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German Symbolism in Rock Music: National Signification in the Imagery and Songs ofRammstein
Author(s): Robert G. H. BurnsSource: Popular Music, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Oct., 2008), pp. 457-472Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40212402Accessed: 21-12-2015 16:31 UTC
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2/17
Popular
Music
2008)
Volume
27/3.
Copyright
2008
Cambridge
University
ress,
pp.
457-472
doi:10.1017/S0261143008102239
rinted n
theUnited
Kingdom
Germansymbolismn rock
music: national
signification
n
the
imagery
nd
songs
of
Rammstein
ROBERT G.H. BURNS
Department fMusic, University f Otago,PO Box 56, Dunedin,New Zealand
E-mail: rob. urns@stonebow.
tago.
c.nz
Abstract
In this
rticle,
discuss
spects f
national
dentity
n the
erformancetyle
f
he
German ock
band
Rammstein
rom
he
erspectives
f magery,
ocal
tyle
nd
the extual ontent
f
their
songs.1
nvestigation
ntoRammstein
s music eveals
ransformationsf ignifiersrom
arlier
German
erformancetyles
ndearlier extual hemes
hat
he and se s a means
f
elocating
notions
f
German
dentity
ntotheir wn
performances.
he
adoption f
nationalGerman
signifiers
nables
ammsteino stablishonnections
etweenhe and ndthe
rowthf
national
awarenessmongGerman outhwho ollow hem.n thisway,marketingndpromotionf
notions
f
new
national erman
dentity
o
generations
naware
f
he
riginsf
neo-romantic,
national erman
ignifiers
n Rammstein$
music
upports
successful
ommercial
nterprise
that,
argue,
uns
lose o boundaries
xisting
etween ational
nd nationalist.
Introduction
Rammsteins
a
German
ock
andmost
asily
ituated
ithin
he
heavy
metal
enre,
although
heband
might
e more
ccurately
dentified
ithin
everal fthe
heavy
metal
ub-genres
iscussed
elow,
articularly
hat
f
extreme'
metal.
With
ecord
company
upport,
ammsteinave
remained lose to the xtrememetal
oundary
withoutctually rossingtbypromotingotions fnostalgia or nearlier erman
culture
and for
heir ersion
f a new German omanticismwhile
eschewing
accusations
f inks
ofascism. s
post-Second
orld
War
erceptions
f
Wagner
nd
Strauss
radually
ecome
isassociated
romarlier
wentieth-century
onnectionso
fascism,
lex Ross
observes
hat,
n
Germany,
a
deep
mistrustf
the
German]
musical
ast
till
ingers'
Ross
2005,
.
1).
Moreover,
n
his discussion n
Theodor
Adorno's
asting
nfluence
n German
musical
hought,
oss describes
ow,
n
modern
ermany,
azism
s still nvoked
n
artistic
atters,
ot
n
a
historical
ense,
but s
a
negative
xample
f
ontemporarytyles
ibid.,
.
1
.
It
may
be understand-
able
that
Germany
ould
want
to,
s Ross
puts
t,
wipe
the
lateclean' after he
SecondWorldWar.AspectsfRammstein'susic, owever,nderscoreonnections
torecent
rends
n
post-unification
ermany
owards
ight-wing
rientated
ock nd
extreme
metal,
s
well as to
consequent
xtreme
ttitudes owards he
country's
recent
ast
nd
suspicions
fneo-fascist
itsch.
457
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458
Robert .H. Burns
Rammstein's
yrics
re almost
lways ung
n
German
nd have enabled
he
band o
stablish
n
dentity
hat
rovides
ifference
n
genre
aturated
y
formulaic
European
nd
Americanock
ands.2 rom media
erspective,
owever,
he and's
lyrics avebeencriticiseds politicallyncorrectnd theirmusichas been inked o
the
shooting
t
Columbine
High
School that ook
place
on the 23
April
1999.3
Consequently,
ome British nd
American adio stations ave refused o
play
Rammstein
ongs.
n
2001,
RammsteinttractedurtherriticismromAsian
and
Afro-Caribbean
erformers
ho were
igned
o the
band's
United
Kingdom
ecord
label.4This
criticism
oncerned
Rammstein
romotional
ideo
that ncluded
images
aken rom
lympia,
film
ocumenting
he 936Berlin
lympic ames
hat
was directed
y
Leni
Riefenstahl
1902-2003
.5
Riefenstahl'sarlier
ilm,
as blaue
Licht
The
Blue
Light)
1932),
brought
er
directorial
kills o the ttentionfAdolf
Hitler,
ith
whose
anctionhemade
films bout he evival fGerman ationalism
during
heThird
Reich's
ise
o
power
n
the1930s.6 he s
nowadays
onsidered
n
innovatornsports hotographyechniques,lthough er onnection ith ascism
remains
contentious
ssuebecause f
other
ropaganda
ilms hat hemadefor he
National
ocialist
arty.7 espite
using
mages
rom
lympia,
ammstein
eny ny
connectionso
National
ocialism.
It
s notthe
purpose
fthis
rticle o
support
ccusations
oncerningossible
links
etween
ammsteinnd
right-wing
erman
ationalism,
lthough
argue
hat
there re
aspects
of their
music
and
their
erformances
hat
reveal
underlying
national
ignifiers,
omeof
which
might
e
consideredontroversial.
do, however,
acknowledge
enedict nderson's
arning
hat ocio-historiansend o
hypostasize
the
xistence f
Nationalism-with-a-big-N
rather
s one
might ge-with-a-big-A)
andthen oclassifyit" as an deology',lthoughcannotquatemy rgument ith
his
uggestion
hat t
wouldbe
easier
f
nationalism ere
reated
n
the ame
way
s
'kinship'
nd
religion',
ather
han
with
liberalism' r fascism'
Anderson
991,
p.
5).
This article
rovides
n
examination f
three reas
in
whichRammstein's
signification
ractices
an
be
clearly
efined.
irstly,
make
omparisons
etween
Rammstein's
tage
ettings
nd
costumes
nd
themechanical-kineticonstructivist
movement
n
Germany
n
the
920s,
s
well s between he and's
physicalmagery
n
live
performance
nd
German
neo-classicism
n
the 1930s.
Secondly,
illustrate
similaritiesetween
hevocal
style
f
Till
Lindemann,
he
Rammstein
ocalist,
nd
vocal
techniques
sed
by
German
abaret
ingers
fthe nter-war
eriod. inally,
discussRammstein'sse of invented olklore nd German exts hathave been
appropriated
rom
oems
y
Johann
olfgang
onGoethe
1749-1832
and
Heinrich
Hoffman
1809-1894).
Rammstein:
estating
he
national'
in
Germanrock
music
In
an
interview
n
1998,
Rammstein
maintained
hat
none of its members old
right-wing
eliefs,
ut
hey
renaive oclaim hat
erman
ignifiers
n
theirmusic o
not
uggest
ften-negative
otions f
nationalism.8
otoriety
as often eenused to
promote
ock
ands,
lthough
ammsteinave
promoted
with
omplicit
ssistance
fromheirmanagementndtheir ecordompany,ony/Universal/BMGecords
a
controversial
mage
for
he
band
by
deliberatelyncorporating
ationalGerman
signifiers
o
establish
ndividuality
n
a
genre
of
popular
music that
has
often
celebrated
notoriety.
n
an
online
magazine
articleon
Rammstein,
Winston
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German
ymbolism
n
rock
music 459
Cummings
maintains hat heGermanmediahave
endeavoured o establish
true
meanings
ehind omeof
Rammstein's ore
ontroversialnd
mysterious
ongs
with oevidence
hat-so-ever
sic]
f ft-rumoured
azi-leanings
ver
howing p'.9
While t s not thepurpose f this rticle osupport llegationsf inksbetween
Rammsteinnd National
ocialism,
ummings'audatory
ccount f
Rammstein's
commercial
uccess
nd their
ive
performances
llustrates
significant
rend
mong
the ock
music
ndustry
nd the ockmedia
o
prioritise
ommercialoncerns
bove
ethical nes.
