For those who aren't up to speed on who Cosey is, she is a founding member of the band Throbbing Gristle (TG), who are credited with inventing numerous genres of music through their experimental approach to making it. She is a big name in the alternative electronic/rock/noise music worlds, and after TG ended she went on to form numerous bands with her other half, Chris Carter.
As well as being a leader of a new music scene, she was in an art collective known as Coum, with her fellow TG member Genesis P-orridge. Coum were infamous for their controversial performance art, which often included nudity, sex acts and self mutilation. Look up their "Prostituion" performance and the controversy following it for an example of what they got up to and the trouble they caused.
On top of all this, Cosey was also a porn star and stripper.
Ok, so with introductions out of the way we can get on to the book.
With Cosey's CV being so varied and out-there, and with endorsements on the back cover from Sasha Grey and Nick Cave, I went into this book thinking it couldn't possibly be anything short of entertaining. Disappointingly, this is 500 pages of "I did this, then I did that". It was interesting(ish), to me, as a fan of Cosey's musical work, but it lacked any insight into Cosey's mind. The biographies I have read and enjoyed have all felt very intimate, and left me feeling like I knew the subject like a friend, but Art Sex Music explained a lot of Cosey's professional work without any look into the woman behind it. This was Cosey's opportunity to put in writing her views on sex, porn, art and music, and it seems a shame she didn't take this opportunity.
I also think it's worth mentioning that visually this is a really stylish book. The cover and spine are bold designs that stand out on the shelf.
I would recommend this for big fans of Cosey and TG, but for more casual fans or people with a passing interest, I think next years re-release of Wreckers of Civilisation will be a better place to start.
I would give this book a 4/10. It had it's moment but it would benefit from more heavy handed editing.
What do you think? Did you like this book? Hate it? Do you agree with this review or think I'm wrong? Let me know in the comments.
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