GAS Featured Poet: Kevin M. Hibshman

Kevin M. Hibshman has had his poetry, prose, reviews and collages published around the world, most recently in Punk Noir Magazine, Rye Whiskey Review, Piker Press, The Crossroads, Drinkers Only, 1870, Synchronized Chaos, Yellow Mama, Unlikely Stories Mark V, Literary Yard, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and Medusa's Kitchen. He has edited his own poetry journal, FEARLESS for the past thirty years. He has authored sixteen chapbooks, including Incessant Shining (2011, Alternating Current Press).He received a BA in Liberal Arts from Union University/Vermont College in 2016. A new book, Just Another Small Town Story will be available from Whiskey City Press in 2021.

trees through the fog

i feel it

a faint tremor

your calling

stirring in my heart chambers

dreamscape of rising mist

roused gently from falling

into soft sleep by a sudden stillness as

something brushes across my cheek

wind cushioning the collapse of reason

i throw open the door in mild distress

anticipation

a hint of dread

finds me running wet

through sodden leaves 

you had promised that you would find me

i cannot see any form yet when i pause

i can hear you breathe

rippling

like water

like mystery imparting a glow

to the fog between the trees

Meteor Shower

It was in the meteor shower that night.

The skies were bright with objects ablaze.

I had such wonderful dreams.

Little alien things whirling and whizzing by.

Ah, youth!

You saw it, too!

I asked you to believe.

They wanted me to.

Mirror universe.

Flexible dimensions.

One swirling, sophisticated, holographic spasm?

It was in the music.

Precise and patterned.

A signal.

A Wake-up call.

I sang it as we swept drunkenly down the halls to sleep.

It has followed me through the years.

Calls to me now:

“Love the mystery even if it turns out to be merely an illusion.”

There are no limits to the imagination.

In the realm of infinite possibilities,

There can be no finite conclusions.

The Thing That Keeps Me From You

Is it politics?

Is it preference?

Is it the pigment of our skin?

Is it science?

Is it religion?

Is it some antiquated concept of grace and sin?

Is it fact?

Is it fiction?

Is it just more inane bullshit?

Someone's uninformed opinion?

Is it language?

Is it geography?

I'd like to believe it is only conquerable distance

GAS Featured Musician: Kate Bush, presented by Kevin M. Hibshman

Copyright: Noble and Bright

The Weird and Wonderful World Of Kate Bush

Kate Bush began writing songs as a child and was nineteen years old when she first topped the charts in her native UK with the whimsical “Wuthering Heights.” Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd) assisted her in procuring a recording contract. Her first album, The Kick Inside was released in 1978. It was piano-based , off-kilter pop that belied a precocious intelligence and a quite active imagination. Each subsequent release showed a marked progression in her musical abilities and her further exploration of often literary or cinematic themes focusing on the human condition. She became an instant pop star in the UK while maintaining a loyal cult following in the U.S. and many other countries.

  

        Bush would swiftly move to producing her own material and 1980's Never Forever saw her branching out in that capacity for the first time. Always theatrical and lyrically unbridled, this album was her first number one in the UK and spawned the hits “Babooshka,” “Army Dreamers” and “Breathing,” The follow-up album, The Dreaming was released in 1982 and was her most experimental

and non-commercial album yet. Critics weren't sure what to make of the album upon its release but it has gone on to become a favorite with fans and has been influential to many other musicians including Icelandic avant-pop artist Bjork. Bush has always included exotic instruments in her music and made use of uilleann pipes and a didgeridoo on this album. The Dreaming also features extensive use of the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer, a tool she would use to create her masterpiece, 1985's The Hounds Of Love.

        During the Summer of 1983, Kate built her own recording studio in a barn on her parent's property. Over the course of a year, she would create what would be her most commercially and critically successful album, Hounds Of Love. The album features the hit “Running Up That Hill,” which peaked at number 3 in the UK and at number 30 in the U.S. The accompanying video displayed her skills as a dancer. The album was split into two suites: Hounds of Love and The Ninth Wave. Critics have labeled the album “post-progressive” as it is a rare foray into the progressive rock genre from a strictly female viewpoint. She followed up this daring effort with 1989's The Sensual World which features one of the most haunting movie theme songs ever recorded: “This Woman's Work,” from the film She's Having a Baby. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1991. 

