Nico

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t limit myself to glowing reviews of magnificent music. It just so happens that I write about what I like; I laud the goods and disregard the rest. But the other day, I bought this magazine that came with a free Bowie tribute CD. I don’t know what I was expecting but obviously, none of the tribute tracks stood up to the originals. I guess it reaffirmed my reverence for the man, the myth, the legend: David Bowie. Anyway, Nico (of Andy Warhol’s Factory and the Velvet Underground fame) sings “heroes” on the disc. Some tribute—Nico sounds bloated and high as a kite as she bellows lazily through eight-and-a-half gut-wrenching minutes of fuzzy guitar, sloppy bass and admittedly jubilant saxophone solos. You can almost hear her fading in and out of her drug-induced stupor as she realizes that the tape’s still rolling and musters the energy to get a few more words out. It’s so bad that it’s funny. However, her health and her habit at this point in her life were no laughing matter. She later died of a cerebral hemorrhage after falling off her bike and hitting her head.

LISTEN TO HER SING "FEMME FATALE" AND "I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR"