NunSexMonkRock

NunSexMonkRock is the debut solo studio album by German singer Nina Hagen. It was released on June 12, 1982 by CBS Records.

NunSexMonkRock
Studio album by
Nina Hagen
ReleasedJune 12, 1982 (1982-06-12)
Recorded1981–82
StudioBlue Rock Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre
Length40:06
LabelCBS
ProducerMike Thorne
Nina Hagen chronology
Unbehagen
(1979)		 NunSexMonkRock
(1982)		 Fearless
(1983)
Singles from NunSexMonkRock
  1. "Smack Jack"
    Released: 1982

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

In 1979, after working on the movie Cha Cha with Herman Brood and Lene Lovich, Hagen met the Dutch guitarist Ferdinand "Ferdi" Karmelk, with whom she later had a daughter Cosma Shiva. Together they started working on new music after Hagen's departure from the Nina Hagen Band.

After her European tour was cancelled in 1980, Hagen moved to the United States and signed with Bennett Glotzer, the former manager of Frank Zappa. She began working on songs in English since most of her previous material was in German and after six months she returned to Germany with her new tour. Shortly after discovering she was pregnant, Hagen broke up with Karmelk and moved back to Los Angeles. In 1982, Hagen signed a new recording deal with CBS Records.

Hagen recorded the album in New York City with Mike Thorne and collaborated with Karmelk, Paul Roessler, and Karl Rucker when writing the songs for the album. The lyrics deal with various themes including motherhood, religion, drug abuse, and UFOs. Musically, NunSexMonkRock is an experimental rock album with influences of post-punk and new wave music.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauC+[2]
Europopmusic.eu[3]

Upon its release, NunSexMonkRock received mixed reviews from music critics. While some praised Hagen's theatrical vocals, others criticized its experimental production. Rolling Stone called it the "most unlistenable" album ever made. Bil Carpenter at AllMusic gave it four and a half stars out of five, calling it "eccentric rock material" and praising Hagen's vocal diversity.[1] Robert Christgau commented that "she does have a new-wave sense of humor - instead of taking on Maria Callas with her umpteen-octave range she does impressions of Linda Blair and Mercedes McCambridge."[2] Commercially, the album achieved a 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
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Antiworld"
4:41
2."Smack Jack"
  • Ferdinand Karmelk
5:16
3."Taitschi-Tarot"
  • Hagen
  • Roessler
2:05
4."Dread Love"
  • Hagen
  • Karmelk
4:08
5."Future Is Now"
  • Hagen
2:55
6."Born in Xixax"
  • Hagen
2:55
7."Iki Maska"
  • Hagen
5:08
8."Dr. Art"
  • Hagen
  • Karl Rucker
4:49
9."Cosma Shiva"
  • Hagen
3:17
10."UFO"
  • Hagen
  • Rucker
4:52
Total length:40:06
Notes

Personnel
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
Chart (1982) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[4] 27
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[5] 38
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[6] 18
US Billboard 200[7] 184
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References
  1. Carpenter, Bil. "Nunsexmonkrock/Nina Hagen Band - Nina Hagen". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1992). "Robert Christgau: Album: Nina Hagen: Nunsexmonkrock". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  3. "Nina Hagen- Europopmusic". www.europopmusic.eu. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  4. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  5. "Charts.nz – Nina Hagen – NunSexMonkRock". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  6. "Norwegiancharts.com – Nina Hagen – NunSexMonkRock". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  7. "Nina Hagen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
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