While
iscussing
he extreme
metal'
cene,
Keith
Kahn-Harrisotes hat
here
is
a
practice
mong
performers
n
this
genre
o differentiateetween
music nd
politics
nd that his
ractice
s
reflexive,
emonstrating
a
considerable
wareness f
the tructuration
nd
politics
f
musical]
cenes
nd thewider
ociety'
Kahn-Harris
2000,
p.
127).
0
Kahn-Harris
lso maintains
hat
this
genre
also
practises
nti-
reflexivityy
wilfullyeeking
o xclude his wareness romcenic
ractice,
roduc-
ing 'reflexiventi-reflexivity'mong erformersithinwhich xistsa politics f
depoliticisation
n which he structurationf
the scene and
the
consequences
f
certain
ractices
re
wilfullygnored'
ibid.,
.
127).
Christian
orenz,
heRammstein
keyboard
player,
xemplifies
ahn-Harris'
tatement
y
dismissing
riticisms
levelled
t the
band for he
content f their
ong
texts nd
the
use of
Riefenstahl
film
mages
nd
by
describing
he
band as
being
as
dangerous
s
choirboys'
n
comparison
o
the hit ixteen
ear
lds see
on television'.11
While Lorenz's
statement
oncerns extual
ontent f the band's
songs,
Rammstein's
ecorded
music s most
asily
dentifiable
long
wodimensions the
vocal
and
the nstrumental
with
rimary
mphasis laced
on the
vocal,
given
hat
the instrumentalould be unlikely o provide ndividuality,nd commercial
viability,
n
the
heavy
metal
enre.
rom
vocal
perspective,
ammsteinrenot he
only
German
ock
band
to
sing song
texts
n
their
ative
ongue, lthough hey
represent
national
rend
n
German
op
music
that
s
moving way
from he
formulaic
ature
fmost
Western
op
music.12
n
his discussion n cultural ation-
alism,
ichard
aruskin
iscusses
heHerderian
iew
hat
o
anguage
s
superior
r
inferior
o
nother,
lthough
e adds
that here as been
romantic
inkage
etween
language
nd
the
concept
f nation
n
the German
rts ince the middleof the
eighteenth
entury
Taruskin
002,
p.
691-2).
While
iscussing
heuse ofGerman
language
n
German
popular
music,
Edward
Larkey
describes ow
many
ate-
twentieth
entury
erman
erformers
ejected
he ominance
f he
Anglo-American
popularmusicndustrynd the seof tandard erman,s used nthe chlagerong
style
n
the
ftermath
fthe
econdWorld
War
Larkey
000,
.
2).13
arkey
main-
tains
hat he
chlager
as ts
precedents
n
nineteenth-century
erman
peretta
nd
that
twas
regarded
y
musicians
erforming
n
the
merging
ockmusic
enre
f he
1960s
s conservative
nd
obsolete,
hereas
ock
music,
most ften
ung
n
trans-
atlantic
nglish,
ignified
ebellion
nd
insurrection
ibid.,
.
4).
Thiswas
a
conse-
quence
f
Anglo-American
ominance
fWestern
opular
ulture
n
the econd
half
of
the
twentieth
entury
uring
whichmost
Western
opular
musicwas
sung
n
English,
ven
by
non-English
peaking
rtists.
ill
Lindemann,
heRammsteinocal-
ist,
however,
ings
n
German
within n
Anglo-American
eavy
metal ontext
n
order o, s AllanMooreputs t, onveythe mpressionhat is utterances one of
integrity,
hatt
represents
n
attempt
o ommunicate
n
n unmediatedorm
ith n
audience'
Moore
1993,
.
200).
Lindemann
lso
conveys
othe udience
what
Moore
observes
s
'first-person
uthenticity
f
expression'
s
a
meansof
circumventing
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5/17
460
Robert
.H. Burns
'mere
ntertainment'
n
favour
f
promoting
sense f
belonging,
r
what
might
e
regarded
s the
maintenancef
authenticity
n
cultural
xperience
nd a means
promoting
ultural
xpression,
s noted
y
RichardMiddleton
1990,
.
127).
From n nstrumentalerspective,ammstein'style anbe situatednseveral
heavy
metal
enres,
most
otably
he xtreme etal
tyle
with
ts onnectionso
dark
metal nd
thrash
metal,
s
described
y
Kahn-Harris
2000,
.
124).
Deena Weinstein
refers
o
Rammstein's usic
s industrial
etal',
sub-genre
f
heavy
metal hat he
describess
a
combinationf
punk-influenced
thrash'metal nd
synthesised
ance
music
Weinstein
000,
.
288).
This
description
f theband's nstrumentalound
might
e
applied
to earlier
ecordings,
ut
the band's last three
lbums,
Mutter
(Mother) 2001),
Reise,
eise
Arise,
rise) 2004)
and Rosenrot
Rose Red) (2005),
often
exhibit
nfluencesaken rom
arlier
ritish
rogressive
ock
music,
while
maintain-
ing
firm
inkswith
eavy
metal.Moore
bserves hat
rogressive
ockmusic
ppro-
priates
lassical
eferents,
aintains
igh
ound
production
alues nd
appeals
to a
listening,ather han dancing,market2001,p.402).Moreover, oore dds that
progressive
ock
emained
opular
n
Europe
ntil
he ate
1990s,
further
ndication
of he
rigins
f
Rammstein'sound nd
production
esthetics. ammstein'surrent
musical
formula'
ncludes
combinationf rchestralnd
choral
rrangements
ften
accompanying
hat
s
referredo
in
rock
guitar erformance
s
'drop
D'
open
tuning
D,
A, D,
G, B,
E
(lowest
o
highest trings).
his
uning rovides deeper,
moreresonant
imbre
hen
highly mplified
nd it
maintainsinks o standard
modern ock
erformances
amiliar
o
European
nd
American ock udiences.As
Robert
Walser
bserves,
hemost
ignificant
ural
ign
f
heavy
metal
s
the
ound f
extremely
istorted
uitars,
definingspect
of the
heavy
metal
genre
n
which
power hords root ote nd the erfectourthrfifthntervalbove areplayed n
the
ower
trings
Walser
993,
p.
41-3).
n
drop
D
tuning,
s
with
tandard
uning,
tones
mplified
ith
distorted,
verdrivenound re
often
eproduced
ith ccom-
panying
ones
bove nd
below he ctual
ange
f he
uitar.
Walser
ightlyquates
the
ower
f
power
hordswith
he
weight
f
heavy
metal nd with
he hardness f
hard
rock',
n
which
ustain,
istortionnd
resultant
ones re crucial
ibid.,
993,
p.
43).
Theuse
of
ntervallic
tructures
nd
distorted
armonicvertoneshat ituate
them
n
thebroad
heavy
metal
genre,
owever,
o not
provide
Rammstein
ith
musical
ndividuality
hat
might
fford n
element f
differencerommost ther
bandswithin
he
genre.
From
rhythmic
erspective,
he drumkit
n
Rammstein's
erformances
s
played na style eminiscentfmany arlier ock erformancerecedents,urther
reinforcing
ommonality
ith
ther
ands
n
the
heavy
metal
enre.14
n
his uccinct
description
f
rock rum
erformance,
oore
bserves
hat
ass drum eats
usually
emphasise
eats
and3
n
4/4
measures
nd
thehi-hatnd ride
ymbals sually
lay
constant
uavers
r
crochets
cting
s a
metronome
Moore
1993,
p.
37-9).
