April 4, 2006
No More Silly Rules
Back in a certain era, people used to go into a record store and buy a record just because they liked the cover. Remember that? If you do, you’re old. Nowadays there are many good and bad reasons why that doesn’t happen very often. One good reason: There’s this thing called the Internet (I understand you can even get a version of it for your computer) that provides a wealth of background information and peer reviews on almost any musical release. 
A kid with a shiny new dime to spend on this month’s latest Edison wax cylinder doesn’t have to rely only on his/her own spotty luck.
On the bad side, you still can’t judge a book (or a CD) by its cover, and now that punk’s a recognized commodity, there are scads of major-label graphic artists working with highly paid photographers and stylists, crafting cleverly cryptic window dressing to fool you into thinking some uninspired radio-friendly pop drool is actual something dramatic and homegrown and creative and personal. The truth is, these graphic makers haven’t heard the music – nor have they ever met the band, the band’s manager or the label Vice President. It’s just a packaging job. They don’t care about what’s inside. Not that there aren’t still awesome artists doing great things, but the field is bigger and muddier than ever. For an unprepared music shopper, it’s like playing the state lottery instead of a small game of roulette.
I was 17 years old when I went into a Washington, DC record shop and came out with three or four singles that caught my roving fancy. One of them was the Leather Nun Slow Death E.P. Look at that jacket art. I believe that my young brain was thinking, “What… the… fuck?” Who was that fried-up cover model, what had happened to him? The answer seemed to be contained in the lyrics to “Slow Death”: “90 percent burns… and 55 hours to live.” 
And who were those biker-clad tough guys on the back? I never woulda guessed they were Swedish.
The killer track was “No Rule,” an anthem to lawlessness that oozed street mayhem and violence, but in its ugly, arcane mono fidelity, seemed to be recorded in the dark ages using pieces of a shortwave radio with some scraps of bone and ligament. This, along with the creepy experimental dirges that accompanied it, was my first introduction to so-called industrial music.
The 12” rerelease of this record had a full-length track of “Ensam I Natt” instead of the joke edit you hear here. (Hey, my seven inches is still very respectable.)
What became of this band? Well, let the internet be your guide. Everything else I ever heard over the years by the Leather Nun sounded cheesy and lame; however, I’d dearly love to be proved wrong about that. In the meantime, enjoy the snap, crackle and hiss. Creep out, my peeps.
UPDATE: The provocatively horrific cover was designed by Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson, of Throbbing Gristle and later of Psychic TV and Coil. Fun fact.
Leather Nun – “No Rule”
Leather Nun – “Death Threats”
Leather Nun – “Slow Death”
Leather Nun – “Ensam I Natt”
Rick at 9:10 pm
9 CommentsÈ
RSS feed for comments on this post.TrackBack URI
Subscribe!
Dude… This Leather Nun 7” is an absolute killer. Along with SPK, one of the criminally unappreciated Industrial Records releases. I think i prefer the sleeve of the 12” rerelease to the original 7”, though. Thanks for posting this!
Comment by cullen stalin Ñ April 4, 2006 @ 10:44 pm
I like the fact that it’s the only song that was inspired by Motorhead’s Ovekill to feature an electric drill solo.
Comment by Rich Ñ April 5, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
More stuff that you introduced me to via your History of Music tapes! Thanks!
Comment by Ivan Lerner Ñ April 5, 2006 @ 7:09 pm
have you seen Genisis P Orridge’s post-op pictures? Crazy!
Say, I couldn’t find your email address on this site, so here’s the skinny for this weekend:
L.A. Film Noir Festival at the Egyptian!
Saturday, April 8 – 6:00 PM
THE DAMNED DON’T CRY, 1950, Warner Bros., 103 min. Dir. Vincent Sherman. This one gets our vote as the ultimate Joan Crawford noir. Ethel Whitehead (who else?) leaves behind her grubby life in the oil fields to parade her shapely stuff in NY’s garment jungle. After hooking up with a mob accountant, there’s no stopping her rise to power and glory — until she gets caught between the warring affections of gangsters David Brian and Steve Cochran. The script is really a thinly-veiled noir version of Crawford’s own relentless climb to showbiz success!
