The late career of Nico is something I think about a lot. If Nico had been a man her later career would have been taken far more seriously and she would have been heralded as a groundbreaking artist then and now. And yea she was doing drugs and spacing out and being difficult I'm sure, but honestly what dude musician of that time wasn't. That behavior is seen as a sign of genius in a man and the sign of a hysterical lost cause in a woman. Nico's late career was dark and creepy and amazing. She was making music that went with her mood- even when she was younger and in the Velvet Underground she was always holing up for weeks lighting candles all over her apartment and introducing Jim Morrison to leather pants or chewing out Lou Reed for being a little twirp. In the later years of her career she made some far more experimental music that foretold the careers of goth girls of the next decade. She also collaborated with some amazing musicians and filmmakers, really contributing to some of the best works of that time.
You've really gotta check out this amazing album. Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno, Nico, and Mike Oldfield on drums. That is arguably the best lineup of the 70s. If I was in the audience at that show I would have cried.
Unconscious and Irrational is named for the media's common presentation of girls and women as being either "out of control" or simply "passed out". In movies there aren't many female roles that won't show the girl either passing out, being knocked unconscious, or going totally crazy (usually with a car, credit car, or depressed dude).
On this blog I want to show the zillions of other things we do - whether it be music, art, comedy, or politics. I aim to provide you with a variety of gals to look up to- from Romy and Michele to Shirley Chisholm and Bella Abzug.
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