Snare
drum
eats
n
4/4
measures fmost
ockmusic
tyles
all
n beats and
4,
and are
often
eferredo
s the
backbeat'.
heformulaic
ature f
Rammstein'sombination
of
tandardised
hythm
nd
metrical
rrangements
ithin
heband's use of nstru-
mental
ound
extures ould
ause
difficultiesor
ny
modern ock and ndeavour-
ing
to
establish n
individual
dentity
hat
might
nable t to
achieve ommercial
success. urtherxamples f heRammstein usicalformula'o,however,rovideelements
f onic
istinction.
hese
nclude
marching
rum
atterns,
marching
oots
on
gravel'
ound
amples
nd
malevocal
chants,
espectively,
n
Links, wei,Drei,
Vier'
'Left,
Two,
Three,
our')
and
'Mein
Teil'
('My
Part',
lthough
he
part'
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6/17
German
ymbolism
n rock
music
461
reference
n
the
ong
s
tothenarrator's
enitalia).
onic
lementslso nclude
horal
and
orchestral
ccompanimentroviding randiose
nd
quasi-operaticettings
othe
rock
ontext f
band
songs,
uch s
in
Reise,
eise'
'Arise,
rise',
aken rom he
Germaneafaringrdero waken leepingeamen) ndfolkloricmagery,uch sin
'Mein
Herzbrennt'
'My
Heart urns' and
Spieluhr'
MusicalClock'
.15
Moreover,
Rammstein'sonic
ormulancludes theatricalocal
performance
tyle
hat
as ts
precedents
n
German
abaret,
nd that ccurs
n
mostof the band's
repertoire.
Rammstein,herefore,
se formulaic ock
arrangements
nd
instrumentationo
present
familiar ock
oncept
o their
udience,
while
stating
ational
dentity,
and thus
difference,
iththe use of cultural
ignifiers
hat stablish
otions f
distinctiveness
ithin ational nd nternationalontexts.
Singularity
n
spectacle:
the national'
in
Rammstein's isual
performance
As
previously
tated,
t s not he
urpose
f
his rticleovalidate riticism
evelled
t
Rammstein
n the
grounds
f
possible
inks o National ocialism.
t
s theband's
visual
presentation,
owever,
hat
articularly
emonstrates
erformance
lements
that
might
upport
his
riticism,
iven
hat everal
isual
aspects
f Rammstein's
performances
ince
he ate-1990svoke
choes fGerman
istory
romhe ate-1930s
that
re imilar
othose
hat
lready
ave ttractedecent
ondemnation.he ssem-
blage
of the
various
spects
f
visual
presentation
iscussed elow
s, however,
t
odds
with
many
f
he ther
ignifiers
resent
n
Rammstein's
erformances
hat re
not
ssociated
withNational
ocialism.
Theatricalityn modernGerman ockmusichas manyof itsoriginsn the
performances
f
artists uch
as Udo
Lindenberg
nd Nina
Hagen
and it
could
be
argued
hat
Rammstein
re
continuing
German
ock
raditionhat tarted
n
the
late
1960s.
That
aid,
prior
o
the
beginning
f the
Rammstein
erformance
t the
Wuhlheide
estival
n
Berlin
n
1998,
tage ighting
nd
spotlights
ere
dimmed o
highlight
large
ed
urtain,
lluminated
yflaming
orches,
hich overed
he
tage
area.
This
scene
may
be
construed
s reminiscent
f the
Nuremburg
allies f the
late-1930s
hat ften
ook
lace
t
night
ith
ed
Nazi banners
lluminated
n
similar
way.16
s
the urtain
pened,
ingle potlights
eparately
lluminatedach
ndividual
member f
he
band,
who remained
ompletely
tatic.
he
final and member o be
introduced
as the
vocalist,
indemann,
ho
made his
entry
o the
tagebybeing
lowered na trapezendwhowasthe nly erformernmotion. he tatic ature f
the
est f
he
and
compared
o
Lindemann's
ntrance
uxtaposes
tatue-like,
ften
neo-classical
magery
ith
circus-like,
abaret r
theatre
roduction.
The
band's
costumes
ere imilar
o
mages
rom
ritz
ang's
film,
etropolis
(1927).17
ach
costume
ppeared
o be
made of silver
nd
black
material
hat
ro-
vided
metallic,
achine-like
ppearance
hatwas further
einforced
y
the
ttach-
ment f
external
lastic
ubing uggesting
o theonlooker
hat ach
performer
as
partly
mechanical.
he
tage
etting
as constructed
rom
irders
nd
tubular
metal
protrusions
nd was
nthe
tyle
f he
mechanical-kinetic
onstructivism
hat xisted
in German
heatre
n the
920s,
s well
s
in
the
paintings
f he onstructivist
rtist,
ErichMercker, uch as Hochofenm Bau (Blastfurnaces nder onstruction).18and
members
ore
ilver
make-up
hat
ighlighted
utlines
ffacial eatures
hatwere
it
from
elow,
n effect
hat ccentuated
he heekbones
nd
aw
lines fband mem-
bers.19
airand
stage
ostumes
ere oloured
ilver
nd one ofthe
guitarists
ore
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462 Robert
.H. Burns
silver ontact
enses,
n
keeping
ith
he verallmechanistic
resentation
f he
tage
setting.
oreover,
s well s
the ccentuatedheekbonesnd
aw
ines,
ammstein's
presentation
lso contained
visual
emphasis
n themuscular
hysique
f band
members,ome fwhom erformedare-chested.20uring he oncert,oth uitar-
ists ften
tood
lmostmotionlesst either
ide of he
tage
acing
he
udience
with
an
expressionless
aze
that
projected
dehumanising
ffect,
ided
by
the use of
metallic
sculptural'
r
monumental'
magery,
nd that
mphasised
etachment
from he
audience. The
emphasisplaced
on
the static
nd
physical
forms
n
Rammstein's
magery
anbe
compared
otheworks f
culptors
osef
horak
1889-
1952),
Fritz
Klimsch
1870-1960)
nd Arno
Breker
1900-1991),
ll
of
whomwere
official
tate
rtists ftheThird
Reich. hese
culptors
arved tatues
epresenting
what
the
National
ocialist
arty
egarded
s the
perfect'
uman
form
n
heroic
proportions
or
xhibition t the
Grosse
Deutsche
Kunstausstellung
Great
German
rt
Exhibitionin
Munich nd s
decorationsor eich
uildings uring
he
econdWorld
War.21 itler egardedModern rt sconnectedo nternationalism,conceptntrin-
sically
inked o
his
perception
f
Jewishness,
nd his
personal
iew of art was
consequently
inked o a
racially
pure'
culture ased on
depictions
f
country,
physical
ealth nd the
oncepts
fbloodand
soil
Adam
1992,
p.
15-16
.22
Works
such as
Thorak's
Danziger
Freiheitsdenkmal
Danzig
Freedom
Monument),
Breker1s
Predestinationnd
Klimsch's
Brunnengruppe
1
(Fountain
Group
11)
depict sculpted
male
figures
n
the
neo-classical
tyle.
ach
figure
as
well-defined,
igh
heekbones,
detailed
muscular orsos nd
imbs nd a
dehumanised ixed
aze
at a
point
n
the
distance hat
oes not
ngage
he nlooker.23
he
National
ocialist
arty egarded
the
dealised
broad-shoulderednd naked
Germanmale
image
as
representing
classlessnessndnobilitynd,accordingo PeterAdam, the classical deal of the
heroic
thlete
n
his
naturalness'
Adam
1992,
p.
178-9).
Rammstein's
rojection
f
this
hysical
magery
herefore
rovides
link
o rt esthetics
pparent
n
ate-1930s
German
istory.
isual
imilarities
n
theband's
performance
ight
lso
extend
o
imagery
rom
Wagner's
ing ycle,
he
pera
hat,
s William
.
Shirer otes
. . .
gave
Germany
nd
especially
heThird
Reich o much f ts
primitive
ermanic
mythos'
(Shirer
960,
.