       Bush has, to date released three other original albums: The Red Shoes,1993 which included guest appearances from Prince, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, the double album, Aerial, 2005, and 50 Words for Snow, 2011. These albums reflect a calmer, quieter Bush but still retain the mysticism and visionary quality she is known for. Kate Bush is a true artist who transports the willing listener to worlds only she holds the keys to, so abandon your previous perceptions and allow her to unlock the gate to a universe of infinite experience.

Prince: The Purple Reign by Kevin M. Hibshman

It was 1978. I was watching American Bandstand, the weekly dance show hosted by the once ubiquitous Dick Clark. Halfway through the episode, the musical guest, Prince was introduced.

It was clear to me this was an unusual artist. A young black man with a lascivious look playing a song that was two-thirds funk, one-third rock and delivered with one hundred percent attitude. When Dick Clark briefly interviewed the out of breath singer, Prince answered with flippant, one-word retorts. 

I later found out he'd been offended by Clark's opening line: “I can't believe you're from Minnesota!” 

        Not only was Prince from Minnesota, he would put his home state on the map by defining 80's pop and by becoming a living legend before his untimely death in 2016. 

        During his lifetime, Prince would release thirty-
two studio albums, four soundtrack albums, five live albums, nine compilation albums, star in five films and produce hit records for his notable proteges: The Time, Vanity/Apollonia 6, Jill Jones and Sheila E. among others. He worked with other musicians frequently including Kate Bush, Sheena Easton, The Bangles, Madonna and George Clinton. He seemed to be an endless creative force, inspiring many future pop stars. His talent was undeniable. He could sing, dance, act and play a multitude of instruments. I am going to play fan instead of critic and list my favorite albums from his vast catalog. I've enjoyed music from all of his releases but these are the records that remain must-haves for me decades after first becoming intrigued by his musical genius.

Dirty Mind,1980. This is Prince's third album and it's one of his most adventurous both musically and lyrically. Clearly influenced by new wave, this is his most daring album lyrically as he sings about incest, oral sex and threesomes in his falsetto voice, enhancing the androgyny of the album cover where he is clad only in a trench coat, black briefs and thigh high boots. As with the previous two albums, Prince plays all the instruments except for two synthesizer parts provided by long-term band member, Dr. Fink and a backing vocal from Lisa Coleman also a main stay as part of The Revolution, the band he would rocket to fame with. This record is a thirty-minute thrill ride and paved the way for sexually explicit subject matter as well as updating the sound of 80's rhythm and blues music.

1999, 1982. This was Prince's breakthrough album and set the stage for the enormous success of Purple Rain which would follow it two years later and catapult Prince into super-stardom. Originally released as a two-record set, it produced five singles. “International Lover” was his first Grammy nomination and the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. The salacious lyrics continued as did the new wave influence with most of the songs based on synthesizer arrangements. Prince once again, played most of the instruments. This maybe my very favorite Prince release as it's a showcase of his ability to adapt any musical style and make it his own. He also debuts the piercing screams he would begin using on the records that followed. 

Purple Rain,1984. Prince had been gearing up for world domination and in 1984, the double-whammy of Purple Rain, the film featuring his acting debut and the enormously successful soundtrack brought it home. This album featured full band performances courtesy of The Revolution and some of Prince's most memorable songs. It was the hardest rocking album he would make and united black and white music fans around the world. I'm not going to say much about this one because if you're reading this, I'm certain you own this or have at least heard it a few times. It sold 25 million copies world wide and is one of the most commercially successful albums of all time. Prince had arrived in style and now the whole world knew his name. 

Parade,1986. Like Madonna, Prince's movies often fell flat but he did turn out some great soundtracks. This album accompanied his film: Under The Cherry Moon. It traded his rock approach for a string-laden psychedelic sound. There are also subtle jazz elements sprinkled throughout. It's one of his most experimental records yet still produced the number-one single, “Kiss.” The French accents are due to the fact that the movie was based in France. Prince began referring to his music as “The Avant-Purple” during this period. Prince can still be as funky as it gets here and the pop melodies keeps the listener engaged.

        Prince broke the rules, pushed the boundaries and lived by his credo which he spelled out in a song from 1999: “D.M.S.R.: Dance, Music Sex, Romance.” For a time, he painted the entire world purple.

