 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2016) |
| "Discipline" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Throbbing Gristle | ||||
| Released | 3 June 1981 [1] | |||
| Genre | Industrial | |||
| Label | Fetish FET006 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Peter Christopherson, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Chris Carter, Genesis P-Orridge | |||
| Producer(s) | Throbbing Gristle | |||
| Throbbing Gristle singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Discipline" is a song by the English electronic group Throbbing Gristle.
The "Discipline" single features two versions of the title track, recorded in Berlin and Manchester. [1] The center labels are cream with black printing, and a glossy picture sleeve depicts the band standing outside the ex-Nazi Ministry of Propaganda in Berlin, and the other side shows Val Denham holding a Hitler Youth dagger centre back. [2] The words "Techno Primitive" were scratched on side A and "Psykick Youth Squad" on side B. Both tracks were later released on the CD version of 20 Jazz Funk Greats .
The word "Techno Primitive" was later used by electronic duo Chris & Cosey for their 1985 album of the same name, while the name "Psykick Youth Squad" can be seen as a reference to the later band Psychic TV, both groups made up of ex-Throbbing Gristle members.
Side A:
Side B:
"Discipline" is considered to be Throbbing Gristle's most infamous song. First played at the SO36 Club in Berlin (as documented on the single), it was at first entirely improvised, based upon a topic suggestion given by Cosey Fanni Tutti before the show. The song is driven by a minimal, pulsing synthesizer drumbeat, over which Genesis P-Orridge would sing lyrics surrounding the concept of discipline, slowly introducing other musical elements, such as electric bass and walls of guitar or synth noise. [2] After Berlin, it was played at nearly every Throbbing Gristle show until the group's demise. Often it would range in length from eight to 12 minutes, although it could be stretched out much longer. A version from one of the last Throbbing Gristle shows at the Lyceum in London was over 30 minutes long, as documented on the bootleg Once Upon a Time and the VHS release Destiny.
The song was covered by Marc Almond and Friends on a flexi disc that was issued free with an issue of Flexipop magazine. [3] He performed it solo on Siouxsie and the Banshees' Join Hands tour at the Hammersmith Odeon as an extended version forming the entirety of his set, which preceded the Cure, the main support band. "Discipline" was also covered by Boyd Rice and by German synthpop group Propaganda as "Disziplin." [4]
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Indie Chart [5] | 43 |
Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments and punk provocation". The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by members of Throbbing Gristle and Monte Cazazza. While the genre name originated with Throbbing Gristle's emergence in the United Kingdom, artists and labels vital to the genre also emerged in the United States and other countries.
Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of industrial music. Evolving from the experimental performance art group COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle made their public debut in October 1976 on COUM exhibition Prostitution, and released their debut single "United/Zyklon B Zombie" and debut album The Second Annual Report the following year. Lyrical themes mainly revolved around mysticism, extremist political ideologies, sexuality, dark or underground aspects of society, and idiosyncratic manipulation of language.
Alternative TV are an English band formed in London in 1977. Author Steve Taylor writes: "Alternative TV pioneered reggae rhythms in punk and then moved on to redefine the musical rules".
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge was an English singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions artistic collective and lead vocalist of seminal industrial band Throbbing Gristle. P-Orridge was also a founding member of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth occult group, and fronted the experimental pop rock band Psychic TV.
Peter Martin Christopherson was an English musician, video director, commercial artist, designer and photographer, and former member of British design agency Hipgnosis.
Psychic TV were an English experimental video art and music group, formed by performance artist Genesis P-Orridge and Scottish musician Alex Fergusson in 1981 after the break-up of Throbbing Gristle.
COUM Transmissions was a music and performance art collective who operated in the United Kingdom from 1969 through to 1976. The collective was influenced by the Dada and surrealism artistic movements, the writers of the Beat Generation, and underground music. COUM were openly confrontational and subversive, challenging aspects of conventional British society. Founded in Hull, Yorkshire by Genesis P-Orridge, other prominent early members included Cosey Fanni Tutti and Spydeee Gasmantell. Part-time members included Tim Poston, "Brook" Menzies, Haydn Robb, Les Maull, Ray Harvey, John Smith, Foxtrot Echo, Fizzy Paet and John Gunni Busck. Later members included Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and Chris Carter, who together with P-Orridge and Fanni Tutti went on to found the pioneering industrial band Throbbing Gristle in 1976.
A rivethead or rivet head is a person associated with the industrial dance music scene. In stark contrast to the original industrial culture, whose performers and heterogeneous audience were sometimes referred to as "industrialists", the rivethead scene is a coherent youth culture closely linked to a discernible fashion style. The scene emerged in the late 1980s on the basis of electro-industrial, EBM, and industrial rock music. The associated dress style draws on military fashion and punk aesthetics with hints of fetish wear, mainly inspired by the scene's musical protagonists.
George Douglas Gimarc is an American disc jockey, record and radio program producer and author based in Texas and is in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. He is known for his extensive and authoritative knowledge about the classic rock radio format, recorded music in general, and specifically the era of punk rock. His broadcast programs have been heard in various formats in the U.S., Canada, Europe and New Zealand, via licensed stations and unlicensed pirate radio transmitters.
Cosey Fanni Tutti is an English performance artist, musician and writer, best known for her time in the avant-garde groups Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey.
An Ideal for Living is the first EP by the English post-punk band Joy Division. It was released in 1978 by the band's own label, Enigma, shortly after the group changed its name from Warsaw.
Chris Carter is an English musician, best known for being a member of Throbbing Gristle and the duo Chris & Cosey, both with his longtime partner Cosey Fanni Tutti.
Chris & Cosey, sometimes known as Carter Tutti, are a musical duo formed in 1981, consisting of couple Chris Carter (electronics) and Cosey Fanni Tutti, both previously members of industrial music pioneers Throbbing Gristle. Since the release of their 1981 debut album Heartbeat, the group have expanded on the rhythmic ideas of Throbbing Gristle while adding synthesized pop elements to their sound.
20 Jazz Funk Greats is the third studio album by British industrial music group Throbbing Gristle, released in December 1979 by the band's label Industrial Records. It is known for its tongue-in-cheek title and artwork, and has been hailed as the band's best work, with UK magazine Fact naming it the best album of the 1970s, and Pitchfork naming it the best industrial album of all time.
Heathen Earth is a live album by the English industrial band Throbbing Gristle, released in 1980 through Industrial Records.
"United/Zyklon B Zombie" is the debut single by industrial band Throbbing Gristle. It was released in 7" vinyl format in May 1978, through the band's own Industrial Records.
The Second Annual Report is the debut album by English industrial music group Throbbing Gristle, released in November 1977 through Industrial Records. It is a combination of live and studio recordings made from October 1976 to September 1977. The Second Annual Report is considered to be influential within electronic music, being one of the first industrial music albums.
Adrenalin/Distant Dreams is a single by Throbbing Gristle. It was simultaneously released with Subhuman/Something Came Over Me. It was sold in a camouflage printed plastic bag and reached No. 26 in the UK Indie Chart.
Steve James Sherlock is a British composer, musician, saxophone player who was a founder member of Neu Electrikk, joined Matt Johnson in the Post punk band The The and notably Marc Almond in Marc and the Mambas.
"Fiery Jack" is a song by the Fall released in 1980 as their fourth single.
