Lydia Lunch

If any woman deserves her due respect in light of current trends, it's Lydia Lunch, no wave's original shining star. No other woman in punk, save for maybe Exene Cervenka or Poly Styrene, was as effectively confrontational as Lunch. Willing Victim was recorded live during the 2003 Festival des Masochismus in Graz, Austria, and runs through Lunch's entire career, from Teenage Jesus and the Jerks tunes to her '80s Stinkfist escapades and beyond. With the inimitable talents of Nels Cline, ex-Swans Norman Westberg and Algis Kyzis, and Vinnie Signorelli of Unsane behind her, Lunch's work couldn't sound more rejuvenated, but the uninspired cinematography and cheesy superimpositions visually lynch this otherwise fine retrospective. (MVD)