abuse. Where the only way out is in...deep, deep inside, so you poke holes in your skin, thinking that if you could just concentrate the pain it wouldn't remain an all-consuming surround which suffocates you from the first breath of day to your last dying day. Day in. Day out. Day in. Day out. I knew all about it.”
― Lydia Lunch, 'Paradoxia: A Predator's Diary'.
