''NunSexMonkRock'' is the debut solo (and third overall) studio album by German singer

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rise to prominence during the punk and Neue Deutsche Welle movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is ...

. It was released on April 30, 1982, by CBS Records. ''NunSexMonkRock'' marked Hagen's first release since her departure from the Nina Hagen Band, and was also her first album with all songs performed in English.

Background and recording

In 1979, after working on the movie '' Cha Cha'' with Herman Brood and

Lene Lovich Lili-Marlene Premilovich (born March 30, 1949), known professionally as Lene Lovich ( ), is an American-British singer. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Sin ...

, Hagen met the Dutch guitarist Ferdinand "Ferdi" Karmelk, with whom she later had a daughter Cosma Shiva. While pregnant, Hagen started working with Karmelk on new songs in English after her departure from the Nina Hagen Band, her German ensemble. Karmelk would be credited as the sole writer of the album's lead single "Smack Jack" and as the co-writer of "Dread Love". After her European tour was cancelled in 1980, Hagen moved to the United States and signed with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, with manager Bennett Glotzer, the former manager of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

. She intended to start recording the album that year but plans fell through when Glotzer would posticipate the work on the album due to her pregnancy, a move she would later criticize in interviews. "I would love to ecordwhen I was pregnant, it would be the holiest record in the whole wide world", she told the magazine ''Shades'' in 1982. Hagen would later record the album in New York City with Mike Thorne and a different lineup than the one she had intended due to the album's delay. Karmelk, who was initially supposed to work on the record, doesn't feature in any of the songs. The album takes its title from the lines "Let's do the nun sex monk rock" featured in the outro of "Dread Love", the album's fourth track. On the album cover, Hagen is shown holding her daughter Cosma Shiva in a homage to Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, an act that was perceived as mockery by the contemporary press, which defined Hagen as blasphemous. Hagen would later clarify her position on faith, being baptized in 2009 and pointing out ''Nunsexmonkrock'' lyrics as showing "I've always struggled and preached in the name of love, in the name of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and not just since my Christening."

Composition

Musically, ''NunSexMonkRock'' is an

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

album with influences of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

and

new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...

. The lyrics deal with various themes including

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

hood,

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

, and

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

s. The album opens with "Antiworld" which contains an interpolation of " Third Stone from the Sun" written by

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. The lyrics are a loose translation of the 1964 poem "The Antiworlds" by Andrei Voznesensky. The second track, " Smack Jack", served as the album's only single and deals with drug addiction. It was written by Karmelk, who was a heroin addict and later died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in 1988. Hagen would later write in her memoir he "loved the drug more than me and our baby." In "Taitschi-Tarot" Hagen sings about

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

, and

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. Hagen performed "Future Is Now" in 1979 with Kermelk on the Austrian TV show ''Club 2'', an appearance that has become controversial due to the singer's simulation of female masturbation. "Iki Maska" contains an interpolation of "

Planet Claire "Planet Claire" is a song the B-52's released in July 1979 as the second single from their first album ''The B-52's''. Based on Duane Eddy's version of Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn theme, the single reached number 43 on the Australian Kent Music R ...

" performed by

the B-52's The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...

and of "

'O sole mio "" () is a well-known Neapolitan song written in 1898. Its Neapolitan-language lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro and the music was composed by Eduardo di Capua (1865–1917) and Alfredo Mazzucchi (1878–1972).. The title translates ...

" by

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

and

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

. During the last minute of the song, Nina sings lyrics from

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's " Ziggy Stardust". "Cosma Shiva" is named after Hagen's daughter, who also features on the track, and contains an interpolation of " The Changeling" performed by

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

. Album closer "UFO" tells the tale of Hagen's own spotting of a UFO on a beach in Malibu while pregnant.

Release

''Nunsexmonkrock'' was released on April 30, 1982, on vinyl and cassette. It was re-released on CD and cassette on August 27, 1991, as the ''Nunsexmonkrock/Nina Hagen Band'' compilation including the four tracks from the

Nina Hagen Band Spliff was a German band that existed from 1980 to 1985. Their musical repertoire combined rock, funk, and electronic music. The keyboard sounds of Reinhold Heil, and later the electronic drums of the Simmons SDS-V brand, especially defined the sou ...

's eponymous EP, originally released in 1980. The digital version available on streaming platforms is the 1991 compilation. In 2012, the album was compiled with ''

'' and '' Fearless'' as a part of the Original Album Classics series by Columbia.

Critical reception

''NunSexMonkRock'' received mixed reviews from contemporary

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. While some praised Hagen's theatrical vocals, others criticized its experimental production. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called it the "most unlistenable" album ever made. Bil Carpenter at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave it four and a half stars out of five, calling it "eccentric rock material" and praising Hagen's vocal diversity.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

commented that "she does have a new-wave sense of humor - instead of taking on

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

with her umpteen-octave range she does impressions of

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. Her portrayal of Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973) established her in popular culture and as a scream queen, earning her a Golden Globe Award ...

and

Mercedes McCambridge Carlotta Mercedes Agnes McCambridge (March 16, 1916 – March 2, 2004) was an American actress of radio, stage, film, and television. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress". She won an Academy Award for Best Support ...

." Revisiting the album almost 40 years after its release, Evan Minsker gave it 7.5 out of ten on ''Pitchfork'', criticizing the performances of the other band members whilst praising Hagen's delivery.

Commercial performance

Commercially, the album achieved moderate success. In the United States, it peaked at number 184 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In Germany, it reached number twenty-seven and also peaked inside the top forty in other countries, such as New Zealand and Norway. " Smack Jack" was the only single released from the album. It managed to be successful in Norway where it peaked at number seven.

Track listing

Personnel

* Nina Hagen – vocals, synthesizer, guitar *

Allan Schwartzberg Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. He has been a member of the rock band Mountain, Peter Gabriel's first solo band, toured with Brecker Brothers' Dreams, B. J. Thomas, Linda Ronstadt, Stan Ge ...

– drums * Karl Rucker – bass, synthesizer *

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of th ...

– guitar *

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

– synthesizer * Paul Roessler – synthesizer, piano * Axel Gath – baritone saxophone, contrabass clarinet ;Technical * Mike Thorne – production * Michael Ewasko – engineer * Don Wershba – additional overdubs * Harvey Goldberg – mixing, additional overdubs * Jack Skinner – mastering * Nicolaj Ilieff – design * Juliana Grigorova – photography

Charts

References

External links

* ''NunSexMonkRock''at

* {{Authority control 1982 debut albums Nina Hagen albums CBS Records albums Albums produced by Mike Thorne