Lords Of Acid - Lust

FACTORY

LORDS OF ACID – LUST

I gaze at her naked body lying on my bed. Her right arm rests across her face hiding her features from me. It doesn’t matter. I remember her face. I remember the shape of her nose. I remember the soft feel of her cheek. I remember her green eyes. I remember how I met her.

I remember entering the entering The Building in NYC on assignment for the record release party of the Lords of Acid debut album Lust. I remember stepping through a wall of chemically engineered fog, into a vast warehouse crammed with hundreds of dancing bodies. I remember working my way through the sweaty crowd to reach the bar. I remember the song that packed the dancefloor at that moment. It was the album’s lead track “Take Control”. I remember thinking it was straight up techno party song. There’s no deeper meaning to this song. It is just designed to make you move. Against my better judgement, I began to dance, jumping up and down along with the crowd. I felt the rhythm and I felt the soul, and by gum, the Lords of Acid had taken control. 

I remember making it to the bar, as the song ended and was replaced by their current single “Rough Sex”. I recognized the song, as it had been the one to first capture my attention with its risqué, yet honest lyrics. As opposed to the first song, sung by primary female vocalist Jade 4 U, this ode to Sadomasochism was vocalized by her male counterpart Praga Khan. In the song, he pretty much gets to the point of what he is seeking. He doesn’t want to waste his time on romance: He just wants some rough sex. 

When I was finally able to catch the busy bartender’s attention, I ordered a Gin & Tonic. While I waited for my drink, I thought about the similarities between the two songs I had heard so far and the music on The KLF’s recent album The White Room. Released earlier this same year, The White Room and Lust share certain musical elements. Granted The KLF relied heavily on hired rappers to boost their appeal in the states, while Lust relies heavily of Jade 4 U’s slutty sex appeal instead. But musically, I recognize a kinship. However, a couple of songs on Lust had been released as singles years before the album came out. So, it’s hard to say who influenced whom. 

At the start of the third song, “Let’s Get High”, I saw her. She was up in the balcony of the second floor, looking down on me with half-lidded eyes. She was a statuesque blonde clad in all in black. The entirety of her outfit comprised a leather bra and leather miniskirt, fishnet stockings, and stiletto heels.  It was obvious her choice of dress was meant to emulate Jade 4 U’s iconic look. She held a beer in her hand and took a long swig of it, before resuming her stare. Her gaze down at me was one of a confused possible recognition. As if her mind were struggling to see a familiar face in the fog.

With the harsh, almost industrial-like beat of “Let’s Get High” pummeling my ears, I smiled at her and nodded my head in a silent salute. I took another sip of my drink and stepped out onto the dancefloor. Again, I danced my way through the throng of revelers. The bathroom was my destination this time. Along the way, I chuckled at the Bill Cosby and Max Headroom samples Lords of Acid used in this high-energy song. I wondered if third band member and instrumentalist Oliver Adams was solely in charge of picking the samples, or if it was a group decision. 

Relieved, I exited the unisex bathroom and saw that blonde girl in the hallway talking to a long-haired white guy dressed in an African dashiki. I watched as she handed him some bunched-up bills and in exchange, he dropped a few colorful pills into her hand. They hugged and as he walked away, she turned to face me and smiled.

“Let’s get high and have fun!” she mouthed the words being sung at the tail end of the song.

I smiled and approached her as the song ended, and the crazy synth riffs of the next song’s opening took its place. “The Most Wonderful Girl” is a sleazy sounding song about masturbation and conceit. One thing I can say about Lords of Acid’s Lust is that it lives up to its title. Nearly every song on the album is sexual in some way. And it is not at all subtle in its themes. 

“Hi,” I said. “What’s your name?”

“Ecstasy,” she replied and looked through me. “I know you. You don’t remember me, do you?”

“I don’t think we’ve ever met,” I replied. “I’m sure I would remember you.”

She laughed and held out her open palm to me. There were two flat and round pills in her hand. One was orange and the other green. There was a smiley face etched into each of them. I recognized them as Ecstasy pills, the party drug which was in vogue at the time. 

I took the orange pill and popped it into my mouth. I used what was left of my Gin & Tonic to wash it down. She did the same with the green pill and chased it with her beer. We both dropped our drinks into the trash, and she reached for my hand. Turning away, she led me onto the crowded dance floor. 

We contorted our bodies in time to the beat of the music. We grinded against each other, our hips twisting and struggling to get closer together. My arms wrapped around her waist, as she turned around and leaned back against me. I could smell the chemical scent of her hairspray and there was a sudden sense of recognition in my mind. A memory flashed across my eyes, too fast to hold on to. I dismissed it as just a reminder of all the pretty women I have held in my arms before her.

The song ended and was replaced by “I Sit on Acid”, Lords of Acid’s most celebrated single to date. There was a roar from the crowd as the song’s infamous intro “Darling come here/ Fuck me up the…” blared from the speakers, followed by a heavy techno riff. A surge of people rushed onto the dancefloor, crushing us even tighter together. She turned around and swung her arms around my shoulders to steady herself. I held her tighter and pumped my hips against her, my every thrust matching the sleazy synth music. 

Her hands caressed my face and her eyes looked glassy. I loved the sensation brought on by her touch. My blonde temptress leaned in closer and sang along with the song’s refrain: “Sit on your face. I want to sit on your face.” 

Leaning into her ear, I whispered: “Why do you do it? Why do you take ecstasy?”

Her tongue darted into my ear, as she hissed: “I want to fly!”

A rush of heat travelled down my body, causing a floating elation. I too wanted to fly.

I don’t remember leaving The Building but I do remember running through the streets with my “Spacy Bitch”, as the Lords of Acid called her in the last song we danced to. Somehow, we made it to my loft in the Lower East Side. Though we missed the last six songs off Lords of Acid’s Lust, it didn’t matter because I knew they would be as great as the first half was. Besides, when you’re high, everything sounds great.

Inside, fire overtook our bodies. I remember soaring past Inferno, through Purgatorio, and straight up to Paradisio in a fever trip that would make Dante proud. My stoned woman and I became one in our act of passion. I remember it all, as we descended Olympos on our chariot of ecstasy. When we reached the bottom, we both fell into a deep, trance-like sleep. 

Here is sit now waiting for her to rouse from her sleep. I’ve waited nearly an hour and she hasn’t stirred. I debate whether I should try to wake her or not. I reach over and carefully move her arm away from her face. In abject horror, I see her mouth is lined with foamy, white spittle. I shake her warm body, but she doesn’t awaken. I slap her cheeks several times, to no avail. 

Several hours later, she still lays upon my bed, neither dead nor alive; But threading the shadows in between.  Darkness creeps upon my window, as I sit here hoping that she will wake up… soon.