LOST ON YOU by LP: Album review by Kevin M. Hibshman

Androgynous singer/songwriter LP (Laura Pergolizzi) has to date released seven albums on various labels and although all are worthy of a listen, Lost On You, their fourth outing, represents an artistic and should-have been commercial peak. 

        At its smokey core, this is really a finely executed pop album with hooks galore and memorable melodies to spare. It retains a unique sophistication due to LP's bluesy, belting vocals and their ability to mesh a variety of incongruent styles into a singularly refined sound. There are hints of electro-pop, folk, gospel, blues and classic rock and roll throughout the album's ten solid tracks.

        The pop finesse of their material comes as no surprise as they have written songs for Cher, Rihanna and Celine Dion, among others. They have become something of a icon and inspiration to LGBTQ youth in several countries. This album went platinum in Italy and France, selling 50,000 and 100,000 copies respectively and double platinum in Poland where it has sold 40,000 copies. The powerful opening track, Muddy Waters, was featured in the closing scene of Netflix's hit, Orange Is The New Black  in 2016 and was heard in the trailer for NBC's Shades Of Blue. They also worked with Morrissey in 2018, contributing background vocals to his cover of Roy Orbison's It's Over. 

        Highlights from the album include the moving piano-based ballad, “Switchblade,”  the irresistible groove of the title track and the closing number,”Long Way To Go To Die” which has an unforced poignancy that lingers on with the listener. This is a fine, under-appreciated effort by a talented maverick that deserves to be heard. I leave you with a lyric from “Strange”... “We are all strange but it ain't never ever ever gonna change.” 

Watch a performance of Lost on You on YouTube.

        

 (Thanks to brother John Patrick Robbins who turned me on to this artist.)

GAS Featured Musician: Jerusalem Mules, presented by Kevin M. Hibshman

Jerusalem Mules is the one-man band from Erie, Pennsylvania comprised of Matt Borczon. He not only plays a variety of instruments, He builds them himself. His music combines original songs with cover renditions of timeless spirituals, country ballads and folk tunes. He is something like a troubadour for our troubled times, blending an antiquated sensibility with a post-punk edge. Let's find out more.

KH: Could you tell us some of your musical inspirations and/or favorite artists?

MB: I love most old music. Doc Boggs and The Carter Family come to mind. I also love Dave Alvin, Steve Earl and some of the alt-country guys. In the most modern underground sense, I am a huge fan of The Godamn Gallows, The Calamity Cubes, High Lonesome and the whole Hellbilly movement. As for who influenced me, there is a musician in York, PA. named Shane Speal who built the first big website examining the cigar box guitar. This changed my whole life! Building and then playing these simple instruments allowed me to get the simplicity I was looking for.

KH: How many instruments do you play?

MB: Let's see. Guitar, everything from one to six strings, tenor and five-string banjo, some violin and mandolin, Mostly anything with strings. I also play some penny-whistle and a little harmonica.

KH: What was your initial inspiration for building your own instruments?

MB: I pretty much only play what I build now. I learned  from a cigar box guitar website. You can now google plans for a cigar box guitar and find tons of great information on them. Also, YouTube videos.

KH: You are a published poet. Do you find it easier to write song lyrics or poetry? 

MB: Since starting to take poetry more seriously, I find it harder to write songs now. I tend to be better at whichever one I'm working hardest on.

KH: Has Jerusalem Mules played in public?

MB: I have played a bunch of open-mic shows and a few cigar box guitar festivals over the years. Not much since Covid hit.

KH: Do you have future plans for this project?

MB: I am always recording and I hope to get a three-piece band out in front of an audience once this all ends.

KH: What would you like listeners to take away from your music?

MB:I hope it gets them interested in old music and maybe building their own instruments. Also, I'm always hoping to show people that you don't need lots of money to make real music, just some simple instruments, time and energy. Sort of what made me love punk rock in the 70's.

Here is a link to the Jerusalem Mules on band camp. 

Chelsea Wolfe: More Than Queen Of The Goths by Kevin M. Hibshman

The darkly enigmatic singer/songwriter Chelsea Wolfe has been gaining more and more interest from music fans across the globe. She is a captivating presence whether on stage or appearing in any of her innovative videos. She has released six albums, beginning with The Grime and The Glow, in 2010. It serves as a fine introduction to the ever-evolving artist's musical capabilities and fierce imagination.

