Google didn't pay $1.65 billion for YouTube back in 2006 because it wasn't the greatest invention ever, yet it still never ceases to amaze me what new things pop up every day. Last night I was referred to this interview with H.R. Giger, Chris Stein and Debbie Harry that aired on BBC2 the day "Koo Koo" was released in 1981. The chat took place in Giger's home in Switzerland, where he was working on the "films" for two unidentified tracks from the album, which presumably turned out to be "Backfired" and "Now I Know You Know." The piece makes makes effective use of "Europa," the haunting instrumental opener of "Autoamerican," which my friend Greg and I always dreamed about using as the soundtrack for a film we never wrote. Giger is every bit as weird as you would expect the guy who won an Oscar for the monsters in "Alien," but his English as a Third, Fourth or perhaps Fifth language explanation of his inspiration for the "Koo Koo" cover -- a mixture of his experience receiving acupuncture and Debbie being hte queen of punk, which makes him think of safety pins -- is a revelation after all these years. Debbie and Chris are as awkward as ever, if not as difficult to pull answers out of. But Debbie has her cute moments, and they seem really on top of the world. A must-watch for any hardcore fan. And to think there once was a time when you would base your life around not missing things on television for fear they would never air again!
And then there was the Giger documentary in 2006, in which Debbie reflects on her "Koo Koo" experience:
No comments:
Post a Comment