Any German would tell you that our country has gone through some pretty tough shit throughout history (but let’s not go through all of that right now). Lately, though, things have been looking up. We won the World Cup… ! And today marks the 24th anniversary of our reunion!
Here’s a quick history lesson: after World War II, Germany was divided up into four zones, with the British in the north, the Americans in the south, the French in the west and the Russians in the east. Since the USSR was communist at that time, so was their designated zone, and when they realized people didn’t like it, they built the Berlin Wall to prevent people from escaping. It was all downhill from there. But then, 30 years later, David Hasselhoff came along and saved us all (yes, that’s exactly what happened). Now let’s go back to celebrating!
In honor of the occasion, I have compiled a playlist with some of the musical gems Germany has to offer. Even though our music hasn’t seen much international acclaim since Beethoven, there is no denying that our musical landscape is one of the most diverse. We have something for every mood, whether you feel like obscenely graphic gangster “Deutschrap” like K.I.Z. or just as obscene and graphic heavy metal à la Rammstein; or if you feel like crying yourself to sleep there’s the ’90s sob indie of Echt and the completely mind-numbing “Schlagermusik” of Helene Fischer; or there’s “Sauflied” if you need something easy to sing along to while you enjoy our delicious beer. Not to mention the obvious ace up our sleeve: the world’s finest electronic music.
So, come along on our pilgrimage through Germany’s musical history, starting all the way back on a beautiful fortress with the “Minnesang” of the middle ages, making a quick visit to the first Oktoberfest in the 1800s, detouring through the ruins of the world wars, riding the wave of the Neue Deutsche Welle in the ’80s, and ending at Berlin’s most notorious night club Berghain with our latest electronic music. Prost!
(Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Spotify does not feature any of these very important German bands: Die Ärzte, Rammstein, Die Toten Hosen, Echt, Peter Fox.)
Curated by Kim Proschka. Find her online @kprschk