102),
lthough
n
nterviewsn the
DVD,
Live us Berlin
Live
rom
Berlin),
ammstein
eny ny
ntentional
magery
hat
might uggest
new master
race'.24
Many
male
popular
music rtists avebeen
promoted
y magery ortraying
their
exualityhrough
emi-nudity,
ut
Rammstein's
magery
s
closer o the
por-
trayalsfGerman otionsfAryanpurity' sed nRiefenstahl'silms hat ontain
images
f
Germanmen and
women t
the
peak
of
physical
itness. or
example,
Rammstein's
lbum
over or erzeleid
Heartache
(
1995 was
a
photographicortrait
of
he and
uperimposed
ver
n
enlarged hotograph
f
blooming
lower. he ix
membersf
he and
ppear
naked
bove hewaist
nd
those
n
the rontowof he
photograph
isplay
culpted,
iled,
muscular
hysiques.
he cover of
Herzeleid
attracted
riticism
rom he
band's record
ompany
n
theUnited tates
rior
o ts
release
n
1995 ue towhat
he
ompany egarded
s the
over's
Aryanmagery
nd
its
uggestion
f
oncepts
f master
ace',
oncepts
hat
ammsteinontinueo
deny.
Vocal characternd the national': the cabaret n Rammstein
While
Rammstein's
dentity
s situated
n
the
heavy
metal
enre,
here
re
lements
n
the
and's
vocal
performance
tyle
hat
unctions
furtherinks oGerman ational
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8/17
German
ymbolism
n rock
music 463
identity.
nventedraditionas often eenused
for he
urpose
f
validating
otions
of
uthenticity,
lthough
here
as been ittle
cholarly
iscussion
oncerning
he se
of
what
might
e
regarded
s
'exaggerated'dentity
or he ame
purpose.25
ssues
concerningexaggerated'ationaldentityan be linked o whatMooreregardss
appropriation
f
traditionso authenticate
ontemporary
ractice
Moore
2002,
p.
216).
Performers
n
the
popular
music
genre
have often
spoused
their wn
national
dentity
ntheir
erformances,
nd
examples
anbe found
n
sung
Jamaican
patois
nthemusic f
hirdnd fourth
eneration
ritish/Jamaican
eggae erformers
in
the
United
Kingdom,
s well
as
in
the
diosyncratic
ocal
performances
fbands
such
as
The Proclaimers
nd The Cranberries.
n
the ase of
Rammstein,
here re
distinctive
ocal
performance
raits
n
theirmusic
that
uggest
nationalGerman
signifiers
eyond
heir se of
theGerman
anguage including
n
overstatedse of
guttural
oft
onsonants
n
High
German)
nd
beyond
he and'suse of heatricalnd
neo-classical
erman
magery.26
ammstein
ocalist,
indemann
ften
ses
a
vocal
performancetyle hat ohnWillet escribes sgestic peakingWillet 988, . 138).
This
style
s another
omponent
f
what
might
e
regarded
s the
Rammstein
'formula'
nd
t
s
apparent
nmost f
he and's
repertoire
ecorded
n albums
ince
2001,
with
articular
xamples
ccurring
n
songs
uch s
Mein
Herz
brennt',
Mein
Teil'
and
Hilf
Mir'
'Help
Me').27
The vocal
performance
f these
ongs
utilises
extended
itch
n
poken
oice
nd,
s
part
f he and's verall
tylistic
ormula,
ach
vocal
performance
s
n
two
parts.
erses
redelivered
sing
half-spoken/half-sung
gestic erformance
nd the
horuses
re,
n
contrast,
ften
erformed
s
an
almost
shouted
hant.
In
order
o
situate
indemann's
ocal
performancetyle
s
a
characteristic
German ationalignifiern Rammstein'serformances,t s worthonsideringhe
origins
f
estic
peaking
n
the
abaret
erformances
hat ook
lace
ttheUberbrettl
Theatre
n
Berlin
nthe
arly
wentieth
entury.28
mong
he
omposers
hocontrib-
uted
songs
for
performances
t this heatre
as Arnold
choenberg
1874-1951)
whose
ied
song),
Pierrot
unaire'
1912)
featured
prechstimme
literally eaning
'speak
voice'),
a vocal
technique
ombining
peech
nd
melody.29
his
technique
requires
he
singer
o
accurately
maintain he
notated
hythm
f a
melody
but,
whereas
sung
ext
maintains
itch,
prechstimme
tarts
n
pitch
ut hen eaves
t
by
falling
r
rising.
he
first
prechstimme
erformance
ook
lace
n
1912 nd ater ocal
performance
tyles
sed
at the
Uberbrettl
heatre,
uch as
'gestic' peaking,
re
arguably
nfluenced
y
this
ocal
performance
tyle.30
illetmaintains
hatGerman
cabaret egan ntheVolksbiihnePeople's tage) nd worker's heatremovementsf
the
ate nineteenth
nd
early
twentieth
enturies
Willet
1988,
p.
21
.31
Cabaret
performances
f this
kind ed to
a later
tradition' f
actors'
inging
hatWillet
describes
s
'that
learly
udible,
ften
ather
nformal,
onsonantal,
onsingerly
delivery
hich haracterizes
Lotte]
enya
r
Ernst usch
armore
harply
han oes
any
ther
spect
f
heir
cting',
lthough
e
adds
that
estic
ocal
mannerisms ere
'rarer
n the
English
peaking
orld'
ibid.,
.
208).
As well
s
employing
he
esticpeaking
tyle,
indemann's
ocal
performances
are
lso combined
ith
nfluences
rom erman
omedy
heatre.
heatrical
orks f
theGerman
erformer
nd
playwright,
rankWedekind rew
upon
nfluences
rom
vaudevillend the ircus, hichhepreferredo iteraryrama, ndhebecame n
influential
abaret
erformer
n
both
Munich
nd Berlin t the nd
of henineteenth
and
beginning
f
the twentieth
enturies
Jelavich
993,
p.
82).
Lisa
Appignanesi
describes
is
satirical,
omedic
vocal
performances
s
featuring
'raw,
arring,
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9/17
464 RobertG.H. Burns
high-pitched,lightly
asal
voice,
which
harply
rticulatedach
syllable'
nd she
states hat
is
harshly
ronic,
atanic
one,
rittle
nd
brasive'
was mitated
y
Brecht
and
ultimately
ecame
the
mark
f theGerman abaret
ong style' Appignanesi
2004, p.48-9).
Willet
maintainshat
he
jerky,
estic'
peaking
as ater
dopted y
ctor eter
Lorre
n
the1932
production
fMan
Equals
Man
Willet
988,
.
138),
lthough
he
Kurt
Weill nd
Bertolt recht
ong,
Moritat'
'The
Ballad f
Mack
he
Knife'),
hich
also
featureshis
ype
fvocal
performance,
as first
erformed
n
1928.32
arly
n
his
career,
Weill
was
a
musician
or
he
comedian
Karl
Valentin,
ho
performed
t
theatres
n
Munich
during
he
early
1920s.Valentin's
erformances
lso featured
half-sung/half-spoken
ongs
hat
might
e
regarded
s
an
influencen Brecht
nd
Weill's
ater ocal
ompositions,
uch s
songs
n
Die
Dreigroschenoper
The
hreepenny
Opera).
Willet otes hat
recht
pposed
thevocal
xcesses
nd
heightened
motion'
that
he
regarded
s
an
affronto
audiences nd
which,
n
his
view,
typified
he
Germanheatricaltyles gainstwhich e ater eactedibid., .208).DenisCalandra
notes,
owever,
hat
recht sed
Valentins a
key xample
fhow ctors hould
ing
in
Die
Dreigroschenoper,
dding
hat
recht
articularly
dmired hemalevolence
n
Valentin's ocal
performance
Calandra
003,
.
198).
