Nina Hagen

I imagine everybody has those moments in life when they hear, and possibly see, for the first time a music artist that seems to cause time to freeze and make them realise that here is someone that changes all their previous conceptions of music. This is it. You are hooked. That moment becomes imprinted on your mind. I have had a few such moments. I remember the first time I saw Gary Numan with Tubeway Army performing Are "Friends" Electric? A real life-changer that one. I remember the first time I listened to Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express on my grandmother's ancient stereogram, an unintentional juxtaposition of old and new technology that Kraftwerk themselves would have surely appreciated. Finally, I remember seeing and hearing Klaus Nomi perform Total Eclipse on a DVD of Uurgh: A Music War which a friend loaned me. I was transfixed, and hooked from that moment on.

I didn't think it likely that I would be lucky enough to experience another such moment in my life but, thankfully, I did. On Sunday morning, after reading my mum's email, I thought I'd watch a Klaus Nomi video on youtube while eating my breakfast. Along with Simple Man came this song by Nina Hagen. Naturtrane. The thumbnail looked interesting so I thought I'd give it a watch. Wow! That was amazing! I then watched this video of her singing Over The Rainbow. My God! That was incredible! I watched a few more. How the hell have I lived my whole life and not been aware of this incredibly talented artist? Oh well. Rather than regret the time missed, I'll look forward to tracking down some of her CDs and enjoying this magic for the rest of my life.

As a result of this new obsession, I took out my pastels this morning and drew this portrait of Nina Hagen. It was nice to get back to my favourite medium.