Here's one thing that I don't know will be a winner or a loser, yet: perspective. Maybe we've arrived at the end of the Palin story. Maybe it's just starting to get good. God knows I've enjoyed the motherlove out of every chapter of this bizarre time in our lives. At the same time, I remember that America is fighting two wars and dealing with an economic collapse, and that our freedoms are still being impinged upon by the vision of the unitary executive which President Bush built and which President Obama shows no stomach for dismantling. Meanwhile, Congress keeps watering down effective policies at the behest of lobbyist hacks, who pay good money to re-elect the same useless, seat-occupying, air-pump trash, year in and year out.

Say what you want about Sarah Palin, but none of that is her fault.

awesome dude. cult following is understandable. I was a rocky horror fan. once upon a time.

A dear man. He used to bake sweets for his band and friends. He was a pastry chef turned German opera singer turned punk musician turned angel.

He was also the first person I had heard of who succumbed to AIDS.

My wife and I saw him in a little club that was off of a larger club called Third Place East(?) many years ago(1978ish). He did the aria from Samson and Delilah and Lightening Strikes by Lou Christie. I was able to shake his hand as he left the stage and later my wife and I ran into Klaus and his entourage at the connected club. His english was rough but we communicated our enjoyment of his show to him and chatted with the woman who performed with him (not singing she was a part of the build up to Klaus' performance). Out of the many people I saw back then this was a high point even though it was only a couple of songs.

I've never really listened to his music before but I appreciate his original style. I definitely see some shades of Devo and even The Butthole Surfers here. I'm not sure if he directly influenced those bands, but something about the 'performance art' aspect of it reminds me of those two bands.

Wild is the Wind

I'm not that into his music, but I appreciate his working in the German cabaret tradition, and his act as performance art. He wasn't a cookie cutter act, that's for sure.

I first heard Klaus sing Total Eclipse on an album called Urgh: A Music War. At the time I was under the impression that there was also a female singer who did the chorus. It was only later that I got the video of Urgh that I found out it's just him. I have watched Urgh: A Music War dozens of times since the early eighties and see something new every time. It's a cool video and I'd recommend it. It's a collection of 35 different bands playing live. It starts and ends with The Police and has everything from punk to ska to reggae and lots in between. Lux Interior deep throating a microphone while Poison Ivy sneers at him in a Cramps song, Gary Numan gliding around the stage in a strange little car, Devo bouncing up and down, John Otway throwing his violin around, KKK menacing Steel Pulse and much more. I've found it available in torrents for those who like to download. Here's a link to what Wikipedia says:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urgh!_A_Music_War

There is an excellent documentary about him~~interviews, performances, ect. Can't remember the name of it though.

It was back in the '80s, not long after it was released. Nomi impressed me greatly, but when I bought his album featuring "Total Eclipse" I was disappointed. His appeal is at least 70% visual.