Taking Sides: Danielle Dax vs Nina Hagen vs Diamanda Galas

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...and then they all Lez Us.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:19 (twenty years ago)

lene lovich

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:22 (twenty years ago)

i was just saying to ned that there should be some kind of dax/lovich/hagen retro-goth-chixor tour, and he said siouxsie could kick all their asses blindfolded and handcuffed.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:24 (twenty years ago)

Ooops. Sorry. That should've read "they all lez up."
Granted, if I'm going to drop a fruedian slip, why not have an interesting one.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:24 (twenty years ago)

Yes, stockholm cindy...that is obvious.
In fact, whoever wins this match must battle Siouxsie Sioux in a steel cage match catfite extravaganza.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:26 (twenty years ago)

sub ts: who had the better cover of "be stiff," lene lovich or toni basil?

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:32 (twenty years ago)

i'd put diamanda galas in a different category than the others.

― kyle (akmonday), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:33 (twenty years ago)

i would destroy diamanda. she kinda sucks.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:33 (twenty years ago)

Diamanda gets credit for being the only performer I saw who DIDN'T return for an encore, though everybody "wanted" one. (The way everybody "wants" one at every other I concert I've ever seen.)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:51 (twenty years ago)

Hahaha, "DIAMANDA HAS LEFT THE BUILDING."

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Sunday, 29 August 2004 20:58 (twenty years ago)

danielle dax. for the lemon kittens.

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Sunday, 29 August 2004 21:39 (twenty years ago)

Cindy = utterly mental. Kyle OTM though, this question is ridiculous.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Sunday, 29 August 2004 21:51 (twenty years ago)

Ooops. Sorry. That should've read "they all lez up."

Yeah, right.

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 30 August 2004 04:04 (twenty years ago)

i would destroy diamanda. she kinda sucks.
Clarification? Details?

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 30 August 2004 12:42 (twenty years ago)

Galas by a mile

― kephm (kephm), Monday, 30 August 2004 12:43 (twenty years ago)

Galas rules you all.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 30 August 2004 13:41 (twenty years ago)

Nina Hagen sounds like Marianne Faithfull now. Well, more so.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 30 August 2004 13:46 (twenty years ago)

Clarification? Details?

i'm probably being unduly harsh. i've only heard a few of her records; maybe they were the wrong ones. what should i be listening to, and what should i be listening for?

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 30 August 2004 16:49 (twenty years ago)

Keep in mind that people LIKE Diamanda Galas because she sounds like a screeching hellharpy.

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 30 August 2004 16:51 (twenty years ago)

I've only heard diamanda.

I like her bcz she's a goth; she seems to take it seriously, which is kinda scary. In a funny way :-)

which recs have you heard jbr? Her records are quite diff (the ones I've heard anyway), even if the signature scream always seems to be there.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 30 August 2004 17:00 (twenty years ago)

my favorite is the studio versions of the first two volumes in the Plague Mass, 'Divine Punishment / Saint of the Pit'; very intense & abstract settings for her voice. I appreciate but don't like her cover albums anywhere near as much.

my introduction to her was the RE/Search interview in the 'Angry Women' volume. pretty extreme.

I can't choose between any of these people. Nina Hagen & Giorgio Moroder's 'Fearless', Dax's 'Jesus Egg That Wept'.

― (Jon L), Monday, 30 August 2004 17:15 (twenty years ago)

i love all 3 but i probably love dax slightly more for 'jesus egg that wept'.

― stirmonster, Monday, 30 August 2004 18:16 (twenty years ago)

Don't know what you've heard, SC. Things to listen for include: the leathery timbre of her voice and the way she can use it to condemn, mourn, or protest; her massive dynamic range and control; of course her sheer range just in terms of pitch; her ability to mimic different voices (very apparent in Vena Cava); the way she subtly uses electronics sometimes to manipulate her voice; her 'faithful subversions' of blues and jazz standards; incorporation of vocal/musical traditions including opera, jazz/blues/gospel, and hard rock into her singular aesthetic.

Albums I have and like include

Vena Cava - the most out-there but absolutely brilliant if you can give it the time and volume (ha) it needs. An album-long composition that's like personally experiencing an intense internal psychodrama.

Malediction and Prayer; La Serpenta Cantata - on these she uses her voice to tackle blues, gospel, and jazz songs. Much more 'accessible' and 'tuneful'. I find them compelling myself. With just piano accompaniment on M&P, also some electronics on LSC.

Masque of the Red Death - Sounds like she's preaching to a perverse evil sort of mass with choir and percussion and some electronics. Some beats 'n' synths on disc 2.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Monday, 30 August 2004 22:05 (twenty years ago)

Danielle Dax wins. Inky Bloaters. MMm good.

― Bimble (bimble), Monday, 30 August 2004 22:21 (twenty years ago)

I've never actually heard Danielle Dax to be honest. Never got into Nina Hagen but my friend just lurves her.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Monday, 30 August 2004 22:23 (twenty years ago)

nina all they way. cos she's got a powerful voice, and you never know what she's going to do next.
she's nuttier than bjork. she's the great female acid casualty auteur. she could kick syd barret's ass, but she wouldn't cos she's all about the cosmic peace and love. she's probably one of the few people who could hold a conversation with lee perry.
she's released a lot of cheesy filler, but i've never heard any lene lovitch that comes near nina at her best.
i've never heard any dax, i'll have to check out this "jesus egg"...
and yeah, i think galas is kind of in a different category.

― m0stly clean (m0stly clean), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 00:51 (twenty years ago)

i was just saying to ned

You were? I mean, I would definitely say that, but I don't recall the conversation!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 00:54 (twenty years ago)

Danielle Dax wins this easily b/c "we buy a hammer for daddy" and "jesus egg that wept" are so great, plus she pwned carcass w/thee cover ov "pop-eyes", plus all her albums, and many of her songs have this kind of richly perverse vibe abt them that is kind of thrilling & scary, which rocks. Plus, her compilation album is called something like "the thwarted pop career of danielle dax", I guess there's also this whole odd humour about her whole act, which I find tremendously appealing.

I kind of like the idea of Diamanda Galas, and I always enjoy reading interviews w/her, but a little bit of her musick goes a long way for me.

Nina Hagen's music, I don't really care foir much.

The original question shd perhaps have included Lydia Lunch. Lydia might have won this just for "Queen of Siam".

I did a quick search for Danielle Dax on teh int4rw3b, it seems she's a garden designer now!! Like Kim Wilde? Blimey...

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 09:02 (twenty years ago)

The original question shd perhaps have included Lydia Lunch. Lydia might have won this just for "Queen of Siam".
Or her spoken word CDs. Wow. Uncensored Oral Fixation... wonderfully stress-inducing. Anything that starts with the words "...Dear...Whores..."
Damn.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 23:28 (twenty years ago)

Anyhow...
to finish off this thread:
Dax, Hagen, Galas...Search and Destroy (so I know what tracks to hunt for the next time on WinMX.)

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 23:33 (twenty years ago)

Ah Danielle. Best thing about the last World Dom gig I saw (band dies onstage) was that she smiled at my mate.

What's this "pwn" thing by the way? Pash says it a lot.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 23:36 (twenty years ago)

eight years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xi4O4RvlnQ

― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 25 December 2012 20:51 (twelve years ago)

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