In this episode of LaunchLeft, guest host Donita Sparks is joined by legendary no wave pioneer Lydia Lunch, celebrating her fearless artistry and the launch of Genre is Death. Lydia Lunch dives deep into her boundary-busting career, from her start in the 1970s New York underground to her influence across music, spoken word, and activism. The episode also shines a spotlight on emerging NYC band Genre is Death—members Taylor and Ty join the conversation, sharing their journey from Georgia to the NYC scene. Together, they explore the spirit of artistic rebellion, creative resilience, and the power of radical self-expression. Tune in for candid stories, inspiration, and a special performance from Genre is Death’s upcoming album, Attractive People.

What You’ll Learn This Episode: 

✅Lydia Lunch recounts her teenage escape to New York, driven by the inspiration of the New York Dolls, her formation of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, and the gritty, creative chaos of 1970s and pioneering “no wave”

✅Insights into Lydia’s constantly shifting creative identities—from tight, abrasive bands to big band projects and experimental spoken word. She breaks down her approach to musical collaboration, creative ownership, and why she curates her own sonic universe.

✅Lydia and Donita reflect on giving back, including workshops for women writers, bringing newcomers onto the spoken word stage, and the power of solidarity among outsider artists.

✅From Lydia’s ongoing podcast “The Lydian Spin” to new recordings, collaborations, and upcoming tours—plus tales of performing anywhere for the love of art, even in alleys ankle-deep in urine. There’s also talk of legendary collaborations, archival ambitions, and what it means to keep hustling in independent music.

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IN THIS EPISODE: 

00:00 Intro: Lydia Lunch’s Origins: From Runaway Teen to No Wave Pioneer  

02:22 1970s New York City: Chaos, Cheap Rent, and Artistic Revolution  

05:11 The Birth of No Wave: Rejecting Genres and Reinventing Sound  

09:16 Art as Instigation: Owning Your Work in Underground Music  

13:24 Confrontational Performance Art: Politics, Anger, and the Stage  

20:40 Mental Health, Trauma, and Survival as a Creative  

31:05 Being a Woman in Radical and Experimental Music Spaces  

47:08 Genre Is Death is Launched: Supporting New Bands and the Future of No Wave Spirit 

53:13 Performance video of Genre is Death’s new song Attractive People

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

💎Inventing a Genre, Defying Rules: Lydia discusses the birth of “no wave,” her resistance to artifice, why her work is “no everything,” and the difference between no wave’s personal/creative revolt versus punk’s political edge.

💎Confrontation as Art: Lydia self-identifies as a “cuntfrontationalist”—always willing to push boundaries and provoke thought. The episode gets candid about being a woman in a hyper-male art world, using language as a weapon, and surviving decades in radical art.

💎Launching Genre is Death: Lydia introduces Taylor and Ty from Genre is Death, a rising New York duo merging heavy fuzz bass and DIY performance art. Learn how they met Lydia, relocated from Georgia, and found their creative family in NYC’s underground.

RESOURCE LINKS: 

LaunchLeft Podcast Smart Link

Lydia Lunch links:

https://www.lydia-lunch.net

https://www.instagram.com/lydia.lunch.official/

https://www.facebook.com/LydiaLunch/

https://www.youtube.com/c/lydialunchofficial

https://lydialunch.bandcamp.com

Genre is Death Links:

https://www.instagram.com/genreisdeath/

https://genreisdeath.bandcamp.com

BIOGRAPHIES: 

Donita Sparks Best known as the co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist of the pioneering punk band L7, Donita Sparks is a cultural force whose influence spans decades. Her creativity, artistry, and humor have made her an iconic figure in music. In 2026, Sparks joins LaunchLeft as a guest host, bringing her insight and generous spirit to conversations with independent and emerging artists.

Genre is Death In 2024, GID was crowned the 3rd hardest working band in NYC by Oh My Rockness. In March 2025, the duo played the New Colossus Festival. Their debut LP 'Talk' was released November 1st, with a limited run of cassettes released by Insecurity Hits. The pair have opened up for legendary acts Gogol Bordello, Lydia Lunch, Cherubs, Bush Tetras, and will be opening for Jon Spencer February 1 in Philadelphia. Their upcoming record was recorded with celebrated sound engineer Martin Bisi & will be out this year on IN THE RED Records.

Lydia Lunch is passionate, confrontational and bold. Whether attacking the patriarchy and their pornographic war mongering, turning the sexual into the political or whispering a love song to the broken hearted, her fierce energy and rapid fire delivery lend testament to her warrior nature. 

Queen of No Wave, muse of The Cinema of Transgression, writer, musician, poet, spoken word artist and photographer, she has released too many musical projects to tally, has been on tour for decades, working with such luminaries as Rowland S Howard, Thurston Moore, Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Karen Finley, Jerry Stahl, The Last Poets, and Hubert Selby JR. 

She has published dozens of articles, half a dozen books translated into 9 languages, appeared in numerous documentaries, conducted workshops, taught at Universities including The San Francisco Art Institute and simply refuses to just shut up.

Genre Is Death is an uncompromising noise duo made up of Ty V (guitar, vox) and Tayler Lee (bass, vox). Their sound is abrasive yet melodic, using heavy distortion, dissonant riffs, and reverberating vocals to create a wave of boldly hypnotic noise. The duo have been compared to the likes of Sonic Youth and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, yet have managed to create a sound that is distinctly their own, avoiding mimicking the zeitgeist of decades before. Beyond the integrity of their music, Tayler’s intimidating glare, or Ty’s staggering gait, the duo share something truly inimitable— the overwhelming feeling that their music is a byproduct of the high esteem they hold of each other.