MLT Club Member Jürgen
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„Kalte Winde“ (Cold winds). The song describes how a beautiful autumn with blue sky and bright sun slowly gives way to winter and the year draws to a close. Finally a white blanket of snow will cover the land until everything is wrapped in oblivion, but the love of the people close to us brings the world to new life.
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The instrument you mean, Jung, is a so-called “Drehleier” or “Radleier”, in french “Vielle à Roue”, or in english “Hurdy-gurdy”. The hurdy-gurdy is a mechanized stringed instrument from the class of lute instruments, known since the Middle Ages, in which the strings are struck by a built-in wheel that is turned by means of a crank. The vibrating length of one or more melody strings is shortened mechanically via keys in order to change the pitch. So much for the theory. In practice, the Hurdy-gurdy is often used in the medieval music scene. This includes for example also the group Blackmore’s Night, which uses historical instruments, but no hurdy-gurdy as far as I know. You’re right, the music sounds Celtic, Germanic or Gallic. The theme of autumn, medieval times and medieval markets also fits very well together. Imagine this:
The smell of freshly baked bread is in the air and small, colorful market stalls nestle close to the massive masonry of a half-ruined city wall. Travelling merchants in wide motley robes offer pottery and hand-turned candles, right next to a stall serving fresh mead and chestnut beer in bent horn cups. A troupe of jugglers has gathered under a massive old oak tree, its foliage shimmering yellow and gold in the warm autumn sun. The musicians of the group play a cheerful melody on their shawms, accompanied by bulbous, four-sided stringed instruments, to the rhythm of flat fur drums and a tambourine. A few steps away lets a juggler rotate burning torches in a circle and bows elegantly to the applause of his numerous spectators. Directly across the paved street, a blacksmith’s hammer sounds as he shapes the blades of small daggers on his anvil, while a few steps away a young woman is selling baked goods. Wrapped in a wide robe and hiding her face under a hood so no one can see her bright blue eyes, she offers deliciously fragrant, golden-brown cinnamon buns from the distant land of Arrakis. With an extra helping „Spice” and fresh out of the oven, as her well-traveled guests prefer to eat it.
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I don’t know if you knew “Blackmore’s Night” before. The guy with the guitar is Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), the singer is his wife. The two of them have been producing medieval-inspired songs for many years. There are really nice songs on it and he can still play guitar.
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Ramstein, wow. Connoisseur of the scene Tom? Yes Ramstein is different than German Schlager. Actually the absolute opposite. The band belongs musically to “Neue deutsche Härte” (New German Hardness) A terrible term. Ramstein is still very active. A big tour was planned for 2020, which unfortunately could not take place for known reasons. However, the tour will probably be made up for. Ramstein likes to work with flashy stage shows (pyrotechnics, fire breathers, etc. and have almost torched themselves once). These guys are already too weird for me, but I like the song “Engel” (the presentation of the band and their pronounced tendency to provoke on the other hand, I don’t like at all. It reminds me a lot of Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson)
I have chosen an orchestral cover version here. If you want to see the original, there is for example a concert recording from 2010 at Madison Square Garden / Manhattan on youtube, including English translation. The concert was sold out after only 30 minutes.
PS: The children’s choir sings the german lyrics with a strong russian accent (at least as strong as russian vodka. This is soon even crazier than the original). John and Paul sang much, much better German. Which brings us back to the topic „Sie liebt dich“.
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Oui, oui Tom, c’était vraiment comme ça: Céline Dion won for Switzerland in 1988 with the song “Ne partez pas sans moi”. As you may know Switzerland is trilingual (German, French and Italian). At big train stations (e.g. Basel) all three languages are signposted at the same time: That’s very practical, you can’t get lost there.
At the Eurovision Song Contest 1988, two out of three elements of the song had to be from the respective country: Composer, Lyricist or Performer. As far as I know, both the composer and the lyricist were Swiss. So Céline Dion was allowed to compete. Nowadays this is no longer a prerequisite. Good singers are simply bought in. Just like in international soccer. Crazy, isn’t it?
Céline Dion was initially only known in France, but has been very popular in Germany at least since her movie song for „Titanic“: My Heart Will Go On. Jean-Jacques Goldman, on the other hand, is little known here. He was considered an insider tip in the student scene.
The keyboarder of „Wolkenfrei“ was named Marc Fischer. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what he does today, after the band split up.
