Friday, September 4

One Day, We Will Be Free

Here's a little artifact I was excited to find online: the lyrics to "Born in Xixax," ostensibly in Nina Hagen's own handwriting.

Looks like something a hyperactive kid would crank out in Study Hall, right? Well, why not? Pink Floyd plundered their childhood poetry for songs, lots of people have taken the inspiration of their youth and transformed it into something memorable.

I especially like her fonts, the manic switches and degrees in which everything has been represented. It goes all over the place, as the words and meanings do, communicating much more than the words themselves. Completely acceptable.

I realize I sound crushy on Nina Hagen, and that's accurate. I wish she hadn't been strung out on drugs but hers was a soul in torment, that's clear, and some people have to figure out these things for themselves. "Born in Xixax" was a transformative song for me, one of those portals that opens up to a new universe, a key that shows me how much more is possible than has been represented or hinted at previously.

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