Theoretical Girls were a New York-based no wave band formed by

Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...

and Jeff Lohn (a

conceptual artist Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional Aesthetics, aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes ca ...

and composer) that existed from 1977 to 1981. Theoretical Girls played only about 20 shows (three of which took place in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

). It released one single ("U.S. Millie"/"You Got Me"), which had some attention in England where it sold a few thousand copies. The band was never signed by a record company, but is well regarded as an early leading no wave group that mixed classical modern ideas of composition with punk rock. This experimental music was mostly supported by the New York art world and

minimal art Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or co ...

music audience.

History

Theoretical Girls was formed after Branca and Lohn's previous group the Static and performed its first show at the Experimental Intermedia Foundation. Artist Jeff Wall came up with the band's name during a discussion of women making conceptual art. The Theoretical Girls were among the most enigmatic of the late 1970s no wave bands of the New York underground rock scene, famous not so much for their music, since they released only one single during their brief existence, but because the group launched the careers of two of New York's best known experimental music figures, composer

and producer

Wharton Tiers Wharton Tiers (born 1953, in Philadelphia) is an American audio engineer, record producer, drummer and percussionist. Biography After receiving a diploma from Villanova University (Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania), he moved to ...

. The latter played drums, the former guitar in the quartet, which also featured keyboardist Margaret De Wys and vocalist/guitarist Jeffrey Lohn, a classically trained composer who, like Branca and so many others in the no wave scene, wasn't interested in working with popular musical forms until inspired to do so by the explosion of punk rock. The group's sound shared aesthetics with the other no wave bands working in Manhattan at the time, such as

The Contortions James Chance and the Contortions (initially known simply as Contortions, a spin-off group is called James White and the Blacks) was a musical group led by saxophonist and vocalist James Chance, formed in 1977. They were a central act of New York ...

and DNA. Always confrontational and often funny in an aggressive way, the band's sound consistently displayed the influence of American minimalist composers, ranging from sparse, clattering rhythm pieces that sound like immediate forebears of early 1980s

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

, to abrasive slabs of art-punk

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

.Masters, pp. 110 -117 Two recordings subsequent to the dissolution of the band have emerged in recent years, helping to preserve the band's legacy. The first, which came out on Atavistic in 1995, consists of all the Glenn Branca-penned songs, including "You Got Me", the flipside from the group's only single. The A-side, "U.S. Millie," appears on a newer collection of Theoretical Girls songs all written by Lohn. That compendium owes its existence to Acute Records proprietor Daniel Selzer, who spent several years collaborating with Lohn to compile the songs, working from poorly recorded old rehearsal tapes and live reels.

Currently

Jeffrey Lohn resides in the East Village neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and keeps to a private life. Glenn Branca continued to pursue a career as a musician, before succumbing to throat cancer on May 13, 2018 at the age of 69.

Discography

Single

* Theoretical Girls: You Got Me (Branca)/U.S. Millie (Lohn) 7" single, (Theoretical Records, 1978)

Collections

* Branca: The Static & Theoretical Girls: Songs '77-'79, (

Atavistic Records Atavistic Records is an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois, known for its no wave and free jazz recordings. Atavistic has released albums by Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Lydia Lunch, Peter Brötzmann, Ken Vandermark, Pinetop Seven, Sw ...

, 1995) *:''compiles live and studio recordings by The Static and Theoretical Girls 1977-1979'' * Theoretical Girls: Theoretical Record, (Acute Records, 2002) *:''compiles most known recorded work of Theoretical Girls''

Compilation appearances

*Various Artists - ''Out of Their Mouths'' (1996, Atavistic Records) *:''song: "You Got Me"'' *Various Artists - ''New York Noise'' (2003,

Soul Jazz Records Soul Jazz Records is a British record label based in London. Outside of releasing records, the label also publishes books, occasionally films and performs as a DJ set. The music releases labels from a variety of genres, including reggae, house ...

) *:''song: "You Got Me"'' * DVD ''135 Grand Street, New York, 1979'' by Ericka Beckman

Notes and references

References

* * *
Not Nothing: The Remains of No Wave

External links

Theoretical Girl in performance
on the DVD ''135 Grand Street, New York, 1979'' by Ericka Beckman

Theoretical Girls is the third track on Clocktower

Colab Colab is the commonly used abbreviation of the New York City artists' group Collaborative Projects, which was formed after a series of open meetings between artists of various disciplines. History Colab members came together as a collective in ...

Vinyl Mix (aired 5/9/16). {{DEFAULTSORT:Theoretical Girls No wave groups American musical duos Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 1977 establishments in New York (state) 1981 disestablishments in New York (state) American experimental musical groups Musical groups from New York City