You think this is “out there”? Oh, honey……this is Nina on downers…..and it barely scratches her vocal range. First of all, Nina is the official “Godmother of Punk”. Second of all, Nina grew up in communist East Germany back when the Iron Curtain still stood. Her early years are perhaps her most interesting both in context and music. Her earliest performances were simply dripping with sarcasm and bravery. Go dig up the videos for “Rockpalast, Nina Hagen Band”. They are mesmerizing. And her charisma is beyond description. Even without any understanding of the German language her intelligence is palpable….Which makes her later Americanized persona as a blithering dimwit all the more confusing…..although her interaction with Don Rickles on an late night TV show interview are pretty hilarious. Through the decades she has a UFO phase, a Buddhism phase, Jesus phase, Nina for President phase, back to punk vis the Ramones phase, the list is extensive. She’s covered songs by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, ABBA, Judy Garland, David Bowie, Bad Company, The Tubes, Lena Lovich, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Janis Joplin. She is a force of nature. Humor, irony, faith, desperation, and at all times celebration. Pay the toll. Travel this road. Go on this journey. Nina is amazing
She is an artist of which Germany can be really proud. She is truly unique, one of the best singers in rock & pop history. She had her first big hit in the early 70s in the former GDR. Later she became the icon of the West German music scene. She is a real vocal miracle. She's wild, she's crazy, she's eccentric. And it still is to this day.
Oh, I loooooooooove Nina!!! So unexpected you react to her!!! "Zarah", "Universal Radio", "Smack Jack", "African Reggae", "Naturträne (live version)", "Alptraum"", "Iki Maska", and her incredible rendition of "My Way", all bananas!!! Please do more Nina!!!
I saw her in concert in 1986 and she did this song in English. She also improvised and sang "Even David Bowie will be there/and you know who's going to f**k him/Me, Nina Hagen". Her introduction was "I just love you all. I have a giant spaceship behind the stage and I'm going to take you all with me...to New York City. The city of the most "Party-ability"".
Trained as an opera singer in the former East Germany, she has I believe, a 6 octave range to her voice. Love, love, love her. Watch her interview with David Letterman from the early 80's. Listen to her cover of Rammstein's Seeman which she did with Apocolyptica (a Finnish cello metal band), her cover of My Way..... so many great songs, too numerous to mention. One you MUST watch is Naturtrane, which she did at the Rockpalast. It will blow your mind.
If this album is too much you wouldn't understand Nunsexmunkrock then. That is HER album, she went completely nuts with it but Nunsexmonkrock is a whole sound experience.
Hey Derek- Well this sure was an unexpected surprise! Kind of funny that the only 2 women in music that I started following in the 80’s and continue to follow are Madonna and Nina Hagen. At first they would appear so different but if you look at their diversity, their respect for some of the same musical pioneers and their constant pushing of the envelope you can see two incredibly strong and independent women. Both of them making their mark at a time and in an industry that was having trouble accepting women who called their own shots. Obviously they were not the only two who emerged back then. Debbie Harry, Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde, Tina Turner and the list goes on and on. They all represented a force of nature that “forced” the music industry to take them seriously. Madonna was the “Queen of Pop” and Nina always referred to herself as “The Mother of Punk”. I think I’ve seen Nina about 6 times live over the years and like others have said, she is very charismatic….but also “out” there. Two of my favorite Nina Hagen albums are almost the exact opposite of each other. “Nunsexmonkrock” is probably in the top 5 strangest, most bizarre, albums ever made (it’s a total assault on the ears but I absolutely LOVE it) and “Nina Hagen Street” is a very fun, catchy and enjoyable listen. She is most definitely an acquired taste but well worth the effort)👍Her versions of “My Way”, “Ballroom Blitz” ,”Move Over” and “White Punks on Dope” are all🔥🔥🔥
Nina Hagen grew up in communist East Germany. She studied opera. Later she had a hit with the band Automobil, "Du hast den Farmfilm vergessen" (you have forgotten to bring the color film), which in a humorous way criticized that color film was very expensive and hard to come by in the places citizens of the GDR were allowed to visit. Today she's known as the Mother of Punk in Germany. She's an acquired taste but I love her.