“Mein Herz schlägt ebenfalls für Rock’n Roll“. My heart also beats for Rock’n Roll.
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I understand that very well David. That’s the first sense of achievement when you learn a new language and then you enjoy continuing to learn the language. And such successes are always associated with special memories that accompany you.
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[Strophe 1]
- Die Augenringe erzählen die Nacht
- Fremdes Hotel, bin fröstelnd aufgewacht
- Mit ‘nem Gewissen, das mich ständig beisst
- Oh, du fehlst mir so
- In der Arena gestern noch der Held
- Heute der Typ, der den Hörer falsch herum hält
- Ach, warum gehst du denn nicht ran?
- Ich vermiss dich so
- Wenn der Himmel mir jetzt auf den Kopf drauf fällt
- Bist du die einzige, die noch zu mir hält
- Ich brauch jetzt deine ruhige Hand
- Oh, meld dich doch bei mir
- Oh, ich gäb sonst was dafür
[Chorus]
- Lena
Du hast es oft nicht leicht - Wie weit die Kraft doch reicht
- Wenn ich am Boden liege
- Erzählst du mir, dass ich bald fliege
- Lena
Wie ein klarer, warmer Wind - Wenn die Tage stürmisch sind
- Lass ich mich zu dir treiben
- Seelen aneinander reiben
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David I’m glad if you like the music. Even if I’m sometimes a bit skeptical about the German music scene: yes, I know it quite well. And there are also many beautiful songs.
The European Song Contest has been around for a very long time. The first time it was broadcast was in 1956 and it was called “Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson”. At the beginning, the whole thing was a big deal and the list of participants was very colorful and diverse. In 2001 the name was changed to “European Song Contest” and with the enlargement of the European Union new countries were constantly added. The very first winner of the contest was called Lys Assia and came from Switzerland. The group ABBA, the most successful band so far who participated in the competition, won the title with the song “Waterloo” in 1974 and started their worldwide career. By the way, Céline Dion competed for Switzerland in 1988. The dream of the large success remained for most interpreters out. The success story of ABBA should remain the great exception. This was also due to the fact that in later years no well-known musicians wanted to participate in this music competition. Too big the fear to perform badly there. Germany won the title two times: the singers Nicole „ Ein bißchen Frieden“ (1982) and Lena „Satellite“ (2010). Austria had a great success in 1966 with Udo Jürgens. An exceptional musician and certainly well known to Mona & Lisa. However, the popularity of the European Song Contest has waned considerably in recent years and today it only leads a shadowy existence, as you have correctly surmised David. A lot of warm air and little substance. In contrast, the music scene in Europe has developed very self-confidently and has become very diverse. Perhaps one of the reasons why the European Song Contest can be retired. The chicks have fledged and no longer need the hen. But the idea behind it was very nice: a musical exchange between the individual nations. Why this had to be in the form of a competition with a winner and lots of losers, only the Europeans know.
The two bands you mentioned were unfortunately just flashes in the pan. Westend with the title “Hurrican” was a group from Austria that participated in the European Song Contest in 1983 and finished in 9th place. The band was never heard from again. Similarly, the German brothers Hoffmann & Hoffmann who also participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1983 and reached 5th place. They had a total of three successful songs, but the big success failed to materialize. Tragic: that’s why one of the two brothers committed suicide.
I have chosen two German songs that you might like. They didn’t participate in the European Songs Contest and a bit older already, but also from the 80s. I like them very much. The following videos unfortunately have a very poor picture and sound quality, but they give a first impression. I would have liked to introduce you to more bands, but unfortunately most of the titles are available on youtube but legally protected and not playable here.- Wir haben uns auf Teufel komm raus geliebt
- Dann kam er und wir wussten nicht mehr weiter
- Du machtest dich nicht gut als sterbender Schwan
- Ich hab’ versagt als finsterer Reiter
- Statt Pech und Schwefel plötzlich nur noch Gletscher
und Geröll - Wir habe so viel Glück auf dem Gewissen
- Ich brauche jeden Morgen deinen Nachtgeruch
- Und keine falschen Wimpern auf dem Kissen
- Dein ist mein ganzes Herz
- Du bist mein Reim auf Schmerz
- Wir werden wie Riesen sein
- Uns wird die Welt zu klein
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Helene Fischer in a duet with Vanessa Mai. It is a cover version. The song was written by a German musician who basically had only this one hit: “Verdammt ich lieb’ dich”. (Damn, I love you)
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Hi Tom, “it’s warm and fuzzy like cotton candy, but not much depth” a very nice paraphrase. I like the song by Wolkenfrei. “Cloudless” you could also say “Sunshine” or “Blue Sky”. As I said, Vanessa Mai has a lot of potential. She could also be produced in a completely different way. Just like Helene Fischer. Probably the current queen of the German pop/schlager scene. A lot of potential, but just trimmed to a very specific music direction. On the other hand, it would be boring if everyone always made the same kind of music. And as we all know, there’s no accounting for taste. Only discuss. Thank you for your interest in German music.