Comedy
nd
malevolence rawn
rom
arly
wentieth-century
erman abaret
and
vaudeville,
s
wellas
gestic
peaking,
re
keydescriptors
f
Lindemann's ocal
performance
tyle.
ontemporary
mitationf
these
spects
f vocal
performance
situates indemann's
ocal
delivery
n
contrasto themore
amiliar,
nd
regionally
unidentifiable,
ock
erformances
fAmericannd British
ocalistswho often
ing
withwhat
might
e
regarded
s a
'transatlantic'ccent. his mitationlso
provides
Rammstein'serformancesith einforcedonceptsfperceived ermanuthen-
ticity,
nd
notions
f new
nationalismituated
n
an earlier rtisticrea thatwas
opposed
to,
and
persecuted
y,
National ocialism. he
relocation
f theGerman
cabaret
ong style
nto a
contemporary
ockcontext
husenables
Rammsteino
exploit
nd
promote
n
arguably
ostalgic
iewofGerman
istory
ndculture
hat
s
beyond
egative
ssociations,
nd that
s
n
uxtaposition
othe and'svisual
presen-
tation.
While
relocation o
early
wentieth-century
erformance
tyles
einforces
points
f
differenceetween ammsteinnd
other ock ands
n
their
enre,
talso
identifies
ammsteins
quintessentially
erman o
a
young
German udience s
a
national
con
by
the
use of
familiar
ational
ignifiers.
his dentifications further
reinforced
y
he and'suse of
ighteenth-
nd
nineteenth-century
erman
iterature
fornclusionntheirong exts.
'National' text:
Rammstein's
ppropriation
f
Germanfolklore nd
literature
Further
vidence f he se of
German
ational
ignifiers
xists
n
Rammstein'sexts
that
ften raw
upon
folkloric
magery
nd
appropriate
hemes rom ermanitera-
ture.
More
ignificantly,
omeof he olkloric
ubject
matter sed
by
Rammsteinan
be
associatedwith
he
promotion
f German
ationalism
uring
he
ate-1930s,
s
noted yMechthildonSchoenebeck1998,p.279). nhis discussion fnotions f
authenticity
n
performance,
oore maintains
hat,
uring
he
rhythm
nd blues
revival hat
ook
place
n
the
United
Kingdom uring
he
arly
960s,
it
became
matterf
deology
o
mploy
he
'blues"within
thoroughly
ifferentocial
ontext,
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10/17
German
ymbolism
n
rockmusic
465
byvenerating
ts
riginators',concept
hat nabled
rtistsf he
eriod
o
ppropri-
ate
the
authenticity
f those
originators
Moore
2002,
p.
215).
In
a similar
way,
Rammsteinndeavour o
maintainn
nvented,
f
not
xaggerated,
ational
uthen-
ticityyrelocatinglementsaken rom erman olklorend Germaniteraturento
their
ong
exts. se ofGerman
extualhemess
another eans
y
which ammstein
underscoresudience otions
fnational
dentity
ithin
ts
performances.
While
discussing spects
f folklore sed as a
meansof
promoting
erman
nationalism
n
the
1930s,
on Schoenebeck
bserves
hat,
n
the aftermath
f the
SecondWorld
War,
German olkmusic emainedssociated o arlier
oncepts
fVolk
(people)
nd
Gemeinschaftcommunity)
hatwere still
ntrinsically
ied to volkisch
nationalism
nd anti-Semitism
von
Schoenebeck
998,
.
289
.33
olkmusic
f
this
kind,
which ad been
used as a means f
promoting
ational
wareness
n
the
930s,
became
nathema o
post-war oncepts
ffolk
music,
lthough
he
Heimatschlager,
vernacular,
folk-like'
ong
bout
Germany
s home
ountry',
emained
opular
n
the1950s ibid., .279).Larkey escribes hethree enres fGerman olk ongat
this
time as
Schlager
new
folk
music),
volkstumliche
sic]
(popular)
and
Volksmusik
(traditional
olk
music),
ll
of
whichwere
promoted y
conservatives ho
rallied
around
re-Nazi
ultural
dealsrooted
n
a romanticized
olk ulture'
Larkey
000,
p.
1
.
As
with rends
n
theUnited
Kingdom
nd the
United
tates,
he
popularity
f
folk
ongs
eclined
n
Germany
s
the
opularity
frockmusic ncreased
uring
he
1960s
and
1970s.Some German
olk
rtists,
uch
as
the
duo
Zupfgeigenhansel,
remained
opular,
erforming
repertoire
f traditional erman
olksongs
o an
audience
hat
egarded
olkmusic s
a
respectable
lternativeo rockmusic
but,
unlike olk
music
n
the
United
ingdom
ndtheUnited tates
n
the 950s
nd
1960s,
German olkmusicwas neverinked o iberal olitics orwas itsubjecto thefolk
music
evivalism
hat ccurred
n
both heUS
and
UK
during
hat
eriod.34
fter
reunification
n
1989,
owever,
alesof
what
German udiences
egarded
s German
folk
musicwere
n
xcess f
DM100
million
nnually
nd
resulted
n
the
roadcast,
y
1990,
f
ighty-six
elevision
rogrammes
eaturing
hat
on choenebeckeferso s
'folk-like'
ongs
von
Schoenebeck
998,
p.
279
.35
Von Schoenebeck
s
critical f
songs
f his
ind,
maintaining
hat
hey
ontainhidden
messages'
n
typical
emiotic
systems
uch
as
text,
music
and
performance
ibid.,
pp.
279-80).
Among
the
'messages'
hat
upport
his
iew re
opics
uch
s the innocence f hildren'
which
appears
n
the
Rammstein
exts f
Mein Herz
brennt',
Spieluhr'
nd
Hilf
Mir'),
'touching
pisodes
f
everyday
erman ife'
nd the ife f ailors' another om-
monRammsteinheme sed ntexts f ongs uch s Seeman' Seaman' and Reise,
reise',
s well
s
nthe
magery
sedon the overs
f he
ingle,
eeman
nd
the
lbum,
Rosenrot.
he
values
spoused
n
the
olk-like
messages'
ncludeclose ies
with
ne's
native
oil',
nature,
rder,
radition,
ational
ride
nd
political
wareness,
nd
von
Schoenebeck
ontends
hat hesenew German
folk-like'
ongs
fit
perfectly
he
political
rogrammes
nd deas
of he
ountry'sight ing
arties'
bid.,
p.
286-90).
As
well s
folkloric
hemes,
ammsteinave
drawn
pon
German
iteratures
a means f
further
mphasising
otions
f authentic
erman ational
dentity. y
doing
o,
they
lso enable
n audience
erception
fthe
band,
nd
n
particular
he
vocalist,
s Romantic
eroes,
concept
bserved
y
Macan
n
his
comprehensive
discussionnaudience erceptionsf spects fvirtuositynprogressiveockmusic
(Macan
1997,
.
46).
Rammstein's
ecording,
eise,
eise,
ontains
song
alled Dalai
Lama',
he
ext fwhich
ontains
everal imilarities
o Goethe's
oem,
Der
Erlkonig
(The
Elf
King)
1782),
lthough
heres
no
acknowledgement
f his
n
theCD sleeve
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11/17
466
RobertG.H. Burns
notes.36Dalai Lama' is
notthe
only ong
n
which
Rammstein
raw
upon
themes
from
eo-romantic
exts,
iven
hat
he
ong
Rosenrot's
loosely
ased on
Goethe's
poem
Heidenroslein
Heather
Rose)
and
the BrothersGrimm's
Schneeweifichen
nd
RosenrotSnowWhite ndRoseRed). nDerErlkonig,oethe describes fathernd son
travelling
t
night,
n
horseback
hrough
forest.37hefather olds he hild
n
his
arms
ut
he
hild ears
he oice f he
lf
King
who
ntices
im
o
ivewith
im
nd
his
children. he father
nitially
gnores
is child'sdistress ut
finally
ttempts
o
comfort
im
when
he arrives
ome,
nly
o
find
he hilddead
in
his arms.
