Named after a 1945 book of graphic black and white photographs by Weegee, the band performed an aggressive mix of "soundtrack themes, bluesyhard bop, speedy hardcore rock, squealing free jazz [and] metallicfunk".[2] In Naked City's characteristic early style, songs were often performed at astonishingly fast tempos, drawing on thrash metal and hardcore punk's emphasis on extreme speed. Many songs were quite brief, and typically switched musical genres every few measures. One critic described the band's music as "jump-cutting micro-collages of hardcore, country, sleazy jazz, covers of John Barry and Ornette Coleman, brief abstract tussles—a whole city crammed into two or three minute bursts".[3] This fast-change tendency was inspired in part by Carl Stalling—a Zorn favorite—who wrote music for many Warner Bros.cartoons, that featured frequent shifts in tempo, theme and style.
Naked City's first album was distributed under Zorn's name by Nonesuch Records and featured a Weegee photograph of a dead gangster on its cover, along with macabre illustrations by Maruo Suehiro.[4] Zorn stated that "Naked City started with rhythm and blues/Spillane type things then went into this hard-core thing ... because I was living in Japan and experiencing a lot of alienation and rejection ... My interest in hard-core also spurred the urge to write shorter and shorter pieces."[5] There was disagreement between Zorn and the label over cover art on subsequent albums. Zorn wanted to use explicit S&M pictures, images from 19th century medical archives, and execution photographs, most notoriously of a Leng Tch'e victim; Nonesuch refused. Zorn ended his relationship with the label, releasing subsequent Naked City albums on Shimmy Disc and his own Avant and Tzadik labels.
The band's third album, Heretic (1992), featured more of these short improvisations produced for the soundtrack of an undergroundS/M film Jeux des Dames Cruelles.[8] The band released Leng Tch'e, in 1992 featuring a single composition which lasted just over half an hour.[9]Radio, released in 1993, was the first Naked City album composed solely by Zorn, and featured tracks crediting a wide range of musical influences.[10]
Zorn discontinued Naked City when he felt "the need to write music for other ensembles, in other contexts, with new ideas".[3] A brief 15th anniversary reunion occurred in 2003 for two shows in Amsterdam and Warsaw respectively.[12]
Cinematic connections
The group covered numerous film soundtrack cuts, including work by Georges Delerue. Heretic was intended as the soundtrack for a film starring Karen Finley.
The tracks "Bonehead" and "Hellraiser", from Torture Garden, are featured in the opening sequence of Michael Haneke's film Funny Games and its 2007 remake.
