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Event
THE NOMI SONG w/Andrew Horn Q&A
THE NOMI SONG
dir. Andrew Horn, 2004
97 mins. In English.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 5th 7:30 PM
The way I look is part of it. It sounds affected but I do see myself as a piece of living art. People do accuse me of being just decorative or an escapist. Well, I am. Thats what I do. So long as they realize that I am other things as well. I do kind of transcend the song and give it a different meaning. But satire would be too simple. There are moments in my show which are very moving as well as amusing. People should allow me to be many things, really give me room to put things in another dimension.
Looks like an alien, sings like a diva Klaus Nomi was one of the 1980s most profoundly bizarre characters. He was a cult figure in the New Wave underground scene, a genuine counter tenor who sang pop music like opera and brought opera to club audiences and made them like it. He was a performer with a look so strong, that his first audiences went wild before he even opened his mouth. Klaus presented himself as the perfect video star yet his star burned out just before the mass explosion of MTV. On the verge of international fame as a singer, he became instead one of the first gay artists to die of AIDS. In the end, his recorded output consists of re-reissues, in various forms, of only two LPs and a live album. For those who do know him, the reaction he provoked was so strong, that he is still unforgettable, even 20 years after his death. Even now, Klaus is somehow still winning new fans among those too young to have known him when he was alive. And a quick check of the Internet reveals that all his records are still being sold.
Part documentary, part music film, part sci-fi, THE NOMI SONG is a non-fiction film, or maybe even an oral history. Its not just the tale, its the telling. But it is also visual, partly because Klaus himself was so visual, someone whos main concern was putting forth an image of himself in everything he did literally illustrated by the photos, films, videos and artworks that go with it and featuring many never before seen live performances. However, there are also the images that the stories conjure up, images that no actual picture could capture, that emerge out of impressions, memories and even exaggerations, fermenting in somebodys brain for twenty years. Its like a novel with a whole cast of characters and supporting players revealing themselves as much as (and sometimes more than) they do Klaus with subplots, background stories, flashbacks and contradictions.
What unifies the various elements of interviews, performance and various visual elements is Klaus himself, not only the all-pervasive image he put out, but, more importantly, his effect on others. Its a story that grows out of a group of people who influenced him, loved him, idolized him, felt pity for him and felt guilty because of him; people who felt used, cheated yet, over all, inspired by him. Its a story of love of music and love of performing and a time when it seemed as though everyone was struck by a sense of urgency to make something or anything and the feeling that somewhere in the great cosmic plan we all knew that we only had a finite amount of time together and we had to make the most of it.
Nomi is, of course, a manufactured personality. But by all accounts the character he created for himself was clearly more significant, more real than the man behind it. If he was a mystery, he was completely open about it. He constructed his own myth out of elements so completely wrong, yet so deliberate, that it all seemed oddly possible. And right up to the end, it almost was. He was as much a genuine talent as he was however naively the engine of his own destruction. He was an alien amongst the outcasts and an obviously tortured soul who, at the same time, radiated optimism at a time when optimism was officially out of fashion. His appeal is not easy to explain in words. He has to be seen and heard to be believed. Whether you knew him personally, saw him perform, discovered his music or even just saw his picture, one has to admit, he is pretty unbelievable.
Featuring the music of Wire, The Marbles, The Bongos, Pylon, The Mumps, Chi Pig, and, of course, David Bowie, not to mention numerous live Klaus Nomi performances, many never before seen, and including Klaus ultimate performance of The Cold Song with full orchestra.
ILLUMINATING AND MOVING! Offers a wealth of information about Klaus Nomis career, the construction of his space-alien persona, and the new-wave scene he sprang from. With Klaus Nomi as the focus of our attention, all conventional notions (and notions of convention) are altogether burned away. Dazzling! Ernest Hardy, LA Weekly
Andrew Horns strange and fascinating documentary about the late New Wave singer and art object, Klaus Nomi, gives off a rich whiff of the New York punk bohemia of the late 1970s and early 80s. Kurt Loder, MTV
A strange personage sad clown to some, incomparable genius to others. () He deserves a special mention in the annals of rock history as the first who dared sing an operatic aria to the habitués of Maxs Kansas City. Le Matin, 1983
THE NOMI SONG also screens
FRIDAY, AUGUST 10 MIDNITE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14 10 PM
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30 10PM
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LocationSpectacle Theater (View)
124 S 3rd Street
Brooklyn, NY 11249
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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