While
many
imilaritiesxist
etween
oethe's
nd
Rammstein's
exts,
hey
o not
lways
correspond
ith
heorder f
events
hat
ccur
n
each
song.Firstly,
ammstein's
'Dalai
Lama'
text
ollowsGoethe's
ntroductionfthefathernd the on
travelling
together
t
night
nd n
safety
nd
warmth'.38
ach
text hen
ntroduceshe
uper-
natural
lements
f ach
tory,
ith
he
Erlkonig
n
Goethe's ext
nd
the
god
of
he
winds
n
that
f
Rammstein,
n
ntroductionollowed
y
the hild
n
each ext
sking
hisfather hethere, oo, anhear spirit oice s heattemptsotellhisfatherhat
the
pirit
s
trying
o
abduct
him.
At
this
oint,
oth exts
ropose
he
pirit eing's
childrens
future
iblings
or
he hild
sisters
n
Goethe's ext nd brothers
n
the
Rammstein
ext. ach
father
inally
ecomes ware
of
each
child'sdistress
nd,
n
theGoethe
ext,
he
father inds he hilddead in
his arms.The Rammsteinext
s,
however,
arker
ith
he
ather
ccidentally
uffocating
he
hild,
hus
llowing
is
soul
to
oin
he
pirits
f
he
wind.
Another
ammstein
extual
ppropriation
ccurs
n Hilf
Mir',
song
recorded
on
the lbum
Rosenrot
2005)
as a
reinterpretation
fa
nineteenth-century
erman
poem.
As withDalai
Lama',
heres no
acknowledgement
f he ource f he and's
textnthe lbum leevenotes,lthoughhe ong s derived rom einrich offman's
'Die
gar
traurige
eschichte itdem
Feuerzeug'
'The
Tragic tory
f
with]
he
Matches'),
which
was
originally ublished
n
1845
n
a
collection f short
oems
called
Struwwelpeter
Straw
Peter).39
ach of these
poems
contains
cautionary
message
elating
o
what
Walter auer
describes
s
'misdeed
nd
punishment',
popular
genre
n
nineteenth-century
hildren'siterature
Sauer
1999,
p.
11).
The
principal
ifference
etween
ammstein'sersion f
he ext
nd that
fHoffman
s
Rammstein's
arrationf
events
eing
from
first-person
erspective
ather
han
from
offman'shird
erson.
oth
ersions
egin
with
he
protagonisteing
allein
zu
Haus'
('at
home
lone')
because Die Eltern aren
eide us'
('the
parents
ere
both
ut')
and then
roceed
o
outline he
discovery
f ein treffliches
pielzeug'
'a
splendid oy'). nboth heHoffmanndRammsteinersions,heprotagonisthen
lights
ein
Holzchen'
'a
match'),
while
tating
hat his s what
tsmother as often
done.40
oth exts
hen
escribe ow Die
Flamme asst as Kleid'
'the
flames
ake
holdon
thedress'
,
although
ammstein
efero die
Jacke'
the
acket'
as
opposed
to
Hoffman's
ater
eferenceo die
Schurze'
'the
apron'),
with
he ffecthat Es
brennt
ie
Hand,
s brennt
as Haar' it
burns
he
hand,
tburns hehair'
.
Thefinal
outcome
s
a
conflagration
n
which
he
protagonist
s
totally
onsumed
y
flames.
Whereas
offman's
ext ndswith
he
rotagonist
eing
educed o
shes,
erving
s
a
cautionary
message
to
children,
ammstein'sext
follows darker nd
more
spiritual
heme. t
describes
he
protagonist,
ho was
originally
n
poor
health,
seeking,
nd
finding,eliveranceybecomingnewith he un ndstatinghatDasFeuer iebtmich' the ire
ovesme'
.
t
s notwithin
he
cope
f his
rticle
o
discuss
ethical
ifferenceshat
may
exist
between he two
texts ut t is
significant
hat
Hoffman's
ollection
f
poems
was
regularly ublished
n
Germany
etween 845
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12/17
German
ymbolism
n
rock
music
467
and the
ate twentieth
entury.
auer notes hat
his ollection ad an
'enormous
influence' n
nineteenth-century
hildren's iterature
n
Europe
that
continued
throughout
he twentieth
entury
Sauer
1999,
pp.
9,
14),
an
aspect
of national
familiarityhatRammstein ave used to their dvantage.German ock udience
awareness fGoethe'sDer
Erlkonig'
nd
Hoffman's
truwwelpeter
oems,
ven n a
subliminal
evel,
nd with nvented
spects
f German
fakelore'
including
on
Schoenebeck's
uggestions
f hidden
messages'
thereforenables
onnectionsobe
made
by
ater
enerations
o
n dealised istant
ast
hat
s
n
contrasto
more ecent
history
n
whichwar nd other
olitical pheavals
avetaken
lace.
Conclusion
I
have demonstrated
hat here xists diverse
ange
fneo-romanticnd
national
German
ignifiersresent
n
Rammstein's
usic,
ome
of
which re
contrary
o
any
residues f mistrustfa Germanmusical astwith ts mplicationf inks oneo-
nationalism.
imilarities
etween
spects
f
taging
nd
performance
echniques
hat
existed
n
German
heatre
nd
cabaret
n
the
920s nd
n
Rammstein's
erformances
in
the
ate1990s
might
e
regarded
s a means f
negating
ccusations f
right-wing
sympathies
nd
as
aligning
ammstein's
heatricality
ith heneo-romantic
ove-
ment,
iven
hat heband
regards
ts
stageperformance
s circus-like
omedy.41
Many
aspects
f German
xpressionist
heatre ere criticised
y
the
Third
Reich
which,
rom
ts ascent
o
power
n
1933,
ought
o
discourage
what t
regarded
as
introspection,
ver-emotionalism
nd
over-acting
Willet
1988,
pp.
164,
179).
However,
whilethe
tage ettings,
erformances
nd
song
texts iscusseddo not
openly emonstratenyparticularoliticaleliefsmongmembersfRammstein,
regard
ther
ignifiers
n theband's recorded
epertoire,
uch as theuse of sound
samples
fboots
marching
n
gravel
nd the
performance
f
marching
naredrum
patterns
n
several
Rammstein
ongs,
s
suggesting
militaristicvertones
nd,
as
such,
uestionable.
Moreover,
his rticle
as discussed
hree istinct
pheres
f
German
ignifica-
tion
sed
by
Rammsteino
promote
nd maintain band
dentity
nd,
without his
signification,
he
band would
be similar
o
many
of its
peers,
nd
perhaps
ess
commercially
uccessful.
have
demonstrated
hat Rammstein ave modelled
their
hysical
mage
n neo-classical
epictions
fwhat heNational ocialist
arty
regarded
s the
perfect
ryan
uman orm.
heband has used this
magery
n
ive
performance,s wellas indepictionsf hebandon album overs nd othermedia.
The
band's
stage
ettings
eatureonstructivist
echanical
kinetic
tructures
n
the
style
f
ate-1920s
nd
early-1930s
erman
rt nd theatre
nd,
by drawing pon
pre-Second
World
War
imagery,
he band
projects
n
impression
f an
earlier,
undivided
ation
n which
rt nd literature
ad almost
piritual
ssociations.
his
impression
s further
einforced
y
the
use of
a
vocal
technique
n
which
n overt
sense
f
malevolent
heatricality,
eminiscent
f1920s
nd 1930sGerman
abaret,
s
used
to
convey
he
dark
nature f
Rammstein'sextual
hemes.
inally,
have
demonstrated
hat
Rammstein
exts ave
drawn
upon
folkloric
hemes
nd have
appropriated
arlier
ublished
German iterature
n
order o
align
heir wn texts
with stablished,ndfamiliar,ermanablesndnarrativessameans f einforcing
notions
f
nvented
ational
dentity,
nd
nostalgia.