The material ranges from tuneful neo-folk:“Cousins Of The Antichrist” to distorted, electronically enhanced dirges: “Moses” to songs that defy easy description because they genre-hop within themselves. Wolfe creates her own musical language much the same way Kate Bush and Robert Smith (The Cure) do. Her voice can be subdued, almost like a hushed whisper one moment and soar into piercing soprano wails the next. She employs reverb and odd guitar tunings frequently to great effect, enhancing the haunted atmosphere of the songs.

        Wolfe's 2013 release, Pain is Beauty is her most pop-friendly album thus far, although her lyrics retain the usual subject matter: heartache, survival, and

torment. Synthesizers and sequenced beats augment her already wide stylistic approach. I find, to date, her most engaging album to be 2017's Hiss Spun. It was recorded, appropriately, in Salem, Massachusetts and features guest appearances from members of Queens Of The Stone Age, Isis, and Converge. These players helped Wolfe to actualize her first foray into dark metal/noise rock. The lyrics were inspired by health problems she has suffered including sleep paralysis and  chronic insomnia. She also delves into her family's often troubled past and romantic relationships that ended bitterly. Wolfe has often talked about how her numbing stage fright kept her from wanting to perform for years. She performed early gigs with a black scarf covering her face. 

      

Wolfe's latest offering 2019's Birth Of Violence, is a return to her folk roots and features mostly acoustic instrumentation. There are videos for a few tracks, including “Deranged For Rock and Roll” and “The Mother Road” both of which are steeped in pagan imagery. She has cited Aliyah, Nick Cave, Suicide, Hank Williams, Fleetwood Mac and Townes Van Zandt as musical influences and Sylvia Plath, Marcel Proust and Louis Ferdinand-Celine as her literary heroes. From blistering sonic dissonance to haunting acoustic folk ballads, Chelsea Wolfe is more than just Queen Of The Goths, she is a singular artist sharing a unique vision with whoever wishes to enter her lair. I urge you to do so.

Birth of Violence is on Bandcamp.

A Look Back At Wendy O. Williams and The Plasmatics by Kevin M. Hibshman

Those who loved Wendy O. Williams and those who hated her did so for the same reasons. She eternally defines the image of punk rock rebellion from a female perspective. She ceaselessly courted controversy and refused to bow to anyone's standards but her own.

She left home at age sixteen and supported herself by working as a lifeguard, stripper and macrobiotic cook before traveling to Europe, ending up in New York City by 1976. She performed in Rod Swenson's live sex shows there until they decided to form a band that would break all the rules. 

Debuting at punk mecca, C.B.G.B's in the late 70's. The Plasmatics' live shows were a mix of self-described “Wreck and Roll” with the sole aim of shocking audiences out of complacency. Television sets were bludgeoned with sledgehammers. Guitars were sawed in half. Eventually, cars would be blown up as all while Wendy cavorted, sometimes topless, covered in whipped cream. The Plasmatics' early music was simple proto-punk, like a sped up, much more threatening version of The Ramones. The lyrics attacked consumerism, sexism and conformity. The songs had equally provocative titles: “Butcher Baby,” “Sex Junkie,” and “Black Leather Monster” among them. Their third release, Metal Priestess, featured a budding new hybrid of punk and heavy metal with Wendy's androgynous vocals growing from grunts to a more melodic singing style. In 1981, Wendy was arrested on obscenity charges following a performance in Milwaukee. She was reportedly thrown to the ground and kicked in the face, requiring stitches. Rod Swenson was beaten unconscious when he tried to intervene. She was acquitted of all charges. She was arrested in Cleveland on the same charge but was again acquitted. The band wrote a song about the

incident, “A Pig Is A Pig” which appears on their second album, Beyond The Valley Of 1984.

The group made several unforgettable appearances on television on shows such as “Fridays” where Wendy was the first woman to appear on national television with a mohawk. She was also the first woman to be featured on the cover of metal magazine, Kerrang!” in 1984. She made the cover of Vegetarian Times magazine also in 1984. She did a pictorial for Playboy, skydiving nude, in1986.

