I think Psychic TV are one of those bands/audio projects that are infinitely more interesting to read about than to actually listen to, like Current 93, Boyd Rice's NON, or Genesis P-Orridge's earlier work with the COUM Transmissions from the early 70s, some of the stuff Michael Pugliese mentions. Pioneering stuff, but sitting down to listen to it is something best done in small doses. P-Orridge should have a widely distributed documentary made about him/her -- and s/he'd probably love that, actually -- but listening to a lot of his/her stuff is just no-go for me. Seeing them live might be different, especially if you had acid.
On interesting thing that Michael probably knows about is that Psychic TV claimed Ian Curtis of Joy Division was supposed to do work with them, but then Curtis killed himself in 1980 before he could do so. However, Gensis P-Orridge said s/he and Ian Curtis had a psychic link, so after Curtis's death Curtis became a member of Psychic TV "psychically." Thus the Psychic TV song "IC Water"-- the "IC" stands for "Ian Curtis." So maybe if you see Psychic TV Ian Curtis will be, I dunno, floating spectrally around the place or something? In any event, the best Psychic TV song is not as good as the worst Joy Division song, so the grave must do something horrible to one's songwriting talent.
Also, Michael mentions Boyd Rice having nazi beliefs. Was under the impression he never REALLY had those (yes, you could probably find lots of pictures of him doing dress up, a la David Bowie or Siouxsie Sioux, and Michael's good at finding stuff like that, but was Rice taking the piss the whole time or what)? I don't know how Rice could be so interested in Polynesian culture, own a Tiki bar decorated with Polynesian stuff, and be planning to release some sort of Tiki-influenced lounge music, and also believe in fascism as we traditionally think of it. Rice's quasi-fascist stuff seemed more like artsy, cultural fucking around; his appearance in RE/Search's "Pranks" seemed to hint that a lot of it is a huge practical joke or something. He describes working at Taco Bell, etc.
-B.
Michael Pugliese wrote:
"A friend of mine in Oakland, Ca., backstage after a Psychic TV show in the late 80's, was invited to fondle Genesis P. Orridge's genital piercings. She demurred being there with her boyfriend. Material on Throbbing Gristle, his band before P-TV is in, 'Industrial Culture Handbook,' # 6/7 (Paperback) by V. Vale (Editor) Used to have a 45 by them, 'Zyklon-B Zombie.'"