Friday, August 14, 2009

Krazy German Konzepts

German music sure was creative and bizarre in the 70s and 80s. First there was that Krautrock movement (subject for an upcoming EasyTV show!), and then all this futuristic fascination stuff took over. Let's kick-start today's show with my favorite Kraftwerk song:



But even more bizarre, we have the inimitable Klaus Nomi, with his crazy make-up and robotic moves. He was part of the New York scene that included artists such as Basquiat and Haring. It's also no surprise that David Bowie was intrigued by a guy like this:



Kitsch yet disturbing stuff, no? But speaking of mixing opera with craziness, here's Nina Hagen giving it a go.



I wouldn't want to leave you with a bad impression of Klaus Nomi, so I am adding here his fantastic Cold Song (apparently it's an old Purcell composition, but I don't know much about opera). Klaus had a genuinely amazing voice, and was at his best when concentrating on the opera side of his music instead of the kitsch pop stuff. Klaus Nomi was one of the first famous casualties of AIDS. RIP.

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