Horn has focused on interviewing people who were directly associated with Nomi. Anecdotes are told by band members, Ann Magnuson (a performance artist and director of the New Wave Vaudeville Show, who gave him his first engagement), Ira Siff (his singing tutor), relatives, a producer, friends, Gabriele La Fari (an actress and a fellow German in New York) and so on. Most of these people are complimentary. The interview with his dead aunt is recreated using a cardboard cut out - a quirky idea that caused a ripple of giggles in the audience. Gabriele, his German flat mate, talks about him as if he had only died yesterday and seems bitter about his death. She has never been able to listen to his music again and still feels that he threw his life away. The anger and resentment that she feels toward him are audible. She tried to warn Nomi to go easy on the cruising, but Nomi was convinced that everything could be cured through the use of anti-biotics. Another friend recounts how he went for a walk one evening and bumped into Nomi screwing someone in the open.
Nomi's uncontrolled sexual promiscuity is offset by his self-disciplined mission to be a singer. Ira Siff, his singing tutor, found it odd that he focused entirely on perfecting a counter tenor register. In the end it paid off, as he was able to create a completely distinctive sound. When he demonstrated what he had learned to a friend who booked the acts in a club, she immediately encouraged him to perform there.
It is the descriptions of Nomi as a performer or as the inventor of his alien-like alter-ego that are most fascinating. Apparently when he stepped out onto the stage for his first ever performance and started singing the audience sank into a stunned silence. Even after he had finished it took them a few seconds to recover enough to clap and cheer him.
The description of how he stood alone at a cocktail party in full make-up, wearing an outlandish red plastic costume, evokes how exotic he was. The only person who dared to talk to him was a little girl who asked whether he'd come from another planet, to which he replied 'yes'.
Intermittently there are clips of Nomi performing. Despite the bizarre outfits and make-up he often reminded me of Gustav Grüntgens, a German actor endorsed by Hitler and his cronies, who famously used the Third Reich to further his career. Nomi's make-up bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Grüntgens when he played the part of Mephisto. Is this mere coincidence? Horn does not throw any light on where Nomi's inspiration for his image came from.
This instance hints that there might be a darker side to the man. One of Nomi's musical collaborators reveals that Nomi refused to give him credits on either of the two albums that he wrote songs for and performed on. This is the only hint that Nomi may not have been liked by some.
A reliable source told me that the final cut of this doc is a sanitised version of its previous incarnation. A previous rough cut included much nastier revelations about Nomi's character and actions. The reasons behind the decision to show such an affable version of the Klaus Nomi story remain unclear, but the result is that The Nomi Song is a pleasant enough outing into Nomi's life, hopefully introducing a new generation to his whacky music – though a little dirt might have made for juicier screen entertainment.
Reader comments about The Nomi Song
Andrew Horn (ahorn@compuserve.com) writes:
Hi,
As the director of the film, I am first of all happy you reviewed the film and glad you liked what you saw. At the same time, I am rather non-plussed at your remark "A reliable source told me that the final cut of this doc is a sanitised version of its previous incarnation. A previous rough cut included much nastier revelations about Nomi's character and actions. ". Any previous cut that anyone could have seen would have only had some other stock footage or music that had to be replace because of prohibitive rights costs. There were no other changes. The rough cut of the film, which I can't imagine how your so called reliable source could have seen (or anyone outside the production for that matter), had more stuff of the mechanations of his manager being screwed by his second manager, but this was dropped because it became, not to incendiary, but rather too boring (unfortunately) and too much of a detour from Nomi. The final version at 96 min. actually has a lot *more* of everything - good or bad - than the 140 min. rough cut. That he was an opportunist is I hope clear but I don't think he was any the much worse than anyone else "on the way up". I would like to request that you check your sources first. Who was this by the way? Since you have my website, you could have contacted me at any time. God knows I enjoy talking about the movie and would have discussed such things with you if you asked. Next time please check first before cast unfounded aspersions in print.
Andy
Elke de Wit (Email address withheld) writes:
Dear Andy
Thank you for taking the time to read my article.
While I appreciate your comments, I am sure you will understand that as a journalist it is important for me to protect the anonymity of my sources. In retrospect, however, I should not have chosen to comment on a rough cut of the film without having seen it myself, and for this I apologise.
With a subject as fascinating as Nomi I did feel that I would have liked to have seen more information about his artistic and personal choices. In the final cut I felt that the accent was in favour of the positive, which is why I used the phrase ‘… a little dirt might have made for juicier screen entertainment.’ This is of course a completely personal opinion, and others might disagree - the comments form below every kamera review provides an open forum to express their own views.
May your film travel well, and I wish it much success.
Sincerely,
Elke de Wit
Johnny Anger (Email address withheld) writes:
An absolutely wonderful film. Very enlightening. He was cut off way to soon. If only his art,image, and
likeness could continue somehow.
Perhaps through animation, provided
it wouldn't be managed by
the wrong people as it seemed his career
was toward the end. Great to know that
he had a different band other than the
one featured in URGH a Music War. They
were wrong. Hope Nomi's music and Art will be an influence for change in this
world of Ashley Simpsons,George Bush's,and other despicable humans.
Geoff Jodry (Email address withheld) writes:
I rented the film - the copy was a little dicey because someone had "cleaned" it causing some playing difficulty - and boy did it bring back memories of times gone by.
Andrew, thanks so much for making the film at all - Klaus was not well known to the masses and even my earliest recollection was in fact from the amazing "Urgh!" concert flick - with his in retrospect Vegas style "professional" band. "Total Eclipse" regardless blew my mind (along with the somehow disturbing performance by Skafish) and Klaus has been a part of my historical/musical memories from that time ever since.
It was somehow cool that you actually could know so little about him over the years - it made the whole alien aspect of his art almost believable.
I was in an original music band in Boston at the time - and everybody in Boston and New York felt a part of something new and chance taking - some of the forgotten bands of that era were really doing ground breaking things that would not seem out of place in any time musically. Some of it was junk, but a lot of the effort and sweat puts a lot today's "pop" in a pretty bad light.
I don't feel I know Klaus as a person very much better than I did before seeing the film - but as a reminder of what was going on in the early '80's, this movie is priceless. I do thank you again for the more complete exposure to Klaus Sperber as an artist.
He is absolutely transfixing as a performer in this film - edgy, cool as dry ice, affected, affecting, somehow robotic and vital at the same time. And the voice!!! With the benefit of age, my appreciation for that chill-inducing instrument has really grown to a place it couldn't have in my 20's.
I am left with a sadness - of a crazy, pretentious, artsy time lost - but also a sadness born from suddenly missing someone I don't really know, the sadness of the passing of someone by design alone - an unfortunate pioneer of a disease we didn't really even have a name for then....
What an artist - unique and unearthly - but very human at the end of it all.
Nomi Song should be seen! Lest we forget.....
Oh, and of course I went out and scored all of Klaus Nomi's recorded works on the internet...!!
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