Lydia Lunch

Unlike the mass appeal of its counterpart, new wave, the ideals of the no wave genre in the mid-1970s were akin to a musical slap in the face of radio rock and popular culture. No wave bands thrived on do-it-yourself aesthetics and would offer a good amount of influence on future noise-rock bands, such as Sonic Youth. Lydia Lunch (given her nickname for regularly stealing her friends' lunches), is somewhat of a reigning queen of no wave. For over 30 years, she has been making albums and performing live, never taking a break to come up for air. From the early abrasiveness of her dance-punk sound, to her poetry work and collaborations with the likes of Nick Cave and Thurston Moore, Lydia Lunch, now over 50 years old, is still walking the walk that is the life of an independent artist.