Join the Boston Sunday Night Film Club this Sunday, March 6th at 5:15pm for “The Nomi Song” at the Brattle Theatre. Look for Sean wearing a nametag in the theatre lobby about 15 minutes before the film. As always, after the film we will descend on a local establishment for dinner/drinks/discussion.
Looks like an alien, sings like a diva – Klaus Nomi was one of 1980’s most profoundly bizarre appearances. He was a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene who sang pop music like opera and brought opera to club audiences. He was a performer with a look so strong, that his first audiences went wild before he even opened his mouth. On the verge of international fame as a singer, he instead became one of the first prominent artists to die of AIDS. But the reaction Nomi provoked was so strong, that he is still unforgettable even 20 years after his death.
THE NOMI SONG is a story of love of music and love of performing at a time when it seemed as though everyone was struck by a sense of urgency to make something (anything) simply because they wanted to make the most of the limited time they felt they were given on this earth. It’s a story that grows out of a group of people who influenced him, loved him, felt pity for him or betrayed by him, yet above all, were inspired by him.
Nomi constructed his own myth out of elements so completely wrong, yet so deliberate, that it all seemed oddly possible. He was an alien amongst the outcasts, a tortured soul who also radiated optimism at a time when optimism was officially out of fashion. He was as much a genuine talent as he was the engine of his own destruction. His appeal is not easy to explain in words. He has to be seen (and heard) to be believed.