New York noir

Reading Lydia Lunch book Paradoxia a few weeks ago reminded me of a rather obscure movie called Vortex, by Scott and Beth B, in which Ms. Lunch starred. It's from 1982 and I saw it just once, around '83 or '84, as part of a film series about indie NY movies. I only remember glimpses from the movie—an indie noir made on a tiny budget and sporting a striking look—but the soundtrack made quite an impression and I bought the LP shortly thereafter.

As far as I know,Vortex isn't on video or DVD, and the soundtrack isn't on CD either, which is a shame because it features a Who's Who of No New Yorkers: Lunch of course, Adele Bertei, Pat Place, Kristian Hoffman, Richard Edson, John Lurie… It certainly fits in with the sidewalk-queen aura Lunch worked at the time, when she also released her excellent album Queen of Siam.

From the Vortex soundtrack, here's the still-awesome "Black Box Disco."