Ever ahead of their time, their fourth album, Coup d'Etat, was recorded in Germany by Scorpions producer, Dieter Dierks who gave them a more metallic edge. This album included their cover of Motorhead's “No Class.” and demonstrated once and for all that the band could truly deliver their doomsday messages with competent musicianship. This album is also where Wendy's vocals became much more intense and she 's recorded some of the most unrelenting screams from any rock vocalist I've ever heard, male or female, which was, of course, her goal. After each recording session, she had to travel to Cologne to be treated against permanently damaging her vocal chords. Coup d'Etat failed to sell even with a video, 'The Damned” receiving some play on MTV and Capitol Records dropped the band in 1983. This would be the last Plasmatic's record until a reunion in 1987 produced the thrash punk concept album, Maggots:The Record.

Wendy released her first solo effort “W.O.W.” in 1984. Gene Simmons of Kiss produced it and members of Kiss played on several songs. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1985. Kommander Of Kaos  followed in 1986 and a rock-based rap album, Deffest and Baddest credited to Wendy O. Williams' Ultra Fly and The Hometown Girls, would be her final release in 1988. She starred in the camp film, Reform School Girls in 1986 and made an appearance on the popular TV show, MacGyver” in 1990. She then disappeared to Storrs, Connecticut to live with Swenson in the geodesic home he had designed. During this time, she worked at a food co-op and as a wildlife rehabilitator. She'd been a staunch vegetarian since 1996. Sadly, she took her own life in 1998 but left behind a legacy that has been highly influential. To quote writer John Patrick Robbins: “She was a bad ass. She lived at a hundred miles per hour.”

Kevin M. Hibshman's review of DARLING (CD) by Jon Bennett

According to his bio, Bennett is “a longtime member of San Francisco's underground music scene who mixes narratives with a finger picking style sometimes referred to as Texas flat picking. He is also a novelist and poet and his writing can be found in on line zines such as Red Fez, The Indiana Voice Journal, Medusa's Kitchen, Mad Swirl Poetry and many others. His music can be found on Pandora, iTunes, Spotify, Deezer and other music streaming sites. Darling is his sixth CD release and is available on Amazon.

        His phrasing and slightly raspy voice bring Bob Dylan to mind immediately. The lyrics reflect the concerns of gifted waifs longing for love but spending most of their nights drunk, roaming inner city bars. Each of the ten songs paints a vivid and complete picture of wayfaring wounded souls under three minutes time. The music sucks you in and ends leaving the listener gratified but wanting more. 

        I detect a little of The Flaming Lips on the whimsical “Awesome Possum” and the ghost of Nick Drake drifts by on a couple tunes. These possible influences in no way prevent this from being a highly original work. Bennett clearly has developed a signature style, showing it off to great effect. A sampling of the lyrics from “Black and Blue:” 

" now there's a razor blade/in a pool of after shave/maybe I will/on second thought, well maybe not/it's always been the time/that I need to kill"

                                                                                                                          

To be honest, I've fallen in love with Darling and recommend it strongly to any music fan who simply admires true artistry when it decides to rear its lovely, rarely seen head. This ranks with the best indie folk available.

Jon Bennett

Introducing MoMor: A Plea for Change In Desperate Times by Kevin M. Hibshman

I thought I'd begin the new year with an artist, though not exactly new, has been a recent discovery of mine. Seth Nyquist, a young singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Canada has released three EP's and seven singles on his own label, Don't Guess, to date. His current single is 2020's “Don't Cry.” His first release, Live For Nothing, appeared in 2015 and he has been gaining popularity in his home country since then. 

        Nyquist was born into a foster home in Toronto in 1992. He was adopted into a Swedish family.

“MorMor” is Swedish for “grandmother.” He spent one semester studying sociology at Ryerson

University in Toronto before leaving to pursue music. 

        I became interested in MorMor after my partner urged me to check out the video for his 2018 single “Heaven's Only Wishful.” The track begins with a standard 4/4 rock beat and is anchored by strumming acoustic guitars that build to an unexpected intensity at the close of the song which ends with the chant: “Some say you're the reason I feel this way.” MorMor's arrangements are usually sparse, focusing on his incredibly youthful-sounding voice that conveys a sense of being wounded yet hopeful: “Close your eyes and see it through. Chaos comes to collect the dues.”