Rammstein's
se of
mechanical-kinetic
nd neo-classical
magery,
heatrical
vocal
performances
sing
gestic peaking
with
n
'exaggerated'
outhern
erman
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13/17
468 Robert
G.H. Burns
accent nd
the
ppropriation
f
hemes rom
erman,
eo-romantic
iterature
uggest
a
deliberate
arketing
lan
arried ut
by
he
and,
ts
managerial
eam
nd ts ecord
company.
ammstein's
se of these
ignifiers
hereforellustrates
n
orchestrated,
stylisticheme imed tpromotingheband's Germandentityn a musical enre
already
aturated ith
bands
playing
ormulaic
eavy
rockmusic.As
previously
stated,
ammsteinave
dopted
laissezfaire
iewof heir
ignificationractices,
s
well
s their se
n
commercial
romotion,
laiming
hat
Germanic
spects
resent
n
their
erformances
nly
llustrate
n
extension f
theband's
policy
f
maintaining
national
dentity,
ndthat
and
performances
re ften
egarded y
heirudiences
s
theatrical
arody.
his laim
hus voids
ny
omparison
hat
might
e madebetween
Rammsteinnd
European
ock ands hat
re inked o
right-wing
deologies.
The
use of German
ignifiers
n
the
pursuit
f commercial uccess
does,
however,
arry
urther
ignificance.
hileRammstein
cknowledge
hat
hey
re
purposely
ontroversial
nd
actively
romote
otions f German
uthenticity,
maintainhat enial fright-winglements which re rguably resentnsomeof
the
German
ignifiers
sed
n
visual
spects
f
heir
erformances
nd their exts is
a
convenient
eans
y
which he and
ppeals
o
growing
ational wareness
mong
German
youth,
iven
that
arlier
enerations' opular
music
purposely
voided
connectionso
nationalism.
onsequently,
ammstein's
ublicity
voids
compari-
sons
to extreme
metal
ands,
many
fwhich
erform
ockmusic
spousing
white
supremacy
nd
radical
ight-wingolitics.42
herise f
radical
ight-wingolitics
n
Europe
t
the nd
of he
wentieth
entury
s
beyond
he
cope
f his
rticle,
lthough
I
contend hat
ny
mainstream'
ock andthat
penly
eclared
olitical ympathies
in
this
rea would
be
regarded
s
unacceptable y
ts
audience nd
by
ts record
company.With ecordompany upport, ammsteinontinueoremain lose othe
extreme
etal
oundary
ithout
rossing
t,
lthough
he
oundary
etween ational
and
nationalist
n
their ase s
sometimesenuous. s
Anderson
rgues,
heories f
nationalism
reoften
erplexed
y
the
bjective
modernity
f
nation othehistori-
an's
eye
versus
ubjective
ntiquity
n
the
yes
ofnationalists
Anderson
991,
.
5),
although
n
Rammstein's
ase,
the
eyes
ofnationalists'an
be
reinterpreted
s the
'eyes
of
hose
n
pursuit
f
ommercial
ain'.
Use of
German
ignification
lso
enables he andto
promote
ostalgic
otions
of n
earlier
erman
ifestyle
s
part
f heir
ersion f newGerman
omanticism.
Idealisation
f
an
earlier
German
istory
nd
culture s
potentially
imilar
o the
idealisation f n
earlier
ritishulture
y
British
kinheads
n
the1960s nd
1970s
whoviolentlyesistedwhatthey egarded s invasivegovernmentmmigration
policies,
while
maintainingostalgic
erceptions
f
previous
enerations
hathad
what
hey
egarded
s a
better
ocial
frameworkased on
oldervaluesthat xisted
within
tightly
ound
ense
of
community.
ammstein
romote
similar enseof
German
ational
wareness
n
their exts nd
performance
tyles
o
young
German
audience
hat as
grown
p
in
the
years
ollowing
he
pheaval
freunification.he
promotion
f a
new
invented
erman
dentity
ased
on
pre-Second
WorldWar
perceptions
f
German
ociety
nd
culture,
ith
heirntrinsic
onnectiononotions
of
a
single
community
ithin
urope,
herefore
ct as
a
convenient
marketing
policy.
he
marketing
nd
promotion
f
notions f
exaggerated'
erman
dentity,
o
generationsnaware f he riginsfneo-romantic,ationalisticermanignifiersnRammstein's
usic,
may
hereforeave
problematic
utcomes.
Rammstein
osters
otions f
Germany
s a new
cultural rand nd a
newly
'whole'
nation,
omplete
ith
erceptions
f
n
old and
valuable
ultural
eritage,
o
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14/17
German
ymbolism
n
rockmusic
469
audiences utside
Germany
ho
mayonly
e awareof small
number fGerman
pop
/rock
rtists,
any
fwhom
ing
n
English
nd who
have
not
maintainedhe
career
ongevity
hatRammstein
njoys.
n
this
way,
Rammstein
anipulates
oth
national nd internationalotions f a new, phoenix-like' ermany,s well as
perceptions
fGerman
uthenticityhrough
ational ultural
ignif
ers,
erformance
aspects
hat
ommerciallyromote
rock
and that
would otherwise ave
imited
success
n
the
heavy
metal
enre.
Endnotes
1. Rammstein
ormed
n
1993
nd thebandtakes
itsname rom
he
ity
fRamstein
n
Germany
that
chieved
notoriety
fter
fatal
rash
t
an air show
n
1988 t which
eventy eople
died.
Edward
Larkey
rgues
hat,
ue to the
sexual
masochistic
ature
f ome f he
and's
lyrics,henamemay lso referothephallic
aggression
f
the sexual act
(Larkey
2003,
p.
145).
2.
Notable
exceptions
o Rammstein's
erman
language olicy
re
Amerika,
n
the lbum
eise,
reise
2004),
which s
sung
mostly
n
English,
and
Moskau,
n the same
album,
which
has
verses
ung
n
Russian
y
a
guest
ocalist.
n
the
album
Rosenrot
2005),
Stirb
Nichtvor
Mir/
Don'tDie
Before
Do
has verses
ung
n
English
by
guest
ocalist
nd Te
Quiero
utal
I
Want
You,
Whorelis
sung ntirely
n
Spanish.
3. One
of he
olumbinetudents
ho arried ut
the
hooting
aid
that e and
his
accompliceslistened o Germanindustrial' ockbands,
including
ammstein,
nd another
ad a
high-
school
hotograph
aken
wearing
Rammstein
T-shirt. Sources:
and
accessed
10October
004).
4. Rammstein's
urrent
ecord
abel is
Sony/
Universal/BMG
ecords.
n
2001, however,
their
ecordings
ere istributed
n theUnited
Kingdom
y
London
Records,
whose
other
recording
rtists ncluded
the Asian
Dub
Foundation.
5. Prior o making hesefilms, iefenstahlad
acted
n,
nd ssisted
n
the irection
f,
everal
films bout
mountaineering
hatwere
directed
by
Arnold
anck
1889-1974),
ho
madefilms
during
he
920s n the
heme f
he
truggle
f
humanity
gainst
ature,
concept romoted
by
the
ThirdReich
n
the 1930s.
xamples
f
these films
include
Der
Berg
des
Schicksals
(Mountain
of
Destiny)
1924),
Das
heiligeBerg
(The
Sacred
Mountain) 1926),
Stiirme
iber em
Mont
Blanc
Storm
ver
Mont
Blanc)
1930),
Der
weisse
Rauch
The
White
lame) 1931)
and Das
blaue Licht
The
Blue
Light)
1932).
Das Blaue
Lichtwas
Riefenstahl's
irectorial
ebut
nd
broughter oHitler'sttention.tthe nd of
World
War
I,
theAllies
rrested
iefenstahl,
although
he
Americans
ventually
leared er
ofNazism
n 1945. he
was later
earrested
y
the French
nd institutionalised
efore
eing
placed
nder ouse rrest ntil 949.
er
penul-
timate
ilm
s
a
director as
Tiefland
Lowlands)
(1954)
and she did not
direct
ny
others ntil
Underwater
mpressions
n
2002. Her
reputation
as
a Nazi
sympathiser
emained ntil he
ast
years
f
her ife nd
n
1997
here ere
rotests
ata photographicxhibitionnHamburgfher
work ince he
war.
