TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS:
Shut Up and Bleed: CD
Another compilation of Teenage Jesus tracks for the masses to ingest. What’s the count, fifteen now? As I’ve stated prior, I can’t say I’m much of a fan of Lydia Lunch the persona—people as blustery and elitist, as she goes out of her way to come off, strike me less as misunderstood geniuses than arrogant quasi-intellectuals trying to project some sorta artsy street cred by incessantly wallowing in life’s fecal matter and pooh-poohing anyone who dares question their motivations—but I’ve always had a soft spot for her musical endeavors, and this stuff remains a personal favorite. As have prior releases, this covers the band’s total output of atonal skronk slam’n’bang: Ms. Lunch’s misanthropic screeching, James Chance’s too-short tenure as saxophonist, brief, noisy instrumentals like “Red Dragnet,” all culled from live sets, EPs, singles, and celebrated comps like No New York. Tacked on are tracks from one of Lunch’s side projects, Beirut Slump, who push farther into no wave’s artier recesses. If you don’t have any of the myriad other Teenage Jesus anthologies and you like your music loud and abrasive, this is more than worth a listen.  –Jimmy Alvarado (www.cherryred.co.uk)