Nina Hagen is fabulous in my view 😁 Yes, she is opera trained from a very young age, but her sights were set on extremely diverse styles. Some are, like you said "out there". She is also a very sweet and loveable character. Some tracks you might like "So Bad" (rock, with a GREAT video), "Hold Me" (gospel pop), "Get Your Body" with Adamski (90's house).
It's German. You should be listening to the album FEARLESS (mostly in English). Angstlos also means FEARLESS and it is the same album, only in German. Nina Hagen is from East Germany (when it was Communist, before the Wall came down), so she has a lot to let out. She is also one of the sweetest, kindest, and most gentle of human beings. She has a good heart. She is unique and she is amazing. The Communists trained her in opera, but they couldn't fit her into that box. Her father was a poet, I believe, and while allowed to leave East Germany to promote his book, he also talked s#it about East Germany, and they were pissed. So, they told Nina and her Mother, Maria, to please leave and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Nina formed a punk band and the rest is history. She is also the Wicked Queen in a German 7 Dwarves movie (her daughter plays Snow White), and Nina gets to do the Mirror, Mirror on the Wall bit. She also plays a wicked queen in an animated movie that is either the German version of The Little Mermaid, or it is very similar. Nina has a beautiful bone structure and full lips, and can be very beautiful. Her daughter Cosma Shiva Hagen is exceptionally beautiful. Her daughter is an actress. Nina lived in Topanga Canyon (California) for a number of years, back in the day, which is somewhat between Santa Monica, Malibu, and Woodland Hills (in the Valley). I have seen Nina Hagen in concert more times than I can count. The last time I saw her, I was going through a breakup, and guess who showed up at this outdoor event? That's right. My friend told me we could leave if I wanted to, but I said, NO! No one is taking Nina Hagen away from me, we are staying. AND, as soon as she is on the stage, I will be fine. You'll see! And I was more than fine, I was GREAT. I could be in the worst possible mood, and Nina can cheer me up. She is amazing, sometimes intense, but she makes me laugh. I think, like most of her fans, I know her enough through her music and live performances, that I can say the things I said about what kind of a person she is, and what kind of a heart she has. She is weird? Sure, okay, but it's just that she is very different and unique... unlike hip-singers who are trying to be unique but end up sounding like each other. Oh, Gaga copied a Nina Hagen makeup/look once, and Nina didn't like that. lol. Nina had a TV show and she sang the Theme song to the original TV series of Star Trek. lol. Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh. Hilarious! She is a delight. I like how she over enunciates, mostly when she sings in German, I think... and she pops the letter "P" and rolls her Rs in an exaggerated way. I also LOVE that she yodels in a song called African Reggae. I don't know why, but it's Nina Hagen and she can do whatever she wants. I love her, and I was thrilled that I got to meet and talk with her at a club in Silverlake, CA, many years ago. She also has songs that are anti-animal cruelty, and songs about pollution being a bad thing. Socially conscious Nina also posed naked for PETA and wrote and performed a song called Don't Kill the Animals, with 80s alternative rock artist, Lene Lovitch. She sings AVE MARIA in German... it's beautiful. She also sings Pillow Talk (song from the movie by the same name with Rock Hudson and Doris Day), Pollution Pirates, All For Frankie (all good songs), and in a music video she gets a phone call, and is surprised to hear it is Mahalia Jackson on the other end, and Nina says, "Mother Mahalia? But, I can't sing a gospel song, I'm a White Chick... Okay, I'll Try", and then she sings the song HOLD ME, HOLD ME, and it is incredible. Oh, Blumen fur die Damen (Flowers for the Ladies) is great too -- starts off with Why Can't a Woman Be More Like a Man (from My Fair Lady). She even sings a line, Flowers for the Fag*ots, but no gay person was offended because it is Nina Hagen, and they know she loves them and, surprisingly, a lot of gay people love her. She has a good soul. Oh, she wrote and performed a song that got all of Germany to sing along because it is for Germany's Soccer Team, and it's really good. This album, FEARLESS aka Angstlos, was produced by GIORGIO MORODER (who produced and created the song I FEEL LOVE with Donna Summer, and her early career through Bad Girls, On the Radio, The Wanderer). He also produced Call Me for Blondie, a number of songs for BERLIN/Terri Nunn, Irene Cara, Flashdance... It was an unusual putting together Nina with Giorgio. I think it may have had more to do with the fact that Giorgio was a hitmaker, but also because he speaks fluent German and was living in Germany when he met Donna Summer whens he was living in Germany. I worked with Donna Summer on a few projects, and I played some Nina Hagen (produced by Giorgio) for her. She liked what she heard. I didn't play anything too crazy though, but she was interested when I told her the songs were produced by Giorgio.