6. Claudia Koonz maintains hat Riefenstahl
became
art
f cadre f ntellectualareerists
used
by
Hitler
o
popularise
acial
mprove-
ment.
Othermembers
f this adre ncluded
Albert
peer,
einhardt
eidrich,
ans
Frank,
Rudolf
oss ndAdolf
ichmann
Koonz
2003,
p.
106).
Riefenstahl
ade
Olympia
s a docu-
mentary
f he 936
lympiad
hat ook
lace
n
Berlin.
7.
These filmswere
Triumph
es Willens
Triumph
of
the
Will) (1934)
and
Tag
der Freiheit
Day of
Freedom)1935),
both of which
present
n
Aryanperspectiven the reconstructionf
German
ociety
nd theGerman rmed orces.
8. Interview
with Winston
Cummings,
'Rammstein: eutonicValues'
in
Hitparader,
December
998.
Hit
Parader s
currently
n
onlinemusic
magazine
hat
pecialises
n
heavy
metal
music,
lthough
t has been
published
since he
arly
960s. ource:
http://herzeleid.
com n
/
press
98-1
_hit_parader>
accessed
11
October
006).
9.
Cummings
nHitParader.
10.
Kahn-Harris
pplies
he
ermextreme etal' o
offshoots
f
heavy
metal uch
s Black
Metal',
'Doom
Metal',
Thrash Metal'
and 'Death
Metal'Kahn-Harris000, .124).
11. Lorenz
made his tatement
n an
nterview
n
the
DVD,
Live us
Berlin
1999).
12.
For
comprehensive
iscussion
n theuse of
German
anguage
n
contemporary
erman
pop
music,
ee
Larkey
2000).
13.
Larkey
dds
that herewas
resurgence
n
the
use of
StandardGerman
mong theatrically
orientatedGerman
rock artists from the
1970s onwards.
These artists ncludedUdo
Lindenberg
nd Nina
Hagen (Larkey
2000,
p.
4).
14.
Christoph
chneider,
heRammstein
rummer,
adopts n economical,ndalmostminimalist,
approach
ohis
playing
haterves omaintain
rhythmic
feel' nd constant
ulse
while
up-
porting
he
erformances
f
he est f he
and.
Rock
drummers ften
ite
John
Bonham f
This content downloaded from 200.16.89.152 on Mon, 21 Dec 2015 16:31:28 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp7/24/2019 German Symbolism in Rock Music National Signification in the Imagery and Songs Of
15/17
470
Robert
G.H.
Burns
Led
Zeppelin
as the
principal xponent
of this
rock
drumming tyle.
15. As with
he
origin
f the
band's
name,
this
ong
has
connections o
an
air disaster.
he
recording
contains ound
samples
of
Japanese
ircraft
er-sonnel
shouting
Pull
up, pull up '
in
Japanese
in
the ast
moments efore
crash
n
1985.
16.
Rallies of thiskind
took
place
regularly
ollow-
ing
Hitler's
ppointment
s chancellor n the
1
February
1933,
on
which
night
Propaganda
Minister,
osef
oebbels
1897-1945)
organised
a
torchlight
arade
ofSS
soldiers
hrough
erlin
(Kershawl998,p.433).
17.
Despite
Nazi
criticism
of
many aspects
of
German
theatre and
cinema,
Metropolis
was,
perhaps
predictably,
ne of
Goebbels'
favourite
films
Koonz
2003,
p.
86).
18. See
Willet
(1988,
p.
81).
The cover of the
Rammstein
DVD, Lichtspeilhaus2003),
is
another
example
of the use of constructivist
imagery.
19.
This
performance
was recorded
for the
DVD,
Live us
Berlin
1999).
20.
This
emphasis
is
also
apparent
on
the cover of
the
album,
Herzeleid
1995),
and
in
the
video of
the
single,
Du
Riechst o Gut'
('You
Smell
So
Good') (1995).
21.
Source:
Official
xhibition
atalogue,
Deutsche
Kunst
u
Munchen
1943).
22.
It
s notwithin
he
cope
of
his rticle o
discuss
theThird
Reich's
manipulation
f
Germanfolk-
loric
perceptions
of
nation,
blood and
soil as
a
medium
for
galvanising
German
popular
opinion
in the aftermathof the Weimer
Republic,
although
folkloric
llusions to
these
subjects
can
be found in
several
Rammstein
texts.
23.
Rammstein
members
dopted
a
similar
heatri-
cal,
static
mechanistic
pproach
to
stage
move-
ments while on
tour
in
2005,
although stage
costuming
was
changed
to
Lederhosen nd
Tyrolean
hats and
jackets.
The
stage
band's
stage etting
emained
n
the
onstructivist
tyle
with a
metallic,
machine-like
tructure
rovid-
ing
a
backdrop
to
the
singer
nd
guitarists
nd
acting
s a
riser or
hedrummer.
ee the
band's
appearances
at the
Arenes de
Nimes,
France
(2005)
and the Brixton
Academy,
London,
United
Kingdom 2005)
(Rosenrot VD
[2005]).
24. In
the
1930s,
the Nazi
media
published
a
magazine
called Neues
Volk
s
a
mass-market
publication
imed at
membersof the
German
public
who
regarded
the
already
available
political
publications
with
distrust.
oonz notes
that
Neues Volk
ontributors
romoted,
mong
other
racist
propaganda,
concepts
of
racial
purity
mong
the Volk
Koonz
2003,
pp.
117-
18).
Moreover,
t
became
party
olicy
to
under-
take
genotypic
and
phenotypic
studies into
racial
characteristics,
ncluding
kull
measure-
ments,
n
order
to
determine n idealised viewofthe
perfect
ordic/
Aryan
tereotype
Koonz
2003,
p.
112).
This view
of a
racially pure
Germanic
eople
is
depicted
n
the
culptures
f
Thorak,
Klimsch nd
Breker,
mong
others.
25.
My
doctoral research
built
upon
the works
of,
among
others,
Hobsbawm and
Ranger
1989),
Harker
1989),
Anderson
1991),
Boyes
1993),
Atkinson
2004)
and Sweers
(2005),
and it
in-
vestigates
he validation of notionsof
tradition
by
the nvention f
authenticity'
nd
identity'.
26.
For
example
ich,
the
personal pronoun, pro-
nounced
as
'ish' rather han the Low German
pronunciation
ik'.
For a
comprehensive
dis-
cussion on
regional pronunciation
n
German
popular
music,
ee
Larkey
2000,
p.
3).
27.
The
text of 'Mein Teil' concerns masochistic
sexual
fantasy
nd
cannibalism
nd
is based on
a
murder
hat
ook
place
in
2001
n
which
Armin
Meiwes killed Bernd
Jiirgen
randes who
had
answered a classified dvertisement
ublished
by
Meiwes
asking
for a
male
volunteer who
wished to be
slaughtered
nd eaten. The text f
'Mein Herz
brennt' akes
a
folkloric
etting
s
thebasis for henarration f child's
nightmare,
with he
nclusion f
demons,
ghosts
nd fairies.
'Hilf Mir'
has
a
text based on Heinrich
Hoffman's
poem,
Die
gar traurige
Geschichte
mit
dem
Feuerzeug',
whichwas
originally ub-
lished n
1845
n a
collection alled
Struwwelpeter
thatHoffmanwrote
forhis children.
28. The
Oberbrettl heatrewas founded
n
Berlin
n
1901
by
Ernst on
Wolzogen
as
a
theatre
pecial-
ising
n
cabaret.
29.
The textsof Pierrot unaire
were
adapted
into
German
by
Otto Erich
Hartleben
1864-1905)
from
oems by
AlbertGiraud
1860-1929).
30. The first
prechstimmeerformance
was
given
by
Albertine ehme
(1857-1946).
31.
Many
actors,
uch as
Marlene Dietrichwho
per-
fo
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