        His latest EP, the six-song, Someplace Else,” continues his distinctive sound. There are more electronics used for flourishes and atmospheric touches. The songs are dreamily introspective slices of soul-laced pop. Nothing is ever jarring, MorMor is a chill ride. I'm often reminded slightly of Prince's earlier ballads minus the playful sexuality. There is a haunting sense of optimism in many tunes that I find refreshing. MorMor 's material is generally soothing, quietly contemplative yet hooks the listener with memorable melodies and messages of hope to survivors of all kinds.

     

His debut, Live for Nothing, seems hardest to find, though after a brief search on-line, I did find it available. He has a You Tube channel where you can easily get a taste of this engaging artist. He appears live on KEXP at home, accompanying himself singing on acoustic guitar. He loses none of his gentle intensity being “unplugged.” http://www.mormormusic.com/ is his official web site and you can order some merch and music there.

MorMor is worth checking out and he's quickly picking up interest in the U.S. Going on the strength of his abilities, his future should be limitless.

        

My Beloved Anti-Divas Pt. 3: Diamanda Galas by Kevin M.Hibshman

        No listing of anti-divas would be complete without Diamanda Galas as she personifies the term.

        During the past four decades of her career, She has used her singularly astonishing vocal abilities as a weapon. She has been labeled “a mourner for the world's victims” by exploring and revealing the terrifying realities suffered by AIDS patients, the mentally ill, and those killed by genocide in different locations and also by attacking those who would choose to ignore these crimes against humanity. 

        After playing in a few bands with musicians that included Henry Kaiser, Mark Dresser and Stanley Crouch, she made her solo stage debut in the role of a Turkish woman who was tortured and killed for alleged treason in Vinko Globokar's Un Jour comme un autre. This was part of the 1979 Festival d'Avignon held in France. She released her first album The Litanies Of Satan, an electronic opera in 1982. Her second album Diamanda Galas followed in 1984. She then began devoting her work to exposing and condemning the early  prejudice and exile forced upon AIDS suffers after her brother, the playwright Philip Dimitri Galas contracted the disease and died from it at age 32 in 1986. In 1989, her AIDS-related operatic trilogy, The Masque Of The Red Death was

released by Mute Records. This master work consists of three separate albums: The Divine Punishment (1986), Saint Of The Pit (1986), and You Must Be Certain Of The Devil (1988). Two of her recordings appear in Derek Jarman's 1987 film, The Last Of England and she appears in the 1990 documentary, Positive, about the AIDS crisis in New York City. She became an outspoken advocate and activist for AIDS victims and was arrested along with fellow members of ACT UP during a performance of her Plague Mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral ,NYC in 1989. She has also done voice-over work for the 1982 film Conan The Barbarian, Wes Craven's 1988 horror film, The Serpent And The Rainbow, Francis Ford-Coppola's Dracula (1992), 2005's The Ring 2 and her unique version of “Dancing In The Dark” closes Clive Barker's 1995 film, Lord Of Illusions. Her most recent voice-over appearance was in James Wan's 2003 film, The Conjuring.

      1992 saw the release of her tribute album to the spirituals and blues songs she had grown up listening to and performing in her father's band. Her Greek Orthodox father, an accomplished musician, had taught her piano at the age of three. He would not allow her to sing, claiming singers were tone-deaf and mostly “idiots and whores.” In 1993, she released the live album, Vena Cava.

This recording deals with the psychological effects of isolation. She teamed up with John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) for 1994's The Sporting Life. This was an unexpected foray into rock although the intensity of her vocals, including the use of glossolalia and the darkly humorous subject matter, landed the album squarely in avant-garde terrain. 

        For those wanting an introduction to her work, I recommend  her 2003 album, La Serpenta Canta. Culled from live performances from around the world, this collection showcases the unbelievable versatility and range of this powerful artist. Accompanied by her own fierce piano playing, which combines classical, jazz, blues and avant-garde flourishes, Diamanda soars into previously unforeseen heights and leaves the audience breathlessly purged. Her rendition of Hank William's ballad “I'm So Lonely I Could Cry is utterly unforgettable as is her take on Ornette Coleman's “Lonely Woman” and her haunting delivery of The Supremes' classic, “My World Is Empty Without You.” 

