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    The Slits

    I’d be (pleasantly) surprised if anyone bar MsD has any thoughts on the Slits. But, the older I get the more I convinced I am that they of all the bands of the era embodied the anarchic, DIY, subersive spirit of punk – both musically and politically, and also because they were women. Pioneers in so many ways.

    I’m reading Viv Albertine’s autobiography at the moment. She comes across as a brave and remarkably resilient woman who is also restlessly creative. She also an incredibly likeable voice on the page.

    There are some great anecdotes, some brutal moments of honesty, some vivid reminders why the 70s were a sh*t, filthy, grim decade infused with random and sickening violence, and some hugely poignant and life affirming passages. You also get to find out that Sid Vicious was a shy, sensitive intelligent bloke - an image completely at odds with the public perception of him.

    Anyway, the Slits. They were genuinely and thrillingly subversive band whose style of music was dictated as much by their musical limitations as by a desire to break new ground musically. They didn’t know how to write songs with traditional structures so they made it up as they went along and somehow invented a kind of pop/dub/punk hybrid, which sounded like nothing else, and still sounds really fresh today.

    If you have the first album, Cut, get hold of her book and play it whilst reading the chapter in which she describes the recording of the record. It’s enlightening and you get to hear one of the great post-punlk albums again. If you have neither the book or the album: buy both.

    #2
    The Slits

    Everyone seems to love that book except me and my BFF. :-)

    The Slits were all you say. I'd recommend the second album, too, and the Peel sessions, all very different.

    I basically like Viv, although Ari (and Tessa, to a lesser extent) were the ones I knew. I don't want to diss Viv but I disagree with her on several things and cannot bear the music she currently makes.

    Also, "Boys, Boys, Boys"; don't get me started.

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      #3
      The Slits

      Not really a fan at the time, but have listened recently. Largely prompted by Viv turning up on various TV retrospectives.

      Ari Up. My second fave showbiz name, after Ian Ure.

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        #4
        The Slits

        Silence Is A Rhythm Too. Wonderful stuff. Never got the chance to see them live after their very early bit on the White Riot tour, when they weren't as good as they became.

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          #5
          The Slits

          I'd second MsD's recommendations of all their records, a brilliant group.

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            #6
            The Slits

            The comeback Slits were terrific, too, Ari, Tessa, Hollie Cook and two other newbies.

            Ari was an amazing energetic force right up to just before she died.

            I've no doubt written about her before on here.

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              #7
              The Slits

              What was it about the book you didn't like MsD? Was it now how you remembered the period or the individuals? She seemed pretty charitable to most people - apart from a passing dig about Weller - even finding something decent to say about the usually reviled Nancy Spungen.

              Was thinking of tracking her solo stuff down, but perhaps it might not be my cup of tea. She spoke a lot about improvised jazz as the book develops. I liked Rip Rig and Panic at the time - whom she mentions - but that's about as jazz as I can handle.

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                #8
                The Slits

                I loved Rip, Rig, some of them are friends of mine. Viv's stuff is nothing like that.

                I've always said nice things about Sid and Nancy, too, it's not that (although, let's not forget, shy sensitive Sid killed a cat for kicks and probably killed his girlfriend) it's this idea she seems to have that she had to give up being a Slit and go be a housewife, because these awful men were giving her a hard time. False binary. As I said on TalkPunk ... (maybe I should cut and paste my posts from there) she sings mournfully about having to bake a lemon drizzle cake, something I've never felt obliged to do. No-one in the UK in this century has to conform to that lifestyle unless they buy into it. No woman has to have a man, and if you sacrifice your creativity in order to attract/keep one, whose fault is that?.

                The boys, boys, boys thing. Punk, for some of us, was a chance to get away from worrying about attracting boys. Women like Jordan and Siouxsie gave out a challenging vibe in their appearance and attitude, so did Ari, so did most of us, but Viv was always with the slightly girly flirtatious looks, and sorry, but that's a bit Uncle Tom. She says she didn't care about fame or anything, but she just happened to shag or go out with a member of each of the top punk bands - Clash, Pistols, Damned. Let's not pretend there was no hierarchy, don't kid a kidder. And why tell everyone she gave Johnny Rotten a blow job? I know people find it funny, but ... please.

