Mourning Nina

With every passing of an icon, the world pauses dramatically, some reacting with greater emotion.  I remember a friend weeping when Jim Henson, the creator of Sesame Street and The Muppets, died in 1990.  I remember seeing fans of John Lennon going wild on TV when he was killed outside his New York apartment.  The hysteria that followed Michael Jackson’s untimely death is still fresh.  A gay friend predicts rainbow flags hanging half-mast, or even national flags in countries with huge gay populations, when Madonna’s time will come.

Nina Simone’s death in 2003 was the one that had an impact on me.   The ‘High Priestess of Soul’ was honest, vulnerable and passionate in every song she sang.  She sang the truth, sometimes quite indignantly since she was a black civil rights advocate at time when it was unpopular to be one.  She sang like she was channeling every part of her spirit to touch the listener.   

Listen to “I loves you Porgy”, her cover of “Here Comes The Sun”, "Ne me quitte pas", and be enthralled. 

The movies loved Nina! My fave Nina moment was in the pivotal heist in The Thomas Crown Affair remake.  Nina wails “Sinnerman” as dozens of men all dressed alike, like Magritte’s man in a bowler hat, red tie and black suit, scatter through the halls of MOMA to confuse the cops.

Nina the icon and Nina’s music figure prominently in Point of No Return, the La Femme Nikita remake where the troubled Bridget Fonda character would turn to Nina’s music for comfort; and in the underrated Before Sunset’s final scene between Julie Delphy and Ethan Hawke.  In both movies, art imitates a life full of love for Nina.

Here’s the Before Sunset link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMqePx7Kp3A&feature=related