The Tiger Lillies perform a live 42 minute soundtrack for the Ballad, one continuous piece of music that evolves and underscores the beauty, pain, joy, tragedy and sorrow of relationships and the startling images by Nan Goldin.
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, constantly reedited and updated, began its public life on the club circuit in New York City and has since been shown at museums, galleries, film festivals, and alternative spaces both in the U.S. and abroad, including the Whitney Biennal, the Berlin Film Festival, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, The Hirschorn Museum in Washington D.C., the Cartier Foundation in Paris, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Jeu de Paume in Paris, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the ICA Theatre in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
"I met Nan a few years ago now. She used to come to our gigs in Brooklyn. She then got in touch and showed me her photo collection, the Ballad of Sexual Dependency. For me it was an inspiration. Her work felt so close, the lives of people from urban subcultures, the underground. Non-conformists. People making their own rules, living lives their own way. It reminded me of my own youth, drugs, night clubs, sex, fetishism. Sad photos as well of abuse and self-harm. So I wrote an epic poem on a subject so close to my own experience and youth. It's a piece of music and set of lyrics I love. It's an honour to work with and be inspired by such a great artist as Nan." Martyn Jaques
"You & the boys are maximum & solid gold!! You grown more complex + secure than ever! I am SO proud to be working w you! Love n" - Nan Goldin
Martyn Jaques
Vocals, Piano, Accordion.
Adrian Stout
Double Bass, Saw, Theremin.
Adrian Huge
Drums, Percussions, Backing Vocals.
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
was recorded live by Claus Buhler. Photography by Nan Goldin.
* The cd contains the music that accompanies The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, it does not contain the images by Nan Goldin*
"For almost three decades I've travelled throughout the world projecting many different versions of 'The Ballad of Sexual Dependancy', from downtown clubs to cinemas and finally to museums. What started as a home movie has expanded through dozens of audiences' reactions. I've collected all kinds of music - much of it as gifts - in the same way I've collected images. I've edited dozens of versions of the soundtrack, which has functioned as my narrative voice, the lyrics often explaining my attitude toward images, from irony to tenderness. This will be the second time, after the Tate Modern Live Performance in 2008, that I'm collaborating with musicians who have created their own original score in relation to the slideshows." Nan Goldin
There goes a man the very soul of Satan
He rushes in while others are debating
Cock-eared conniving with all the trimmings
I know one thing that brings him down it’s women
In women he feels deep pathology
And then he feels his old sexual dependency
Some turn to the Bible
Some stick with the law
Some meditate until it’s half past four
Some turn to Christ some anarchist
At lunch you pick the best wine on the list
At tea-time what high ideals you’re brewing
But come the night time you’re down some black hole
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
They’re all the same in love’s confusion
Geniuses stuck on prostitution
Those who swear they will forbear the clinches
Whose arms are they in the wenches
They feign resist their lush authority
And then they feel that old sexual dependency
Some turn to the Bible
Some turn with the law
Some meditate until it’s half past four
Some turn to Christ some anarchist
At lunch you pick the best wine on the list
At tea-time what high ideals you are pursuing
But come the night time you’re down some black hole
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Screwing
Sexual dependency