Hi Derek, Thank you, thank you, thank you. Big fan of Nina, I recommend you to view other songs of Nina Hagen. She's a brilliant, exceptional singer, an artist capable of doing anything with her voice.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted a song by Nina Hagen (played by the brass band of the Bundeswehr) when she left office: "du hast den Farbfilm vergessen" original: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZebPEmWh7tE.html army brass band: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zTuzXvLk7AQ.html Both Nina and Angela grew up in socialist ex-east-Germany.
Oh honey, Nina Hagen is absolutely one wild ride, destination unknown. Gotta love her. For something of hers more similar to a regular song check out "Hold Me Master".
the only time i saw her sing "normal" was on french TV in 1992 when she sang stille nacht,silent night for christmas,here you hear her "real,normal" voice,but so impressive
Thank you very much for reaction to Nina, because I didn't expect it. I am a fan of Nina. YEs, her songs and her performance manner is very specific, so it takes some time to get accustomed.
So unique, incomparable Nina. amazing voice. I am 30 years old 10 years ago, people my age used to tell me that lady gaga was amazing. nope. when you're rocked by Nina Hagen grace gones Cyndi Lauper or Madonna. my younger generation has less talent than they are artists
How cool you reacted to Nina Hagen! A very long time ago (80's) my friend and me were supposed to go see a big show on New Years Eve, and somehow he lost his ticket and we were so pissed! All the shows we wanted to see were sold out and we wound up in a bar with a low cover charge, somewhere in the village (NYC) and Nina Hagen was performing. We had no idea who she was at the time, we had heard her name, but not her voice. That sure was an experience, lol. She reminded us of the time we stumbled on Grace Jones. Very eccentric indeed! We spent the whole time on the subway home singing My Lucky Number so, she did make an impression.
Main artist of the european scene of the eighties she made the event specially because she was from ost germany and a symbol that proved resistance of creativity.
Check out Nina's twin from the other side of the pond : Lene Lovitch. Lucky Number and New Toy are bonkers. She also wrote the lyrics of Cerrone's Supernature.
DERECK - THIS is the NINA HAGEN song you want to listen to now after that one, and you'll be in for a surprise babyyyy!!! And I mean a surprise......so let us see you REACTION to "Der Wind"...... not only the beauty, power and the range...... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s6lg8oW5yG0.html
There are some songs Nina sings, in both languages, where I prefer the English, and other songs I prefer it in German. No, I don't speak German (not much anyway), but Nina said it best in a concert -- Trying to explain something in English, and not finding the words... Well, you understand me anyway, no matter what language I am speaking, so, let's just do that... and she began the next song, which was in German. And, yes, we do understand her because we love her.
Spliff is just a small step from Nina Hagen. Deja vu or Carbonara are some good songs. But almost all of their songs are great, in my opinion they are one of the best German bands.
She was such a nice person. I remember as a teen in the 80s she would be a guest on L.A radio station KROQ. She would stay through Rodneys show and also Loveline. Wonder whatever happened to her ☺ Somebody should request "Lucky Number" by Lene Lovich(its way out there too but catchy) 😀
She is the Queen of Funk Punk In song, she made ugly beautiful. not a super fan but the songs I like I really like. Check out her interview on David Letterman back in the day when she was flogging her song Prima Nina in Ekstacy.
Nina Hagen has an incredible voice and a certain charisma, but I never got hooked on her songs or covers (the few I could hear). However, I tell myself that this title is perhaps not her best .... I read below that you were recommended "99 luftballons" by Nena. It's a cult song from the 80's, big success in Europe. You can also try Wolfsheim , I understand it was very popular in Germany . "Once in lifetime" , "Künstliche Welten" . and "Read the lines" are very recommendable. I'm sure that other titles of this band will be recommended to you.
Well, she was great, but you are not so great at analyzing this performance, she is not bananas btw...she is passionate, a total defriend thing...get your information right before judging an artist like her, a legend.
