What's your take on Nico, punters, Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground songstress? Described as "half goddess, half icicle" Nico sang with the Underground, obvs, was pals with Jim Morrison, went solo and died in the '80s in Ibiza, from a brain haemorrhage. On a bicycle ride, curiously.
dear readers, note skag skin
My take. This inconsequential mind-blog scorns heroin and all of that, but I feel her voice was haunting. Perhaps this is a sign of weakness in me; feel free to disagree. In the meanwhile, here's a tangential tribute:
Stay Healthy,
LSP
Well, I like the contralto voice, so that’s something. Nico the person sounds like a bit of a mess, but who knows if that was her or the crowd she moved in. (But the crowd you move in is no small part your responsibility, so …) I’m amused by the accusations of racism and anti-semitism, seeing as those don’t seem to have been her major malfunctions, but chacun á son gôut and all that.
ReplyDeleteHeroin. Oy. I had a long talk with an improbable friend not long ago about that. Friend is an addict. Just got out of rehab. Again. Last week, but I’ve been poorly with this winter’s particularly nasty crud that’s laid persons low for weeks so we haven’t caught up despite her text of “I’m home. Oh I have so much to tell you!” Speaking of not heroin but fentanyl, friend’s voice took on this passionate longing that I’ve rarely heard anywhere, describing what a fentanyl high is like. The only other thing friend is so passionate about is her daughter (being raised by the grandmother). God, but it must be awful to have that craving.
Nico considered her first album Chelsea Girl to be a mess, because she was not in control of anything, and the strings got added after she was done recording. She hated it.
ReplyDeleteShe is generally considered the first Goth chick, at least after she stopped bleaching her hair and went back to her natural color. I don't particular like the Velvet Underground stuff, but I don't like VU if she's involved or not. Though I admit most people don't like her harmonium playing.
Her later version of "All Tomorrow's Parties" is better than the VU version.
https://youtu.be/G1s-nF7yO60
Sorry to hear about your friend, Mike. What a terrible addiction and I'll pray she makes a good recovery. Had quite a few friends with the same issue and many didn't make it, sadly. Never appealed to me, thank God.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I like her voice too, as for the crowd... that's another thing again. Warhol, bizarrely, was a Mass going Catholic. So was Jack Kerouac. Huh.
I'm not a big fan of VU either, Zendo, but do like All Tomorrow's Parties, And right on, the Femme Fatale version's better.
ReplyDeleteHad to listen to Chelsea Girls again, it's been ages. Wow, the strings are annoying! She sounds way better with Doors style accompaniment, imo.
Didn't know Nico's considered a proto Goth Chick. Not sure if that really fits.
That aside, I like the opening Dolce Vita infographic. Nico/Fellini, kinda fits.