        In addition to her recorded work, she also offers her neo-expressionistic paintings and has created installation pieces and a film, Schrei 27, with Davide Pepe in 2011. In 1996, The Shit Of God, a book of her lyrics was published. Diamanda was awarded

Italy's Demetrio Stratos International Career Award in 2005. Her work is not for the faint of heart as she goes to places few artists ever attempt. There has never been a singer as powerful and as versatile and doubtless ever will be again.

My Beloved Anti-Divas, Pt.2: Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich by Kevin M. Hibshman

No two women personified post-punk adventurism more than Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich. Not only did they look the part with outrageous make up and dress, they made music that was utterly unique and at times, challenging. It was only natural that they would align, waving their brightly-hued freak flags for the world to see. In addition to their own recordings, they teamed up to star in Dutch junk-rocker Herman Brood's iconoclastic film, Cha Cha in 1979. They often appeared as guests during each other's  live performances and they recorded a duet, “Don't Kill The Animals” for P.E.T.A. in 1986. Lene also duets on “Where's The Party” along side Lemmy from Motorhead on Hagen's self-titled album from 1989.  Nina recorded a cover of Lene's top 3 UK hit, “Lucky Number” for her second album, Unbehagen (“Ill at ease”) released in 1979. Nina was born in Germany, Lovich in Detroit, moving to England at age thirteen. 

        After singing with a few bands and dubbing screams for horror films, Lovich recorded a demo of Tommy James's hit from1967, “I Think We're Alone Now.” She was quickly signed to Stiff Records and her debut album, Stateless appeared in 1978. Her recording career was sporadic but she did put out the albums Flex and No Man's Land in 1979 and 1982 respectively. New Toy, a six-song stop-gap EP, with title tune written by Thomas Dolby, was issued in 1981. 

        Lovich's songs were often slightly bizarre, occasionally ethereal explorations of love, loss, and the supernatural. She did pen the lyrics to French disco star Cerrone's 1977 single, “Supernature” which she herself covers on the aforementioned P.E.T.A. Album. Her style was quirky new wave with plenty of charging rhythms and percolating synthesizers. The main attraction was her unique vocalizing. Her voice ranged from smooth, haunting lower registers to piercing soprano shrieks. If you have never heard her, I recommend you begin with Stateless. This album shows off her incredible versatility and is the strongest batch of songs she has presented. Lene has continued to record, releasing the excellent Shadows and Dust in 2005. 

        Nina Hagen studied ballet as a young child in East Germany and by the age of nine, was considered a promising opera singer. Her stepfather, an anti-establishment folk singer, was kicked out of East Germany and Nina reportedly was granted permission to leave the country in record response time after declaring she wished to follow in his footsteps. She first landed in Poland, age sixteen but later ended up in London at the height of the punk rock movements, befriending Johnny Rotten (Lydon) of The Sex Pistols and Ari Up of The Slits. After being signed to CBS records, she released her debut Nina Hagen Band in 1978. Her second German-language album, Unbehagen followed in 1979. it would be her first solo and first English-language record, NunSexMonkRock that would introduce her to the world. 

        The sound of her first two records was a blend of 70's hard rock, reggae, punk rock with operatic flourishes. Nothing could have prepared her audience for the masterwork that is NunSexMionkRock. Here all of her disparate influences meld together with her odd, amusing personality to create an aural assault unlike anything you will ever hear from a major-label artist. The album is a new wave post-punk opera with Hagen singing in what seems like an endless array of voices that range from demonic to operatic usually within the course of one song. It has to be experienced to be believed.

Be prepared for a mind-altering trip if you decide to dive into this stunning album. Nina's music is not for everyone. You either get her or you don't and NunSexMonkRock is certainly her most divisive record with subject matter that includes religion, addiction, motherhood and UFO's. Of course seeing her live was also quite a mind-bending experience. She often throws in unexpected cover tunes from artists like David Bowie, Sweet, The Monkees, Janis Joplin, Norman Greenbaum (She covers his one hit “Spirit In The Sky” on her 1985 album, In Ekstasy.) 

     
  There will never be performers like these two fascinating women again so if you are not yet aware of their singular talents, I urge you to make their unearthly acquaintance.