Saturday, April 8 – 8:30 PM
King Vidor Double Feature:
RUBY GENTRY, 1952, Disney, 82 min. Dir. King Vidor. Now that Douglas Sirk’s florid Fifties melodramas have been canonized as great cinema, isn’t it time to reconsider King Vidor’s even more overheated noir-stained soap operas? The director pulls out all the stops in this sexually-charged (nee hysterical) tale of a boondocks babe (Jennifer Jones) bent on destroying all the men folk who have used her and cast her aside. “She Wrecked a Whole Town…Man by Man…Sin by Sin!” Screenplay by Sylvia Richards (Mrs. Buzz Bezzerides). With Charlton Heston and Karl Malden.
BEYOND THE FOREST, 1949, Warner Bros., 96 min. Dir. King Vidor. As legend has it, Bette Davis begged not to play the role of Rosa Moline, the restless hellcat who’ll do anything to get out of her miserable hometown. But, trapped like Rosa, she chooses the same course—tear the place apart. Conventionally considered a “camp classic,” but actually a much better movie than it’s given credit for. Love her, hate her, laugh at her or cry for her—Davis’s Rosa Moline is one of the most memorable characters in Hollywood history. Also starring Joseph Cotten, David Brian, and Ruth Roman. NOT ON DVD.
Sunday, April 9
Egyptian Theatre Historic Tour & FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
10:30 AM Behind The Scenes Tour
11:30 AM FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
Sunday, April 9 – 4:30 PM
Dark Vision Of A Bygone Los Angeles!!
ANGEL’S FLIGHT, 1965, 77 min. Dirs. Raymond Nassour and Ken Richardson. A Super Rarity! Listen up lovers of Los Angeles Noir! Be here for an unprecedented screening of this long-lost, locally-made feature. This oddball noir-horror-crime hybrid concerns a psychically scarred stripper (Indus Arthur) who turns homicidal whenever she gets horny. The real attraction is the seedy splendor of pre-development Bunker Hill and the focus on the famed funicular trolley that gives the film its title. Shown off of digital format, as 35mm and 16mm prints no longer exist! Starring and produced by the original “Marlboro Man,” William Thourlby. NOT ON DVD. Discussion following film with writer, Dean Romano.
Comment by Mike Desert Ñ April 7, 2006 @ 9:27 am
Good thing you’re you, otherwise I would have swiped this from your bedroom before we left… I seriously covet your record collection.
Comment by Artie Philie Ñ April 9, 2006 @ 4:32 pm
Don’t bother to tell the toestubber about what happens at the Egyptian. He never goes. He’s “too hip” for that place, I guess. Save your breath. I’d bet he won’t even go in two weeks when Christina Lindberg is there for They Call He One Eye and a bunch of her sex films. Lazy bastard.
Comment by Steve Cattani Ñ April 12, 2006 @ 9:08 am
Steve: You shame me.
Comment by Rick Ñ April 12, 2006 @ 9:12 am
one of the BEST rock records of all time…beware of the “Ensaminatt” ep from 1982. it has a GREAT pic sleeve, & has 2 tracks from the “Slow Death” ep on it, but one is a HORRENDOUSLY re-recorded version, and the other is a VERY poorly recorded live version.the one “new” song on it is just as bad as their other wimpy crud,too…
this EP is GREAT though
Comment by wedge Ñ April 16, 2006 @ 8:24 am
Leather Nun rules! Check out the mini-lp “Lust Games” here:
http://dorfdiscobraunsfeld.blogspot.com/2006/04/i-can-smell-your-thoughts-you-want.html
Awesome stuff
Comment by Niclas Ñ May 16, 2006 @ 10:54 am