Fischer’s biggest hit, I unfortunately found only in combination with footballers. On youtube there is also the official music video for it.
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Hi Tom. I think it’s great that you taught yourself Spanish. Costa Rica is a beautiful place. I was there a few years ago and I liked it very much. How long did you stay there?
Talking about Schlager music: You’ve caught me off guard here. I don’t know Beatrice Egli, Melissa Naschenweng and Vanessa Mai at all: but that doesn’t mean anything. I think all three are popular at the moment. I have watched them on youtube. To make it short: I can’t do much with German Schlager. The long version, would be very long now: Schlager music conveys an attitude towards life and understanding of the world, which does not fit with my ideas of life. It is the music of the older generation and conveys a lot of ideal world, is absolutely uncritical and repeats itself constantly. Let me put it this way: while the music of The Beatles, The Stones, etc. conveys a mood of departure, the desire for something new, German Schlagermusik signals only one message: everything should stay the way it is.
I have a hard time understanding Melissa Naschenweng. She comes from Kärnten (Austria) and sings with a very pronounced Austrian accent.
Beatrice Egli and Melissa Naschenweng present classic german Schlager Music. Vanessa Mai goes more in the direction of pop music. I like that better again. She could do more with her music, but then she won’t reach her fanbase anymore, too bad.
By the way, this brings me to the discussion that came up at another place here in the forum: should an artist use his appearance to sell his music? All three of the singers mentioned consciously use their attractiveness to market their music. This is a very personal decision that is difficult to discuss as an outsider. Going this way they are no longer just musicians who enjoy singing, but they are part of a very sophisticated marketing concept. They can’t play any other music and are not allowed to change their appearance, otherwise they can’t be marketed anymore. An evil game of the music industry that Mona and Lisa fortunately haven’t gotten involved in so far. And that brings me back to the topic of “She loves you”. The Beatles obviously didn’t like to produce this song very much, because they knew exactly: it’s really only about conquering new music markets and increasing the sales figures of their music albums. The actual music does not count so much anymore. But I’m glad they did it anyway.
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Hi David, thanks for sharing the video (and the links to the cover songs). I had already discovered the video and was really pleased that the Beatles had written a third song in German. But unfortunately they haven’t done it. By the way, the performance of the group took place in the TV-Show “Disco”. It was the only music program for young people on German TV in the 70s. Moderated by a very silly presenter and with a very hot music mix. It could happen that in one and the same show Deep Purple and a German Schlagersänger* performed at the same time. Unthinkable today.
*(German pop singer, I don’t know how to translate the word “Schlagersänger”. You have to listen to “Schlagermusik” to understand the phenomenon. You can’t translate and explain that)
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Thanks Jung, sometimes I have a lot of fun thinking up little stories like that. I am also very excited about the remake of “Dune”. I have seen the first filming. At that time with musician Sting in a supporting role and also the television three-parter. I can only faintly remember both of them. You can look at the film from two perspectives: either entertaining science fiction. Good fights evil and helps an oppressed minority. So to say Star Wars with a shot of Ghandi. Or as space opera: family intrigues, power struggles, who with whom, or who with whom not, why like this and not quite different? Above all: where and when. And then there is the mysterious role of Spice, the sand worms and the space pilots. Sounds confusing? Yes, if you like that: read the books. Otherwise, watch the movie instead. As you said, it’s an epic saga in the style of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. I find the idea of the Fremen people and the sandworms very exciting.
Uh Jung, don’t bake „Spice“ cinnamon buns for now. Watch the movie first and see what happens to people who consume „Spice“. Against the side effects also „fresh from oven“ does not help.
PS: You’ve already seen 20 minutes of previews?! That was probably the entire highlights of the film Jung… . The remaining 100 minutes are just dialogue and a few landscape shots 🙂 Seriously: you should like the movie.
