The Marble Index - Definition

Where the statue stood

Of Newton, with his prism and silent face,

The marble index of a mind forever

Voyaging through strange seas of thought alone--W. Wordsworth

--- The Marble Index is the name of Nico's 1969 neoclassical and avant garde work.

The album was produced by long-term associate John Cale, an experimental musician who had worked briefly with Nico during her stint in The Velvet Underground. Cale had an extensive background in various avant garde settings, working with minimalist composer LaMonte Young, among others. Cale and Nico created an album that radically deviated from traditional rock music song structures. Cale said it was the first rock album to do so. He also said that The Marble Index had made a seminal contribution to the body of modern classical music.

Nico wrote all her own songs on this album and accompanied herself on the harmonium, which has also been referred to as an Indian Pump Organ. The arrangements are abstract and, musically speaking, "cold". The effect is kindred to the psychological sound experimentation of electronic and serial composer, Karlheinz Stockhausen. The Marble Index has been described as a "nightmare in sound". It has influenced a wide array of genres in contemporary independent music. Artists such as Coil, Jocelyn Pook and Dead Can Dance, as well as numerous contemporary goth bands have all cited Nico as a seminal influence.

Lyrics

Nico employed images of power, cold, fear, dreams, terror, resignation, and loss (among others) on The Marble Index. Her lyrics might be described as Romantic or Gothic as they focus primarily on the fragility of life and the imminence of death.

Personnel

Nico

vocals, harmonium

John Cale

electric viola, piano, bass, electric guitar, glockenspiel, bells, mouth organ, bosun's pipe

Track listing

1. Prelude (0:50)
2. Lawns of Dawns (3:12)
3. No One Is There (3:36)
4. Ari's Song (3:20)
5. Facing the Wind (4:52)
6. Julius Caesar (Memento Hodié) (4:57)
7. Frozen Warnings (4:00)
8. Evening of Light (5:33)

Bonus CD tracks (Previously unreleased):

Roses in the Snow (4

06)

Nibelungen (2

44)

External Links

• Gadfly essay on Nico (http://www.gadflyonline.com/06-24-02/music-nico.html)
• Lyrics, images, liner notes (http://smironne.free.fr/NICO/marb.php)