Off the Map

New Obervations about Germany's Musical Tastes

Germany isn’t the techno nation we Americans often assume.

Yes, they listen to more dance music than we do – but so does the rest of the world. We are way behind in that regard (excluding Muslim and other oppressive Governments, of course). Anyways, much of the music, Dance, Hip-Hop or otherwise, has a down tempo emphasis, even to the extent that their Hip-Hop is significantly more relaxed than ours.

Allow me to clarify this with an example: I was working out in the gym at my apartment complex, where we are lucky enough to have a boom box with a tape deck. I had hooked up my iPod to a connector thru the deck and was playing some solid German Hip-Hop (Fettes Brot, for those of you who care) when a couple other residents (Germans) came in and joined me. I offered flexibility regarding the musical choice (Huzzah for 3500 songs on my iPod!), and they suggested we play something more energetic. So I switched to some high-energy dance (Eric Prydz “Call on Me”), only to get a look of disgust. I then flipped thru some random tunes until something caught their fancy – American Hip-Hop (Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”, specifically).

None of the German Hip-Hop I played was suitable for their workout tastes. All too slow. After the incident, I went thru the collection of the mainstream German music I’ve been amassing since arrival here, and noticed trends. The male rock is pretty happy-go-lucky (this excludes German Death Metal!), the female rock is all like the group Anastasia, girls sounding off about life over melody driven, energetic guitars. Dance is mostly ambient and down-tempo. Hip-Hop is more reflective, slower, and has a darker, deeper sound – less yelling too. Most obviously though: 75% of all radio/bar/club music is American or English.

This overwhelming presence of English language has pushed the Germans to rally around their own songs in such a way we don’t see in the States. For example: You’ll be sitting in a bar talking with friends over a good Augstina beer, with everyone else in the joint doing the same. American pop-garbage is playing in the background. But then the song changes. Suddenly the atmosphere is energized! People begin to cheer and you know that it's something in German. The arrival of the chorus triggers a massive sing along! Formerly separate groups of people are unexpectedly united by a song in a common language - a German song standing in stark contrast to the domination before and after by English artists.

Questions for the day:
1) Why is the slower, more reflective style more popular in German made music than American?

2) Is the rallying around songs in German, regardless of the quality, an expression of a national pride that is otherwise taboo in the face of their troubled history (think Nazis)?

posted by Jason @ 8:57 pm 0 comments

Passau

[Ed. New Photos Posted]

Many of you will recognize the name, as did I. Passau. Perhaps it conjures up images of cold, Eastern European cities - filled with old buildings and cobblestone streets. Perhaps you learned in history class that at one point it was the richest city in Europe. Perhaps you have no idea what I'm talking about...

Passau is one of the Eastern most cities in former West Germany, lies on the border with Austria and just a stone's throw away from the Check Republik. It sits on prime property: the intersection of 3 rivers, the Danube among them. Now class, can you say "Trade Control"? The old city is a peninsula protruding out into this still very active water highway (there were a bevy of barge, cruise, and transport ships). The far banks (actually large hills) are strategically lined with castles, fortresses, and huge fortifications. Fortunately Passau was left relatively in tact after the War, which means its a fairytale to explore.

Years of former wealth are clear: several large, elaborate Churches and cloisters; several palaces and castles; quality architecture for residences and small businesses; and one amazing Cathedral. The Cathedral overlooks the city from the highest point on the peninsula - not only for the implied position of power, but also to protect from the periodic floods one would expect in such a city (apparently the residents keep boats in their basements), see my photos for a shoot of some flood levels mapped on the town hall building. Once inside the Cathedral, one is greeted by a vaulted ceiling practically dripping with Frescos. That afternoon a small, bald, old man was playing the Organ, which resonated and filled the spacious interior with overwhelming sound. Architectural quality was on par with the Cathedral in Munich, and many of the more prominent buildings in Vienna.

My favorite pictures from the day were taken as we strolled down a hillside road after exploring the fortifications on top (as well as gawking at the view!). The whole day was bitingly cold & snowy, which lent the whole trip the sort of romantic feeling I had always imagined of an (almost) Eastern European city firmly in the grasp of Winter.

posted by Jason @ 4:10 pm 0 comments