                She's right about a lot of things, the violence, for example, the sexism. Gynaecological and menstrual nightmares.

                I don't think she acknowledges that while she was off doing her thing, others were still plugging on, new women artists were coming through, just as talented, brave, individual, raw - PJ Harvey springs to mind.

                On balance I like, admire and approve of Viv, but these are my criticisms.

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                  #9
                  The Slits

                  I think given that a fair few of us were around during that era, there'd be plenty of folk on OTF that appreciate The Slits. They were a great band, totally original and at odds with all about them at the time (in a very good way, of course).

                  Sid Vicious, on the other hand, was a talentless f*ckwit.

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                    #10
                    The Slits

                    MsD wrote:

                    I've no doubt written about her before on here.
                    You did.

                    http://www.wsc.co.uk/forum-index/29-music/445315-the-slits-ari-up-r-i-p

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                      #11
                      The Slits

                      I'm probably going to bump into Viv soon and I hope she hasn't read my comments or doesn't associate them with me. Nearly went to her do a short while ago and she may be at a private screening I'm going to in a couple of hours.

                      Still, constructive criticism ...

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                        #12
                        The Slits

                        Thanks MsD - you make some good points.

                        As for her attitudes towards men, you wonder whether her dysfunctional relationship with an absent father might have played a significant part in her pursuit of a husband (and potential father to the child she craved). But, yeah, considering the politics she espoused, it does jar a little that she has spent most of her life - by her own admission - looking for Mr Right.

                        She does mention, unlike the other members of the band, when it came to the cover of Cut, that for all her feminist attitudes, a part of her still wanted to look pretty.

                        You wonder with a book like this whether there might be pressure from the publishers for the money shots - hence the Lydon blow job story, the anecdotes about Sid Vicious.

                        Her relationship with Mick Jones, who emerges out of this as a really decent and generous bloke, seems fair game though - given that he was the one man who took her musical ambitions seriously.

                        *EDIT: obviously, I don't know her, but from reading the book, she doesn't appear to be someone who couldn't take fair and constructive criticism.

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                          #13
                          The Slits

                          It's probably wrong that I hated Vicious more for killing a cat than his girlfriend, or maybe not.

                          I never got the Slits. Their reggae was terrible ham-fisted rubbish. Their punk rock was just ok.

                          Why the sweat about Viv finding out your opinion, MsD?
                          If that's your honest assessment what's the problem?

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                            #14
                            The Slits

                            There's currently an Acura commercial running here that uses Vicious' version of My Way. Just seems wrong.

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                              #15
                              The Slits

                              Calvert wrote:
                              Why the sweat about Viv finding out your opinion, MsD?
                              If that's your honest assessment what's the problem?
                              People have been known to take my honest assessments extremely badly.

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                                #16
                                The Slits

                                My ignorance of the Slits has meant that I missed that she is an incredible looking woman.

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                                  #17
                                  The Slits

                                  Yes, well done, Viv.

                                  She wasn't there, but someone else whose work I've slagged off on here was. He mentioned seeing it but said it's. OK.

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                                    #18
                                    The Slits

                                    Seeing The Slits live was an incredibly joyous experience just through their sheer delight in doing what they wanted to do. Their fun and enthusiasm transmitted itself to most of the crowd and they remain one of my best remembered live bands.

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                                      #19
                                      The Slits

                                      Loved The Slits back in the day. I had Cut, Return of ... plus a live album on Y which I think was called Live at The Lyceum (or YMCA? one was a Cabaret Voltaire album iirc).

                                      Never got to see them live though.

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                                        #20
                                        The Slits

                                        Viv Albertine will be chatting on the Lauren Laverne BBC Radio 6 Music show over the next hour.

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