MAY 16, 2014 1:57PM
The Mother of Punk and I (Part 1)
From Wikipedia:
Nina Hagen was born in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen (also known as Hans Oliva-Hagen), a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen (née Buchholz), an actress and singer. Her paternal grandfather died in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp (her father was Jewish).[1]
Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and growing up she
saw her father infrequently. At age four, she began to study ballet, and was considered an opera prodigy by the time she was nine.
When Hagen was 11, her mother married Wolf Biermann, an anti-establishment singer-songwriter. Biermann's political views later influenced young Hagen.
Barcelona, Spain, circa 1978:
I ask my father about "hippies". My father doesn't have kind things to say. He also tells me that nowadays we have "punks". They were also dangerous degenerates.
Salt Lake City, Utah, 2014
I'm still in the grips of obsession with Nina Hagen's song "Zarah" from one of her more successful U.S. efforts, the album Fearless
, which features production credits from Giorgio Moroder, disco's greatest producer. More specifically, I'm obsessed with the music video for this song:
Nina Hagen's lunacy fails to capture their imagination like it did mine.
This is a lunacy that exists for itself and fails to concern itself with expectations of stardom or media attention. At least, I think it does. Far from a miasma of lack of talent, it's backed by an amazingly dramatic and operatic voice that isn't afraid to descend into insane shrieks and cartoon babble.
In the video she channels various personas, beginning with the titular Zarah herself: Zarah Leander, the Swedish singer of "Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehen" (this is the song 'Zarah" with Nina's weird spin), who garnered a lot of controversy as a film and recording star in Nazi Germany.
From that, she goes to what I think is some sort of New Wave hooker?
Then, to a gothy-punky Danceteria queen ...
To my very favorite of all, this insane apparition that answers the question: "What do you get when you cross Annie Lennox and Hitler?"
There is a message in this video to be sure, but it's hard to dig out. If anything, there's some Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" going on here.
Litchfield county, Connecticut, circa 1983 or '84
Somehow, one of the popular girls in my class actually talked to me during science class.
Popular Girl: "Did you see that weird lady on PM Magazine last night?"
Me: "Yeah, the one with the weird green hair! Remember when she was like "they call me the mother of something ... I don't know what..."
Popular Girl: "I know what she's the mother of!"
PM Magazine was a fluffy pop culture entertainment news show in the 80's, co-anchored a hair-sporting Matt Lauer.
That was the first time I had ever seen or heard of Nina Hagen. I haven't forgotten that TV snippet, nor the conversation with Popular Girl.
I would cross paths with the sight and sound of Nina Hagen again.
To be continued...
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Comments
YEOWZAH! What's NOT to get with that video? Fabulous!!
Takes me back to 70's era David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground, ad infinitum ... sweet, sweet years ... I was but a teen, but completely enthralled with these artists ... I wanted to be Ziggy Stardust AND take a walk on the wild side. HA!
Anyhoo ~ thanks for posting this ... tasty way to start my afternoon before heading out to work. OH, if you haven't already seen this film, I would highly recommend The Velvet Goldmine. Toxic and pure indulgence ... I think you'd like it.
~R~
Takes me back to 70's era David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground, ad infinitum ... sweet, sweet years ... I was but a teen, but completely enthralled with these artists ... I wanted to be Ziggy Stardust AND take a walk on the wild side. HA!
Anyhoo ~ thanks for posting this ... tasty way to start my afternoon before heading out to work. OH, if you haven't already seen this film, I would highly recommend The Velvet Goldmine. Toxic and pure indulgence ... I think you'd like it.
~R~
Hello eyespy! Yes, I
forgot to mention Nina's glam rock influenced roots. She once described
herself as a "Roxy Music punk". How cool that you were a teen at ground
zero of those movements!
And yes, I've seen Velvet Goldmine. The soundtrack is terrific.
And yes, I've seen Velvet Goldmine. The soundtrack is terrific.
This is what I like about your posts...Never a dull moment!
Viva Nina! I had
forgotten about “Zarah” and don’t think I’ve ever seen the video before,
so thanks and big thanks. Oh my. And “"What do you get when you cross
Annie Lennox and Hitler?"” is perfect and hilarious for that look.
As for Nina’s lunacy, one thing that always greatly amused me is this: I believe that she was kicked out of East Germany rather than simply jailed for being socially seditious. Ergo, someone, somewhere must have said “To hell with it, she’s too fucked up and resolute, let’s just cut our losses and show her the door.”
And thanks for the backstory. There are several things here I didn’t know. Looking forward to Part Two.
As for Nina’s lunacy, one thing that always greatly amused me is this: I believe that she was kicked out of East Germany rather than simply jailed for being socially seditious. Ergo, someone, somewhere must have said “To hell with it, she’s too fucked up and resolute, let’s just cut our losses and show her the door.”
And thanks for the backstory. There are several things here I didn’t know. Looking forward to Part Two.
Whenever I think of
Nina Hagen I also think of Lene Lovich. I thought Patti Smith was the
"Mother Of Punk." Or maybe Joey Ramone's mom was the biological Mother
of Punk. Shit. I don't know.
Howdy littlewillie,
thanks for stopping by! Lene and Nina collaborated on a few things,
hence the association. And as far as "Mother of Punk" goes, that's a
title she gave herself. More on both points in a future post.
Thanks for the memories! She's a true original!
Shades of Brecht & Weill!!! Coool... R&R ;-)
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