The Baby-Faced Killer

Lydia Lunch’s music, poetry, and video works center around themes of misogyny, sexual abuse, and the patriarchy. Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over is a documentary about the artist’s life and her creative influences. It’s a diary of how she continues to machete her way through society.

Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over opens with a clip of a young Lydia wearing a nightgown on a street corner in Rochester, New York. In 1975, after moving to New York City at the age of sixteen, Lydia fronted many musical acts. These acts included bands like Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and 8 Eyed Spy, which ranged in style from noise rock to surf punk.

Lydia’s videos of spoken-word poetry from the mid-80’s were my favorite of the documentary. They were like music videos but so much better. They follow a glamorous Lydia, speaking directly to the viewer, while she strolls among run-down buildings, busted cars, and seemingly dangerous areas of New York City. Lydia’s style of poetry is so perfectly pointed in them. She knows exactly when to race through run-ons, and just when to abruptly stop to make a succinct statement. Her conversational style makes it unclear whether she’s reciting lyrics or improvising as she goes.

In 1984, Lydia starred in a film titled, The Right Side of My Brain, which is attributed to Richard Kern. The film is an oblique allegory for Lydia’s childhood trauma. It includes explicit scenes for the purpose of dramatic effect. The documentary presents The Right Side of My Brain as not being made for the male gaze, but rather for the purpose of representing Lydia’s story. 

Lydia was sexually abused at a very young age, and the documentary makes linkages between that trauma and her creative style. A through-line is established from childhood to today based on the idea that her sexual trauma as a child has directly influenced her art.

The latter third of the documentary brings us up to speed with Lydia’s latest music and poetry. She’s continued to perform throughout the turn of the millennium, and now fronts Retrovirus, a hard-rock-funk-fusion act that plays Lydia’s classics as well as new originals. The implication isn’t just that Lydia hasn’t slowed down, but that she’s hitting a creative stride.

Some of Lydia’s most recent works are just as indicative of her style as her 1989 poem, “Conspiracy of Women,” from which Lydia Lunch: The War is Never Over takes its title. Her lunch with Anthony Bourdain in 2018, for example, for the final episode of Parts Unknown, amounted to a performative artwork in the vein of her appearances on Videowave in 1983 and Denton in 1994. Their conversations are completely dominated by Lydia, and her statements are either pulled directly from her poetry, or on-the-fly utterances—maybe both. It’s hard to tell if she’s about to slice him in half as an icon of the patriarchy. 

Lydia has always been quicker, more on-point, and readier for a fight than anyone asking her questions. Such discussions are performative representations of her poetry. Instead of speaking to an audience or a camera, Lydia speaks in the faces of powerful men and women who clearly can’t keep up with her. The effect, most every time, is chalking one up for Lydia. She wins the debates, and does so with charm. Usually, by the end of the performance, she’s won everyone over.