Contra Costa Times  Friday, September 25, 1981

Somewhere in Europe someone is probably listening to the voice of David Wills' 
grandmother. On the same record that person can absorb "A Nice Place to Live," a 
piece consisting mainly of a taped speech about Contra Costa County's economy.

These sounds are delivered courtesy of Negativland, an aggregation made up 
primarily of Wills and fellow Contra Costans Richard Lyons and Mark Hosler.

Negativland is not a band. according to Hosler. "We're flexible." he explains. 
"It's not like everyone has the one thing that they do."

When the trio collaborates in the studio, with other transitory associates, they 
create what can be described as anything from a futuristic view of suburbia to a 
collage of electronic mumbo-jumbo. Acoustic instruments, voice fragments and the 
sound of lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners emerge throughout, dodging various 
blips and doodlings.

Sometimes it's music, sometimes it's noise. But is it entertainment? "It's 
entertaining," allows the 19-year-old Hosier.

Negativland has released two albums on its own Seeland Records label, which 
operates out of Lyons' file cabinet.

Both albums — the eponymously-titled debut released last year, and Points, 
released last spring — have sold over 2000 copies each, mostly in Europe. The 
first disc ranked number one for a week on the Sounds magazine import chart 
earlier this year.

Since artists are rarely able to survive by their art alone the three maintain 
day jobs. Wills is a service technician for a cable TV company ("I'd love to 
make a service call for someone who has our record"). while the others are 
employed by the Montessori Childrens' House.

A third album is in the works and the three admit it's been the most difficult 
to date. In Hosler's words, Negativland is "more self-conscious, more aware of 
expectations" this time. Their creations are taken a bit more seriously now — 
more so, anyway, than since the recording of that first album, for which Lyons 
and Hosler made all the covers by hand, from wallpaper and old magazines.

The group likes it here, despite the tack of local interest in them. and the 
incidental labeling of Negativland as "suburban." Says Hosler, "Somehow we 
ended up with a suburban image. The only intention was just to be creative and 
do things we weren't hearing other people do."

And if you think the records do sound somewhat suburban, it only makes sense — 
Negativland grew up right here. As Hosler describes it, "We just let what 
was coming through flow out."

Negativland will stay in Contra Costa because, says Lyons, reiterating the title 
of that piece about our economy, "This is a nice place to live."

Negativland, in a rare performance, plays tonight at 11 p.m. at the On 
Broadway, 435 Broadway in San Francisco.

— R.S. Geller



RECORDINGS 
recommended recordings of experimental music

Negativland
"POINTS" (1981): Seeland Records, OPT-LP-002 SEELAND 002. Instrumentation: All 
instruments and tape work by Mark Hosier, Richard Lyons and David Wills, except 
Bob Jackson, clarinet; lan Allen, tape processes on "No Hands"; Peter Dayton, 
bass on "That Darn Keet".

Whereas MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS is demeaning to those it exploits, POINTS 
by Negativland is a gracious celebration of the mundane, a glorification of 
junk culture, living media and suburban values. There's a tender touch behind 
all this subversive activity.

I want to get back to the idea of junk culture and art. For some reason I 
collect things like soundtracks from old TV shows (Batman, The Man From 
Uncle...), from movies (especially James Bond films), 1950's dance records (how 
to cha-cha, rhumba, tango...) and any other records ranging from MILITARY 
MARCHES OF JAPAN to THE CHIPMUNKS. These albums are also a celebration of 
sorts. They represent the kind of sounds I was surrounded by as a kid, the 
kinds of things that older people took seriously, the kinds of things I still 
have a soft spot for, for whatever childish reasons. Negativland feeds on this 
impulse for junk by seeking it out and holding it up and by creating their 
own.

Like the first album, POINTS is an ever-changing excursion through swimming 
pool and barbecue land. They are working from within; subversives trying to 
shape a new suburban consciousness that is a mutation of the status quo. 
Formal structure is generally lacking, except for a few moments like the 
superb "The Answer Is", a frolicking faux-pas that sounds like it was played 
on Mom's Genie organ in the living room. Another high point is an excerpt from 
a presentation at the Los Angeles County Fair, during which the many splendors 
of Contra Costa county (Negativland's home turf) are declared. There's also 
another chunk from an outdoor event — presumably the same fair — during 
which a rock band blasts in the background while layers of crowd sounds mingle 
and converge around the sounds of meat sizzling. Whew! The album is one 
surprise after another. I recommend that vou jump on this merry-go-round 
and close your eyes.  -T.H.


The "F" Op Summer 1981
Negativland: Points (Optional/Systematic, 729 Heinz Ave., space #1, Berkeley, CA 
94710)  Inquisitive teenagers are stuck in nowheresville with only the crudest 
of tools, but they make their own fun. They have imagination and heart. This is 
the folk music that has evolved from the work of Cage, Stockhausen, Varese, etc. 
Hardly so cosmopolitan as they may sound, this reeks of suburbia. They have 
faced their reality and used it for their inspiration...the cheesy home organ 
that does everything with two fingers, mom singing and playing the accordion 
(which she probably hasn't touched in years). Big Bird and T.V. in general. All 
of this has been captured with barely functional dime-store equipment, and 
stuck together with Scotch tape and some Elmer's glue to create a sound collage 
that is an entertaining and completely honest portrait of the world these 
people inhabit. An essential soundtrack for the tract-home dweller. - S.P. 9