ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Jean-Luc Nancy’s concept of the ‘inoperative community’ to consider the negotiations of history and community required of revivalist subcultures. In contrast, avant-garde garage rock, although already positioned outside the mainstream like No Wave–due to its ‘low’ recording quality and abrasive sound–creates its identity through an in-betweenness that walks the borderline separating old and new. The form draws inspiration from 1960s garage rock and punk in a manner that grants a modicum of authority to the ideal of a community even as it pushes beyond its influence. No Wave’s manifesto of noise insists on voluntary cultural disinheritance, not only to create an original sound but to unlock the shackles of tradition. Pre-psychedelic garage rock’s lyrical evocation of fun , its preference for musical speed as a sign of youthful energy all coated with fuzz distortion adds up to a counter-statement against suburban dreams of smooth perfection that cover over the enforced conformity.
