Posted By BillHeise on March 23, 2009

I’m planning on posting a piece this week on punk rock and education, so I wanted to start off the week focusing on my favorite punk rock singer/star, Nina Hagen. Nina Hagen is a major star in Europe, although she never really made it big in America, where I think she scared the children. Not being susceptible to childish frights, I found her range of musical talent captivating. (Still do).

She’s a weird woman, no doubt. Here she is displaying her weirdness on David Letterman’s Big Show in 1985. He seems particularly taken aback by her hair. (I find interesting the Dave does not genuinely appear to have ever heard of hair extensions in this clip). (For another interview with Nina, see my previous post on Nina and Don Rickles).

Her story is interesting, and you can read about it here. I post a small excerpt:

[Upon escaping from East Berlin] [h]er label advised her to acclimate herself to Western culture through travel, and she arrived in London during the height of the punk rock movement. Hagen was quickly taken up by a circle that included The Slits and the Sex Pistols; Johnny Rotten was a particular admirer. (Wikipedia)

Here, Nina is covering other people’s songs. I will post something later this week on her original contributions to music.

Opera

I start out with one of my favorite videos of all time. Nina has her band play Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” but when she starts singing, she breaks into “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen. This is a masterpiece. Only in punk rock….

I chose this version because you can see her performance. I actually like this version a little better.

Indian Music

• Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
• Om Namah Shivay. Love the tongue!

Christian Classics

• Ave Maria. Awesome.
• My Sweet Lord Nina

The 30′s Musical

• Somewhere over the Rainbow. “Don’t be afraid!”

The Fifties

• My Way. The song of a crooner. Wait for it.
• Fever

The Sixties

• I’m a Believer. Yep, it’s the Monkees!
• Spirits in the Sky. Yep, it’s Spirit in the Sky.

The Seventies

• Ziggy Stardust. Imagine! She’s interested in David Bowie. (Show my t-shirt!)
• Ballroom Blitz. Adapted for the Rocky Horror Era.
• Abba. Even huger hair on a woman who’s known for her huge hair. I really like this version of this song!

The Birth of Punk

I first heard of Nina Hagen in 1980 when I had a roommate (Chuck) who had done a year as an exchange student in Germany. It has remained a favorite of mine ever since. This song is called TV-Glotzer (White Punks on Dope):

Categories: What I'm Listening to This Week
Tags: Nina Hagen