tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post5517344809153224018..comments2023-12-09T05:32:19.282+01:00Comments on Metronomic Underground: Fehlfarben - Monarchie und Alltag (1980/2000)Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17295562938792511228noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-77682304576615545782021-04-04T20:35:12.010+02:002021-04-04T20:35:12.010+02:00Fehlfarben are the three non-trump suits in the po...Fehlfarben are the three non-trump suits in the popular German card game, Skat. I didn't read that anywhere and it probably belongs at the top of the review.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02427315288887067694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-84362686642978880802011-04-19T02:46:22.519+02:002011-04-19T02:46:22.519+02:00@CBQ,
This may be my favorite German album from th...@CBQ,<br />This may be my favorite German album from that era. It's such a solid listen. I'm also a big fan of <i>Glut und Asche</i>, but that is quite a different sound. I only have the first three albums, but I suppose it would be worth checking out the rest!Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17295562938792511228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-9369590926099354462011-04-19T00:22:05.846+02:002011-04-19T00:22:05.846+02:00Fehlfarben are probably my favourite German band -...Fehlfarben are probably my favourite German band - I lived in West Germany in 1980/81 and bought this when it came out - I've always loved it...<br /><br />Their last three albums maintain the quality - "Knietief im Dispo", Handbuch fuer die Welt" and the latest from 2010, "Gluecksmaschinen"...<br /><br />Brilliant stuff!!Cloudland Blue Quartethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17753608052927486457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-88659391071513156532010-10-05T17:33:06.401+02:002010-10-05T17:33:06.401+02:00@the latest anonymous comment:
"Consumerist c...@the latest anonymous comment:<br />"Consumerist critique" or something like that is probably the proper phrasing (often generalized to "social criticism", but I know exactly what you mean. As far as I'm concerned, you can write in German if you want - I'll understand it, although I'm assuming most of my readers won't!<br /><br />I think you're spot-on with the consumerist critiques of Fehlfarben and similar bands. I'm quite familiar with those sentiments through English bands like Gang of Four and the Au Pairs, but I can't think of many great American examples... I know that many of the old punk bands expressed those ideas, but I don't know my punk nearly as well as my post-punk and new wave. I'm sure there are American versions as well, though - the concept surely can't have been foreign here. It sure seems to have been prevalent in many forms of art across the Western world around that time. Ultimately, though, I know my English and German music better than my American music!Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17295562938792511228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-3433328337542350612010-10-04T22:28:02.297+02:002010-10-04T22:28:02.297+02:00i just read the whole review again... many times p...i just read the whole review again... many times politicality is mentioned but i find one more thing very important, something called Konsumkritik or consumerism criticism (well that's not proper english for sure).<br />modern society and a constant flood of products and cheap entertainment that cannot be escaped and gets weirdly mixed up with personal emotions of fear, longing, paranoia...<br />even poverty (paul ist tot, kein freispiel drin - du gehst mit dem kellner und ich weiss genau warum = paul is dead, no extra game. you go with the waiter and i know exactly why).<br />i find the references to various products rather important, it's even on the cover (zehn millionen fernsehzuschauer können nicht irren = 10 million TV watchers can't be wrong - ad for some german TV set)<br />and it's not toward american products, it's a general feeling of uneasiness in a consumer-orientated society, and the frustrating realisation that i am part of it, too. even the music i am trying to put against it is a product...<br />i always thought that this view was more or less universal in art of the late seventies - early eighties but maybe it was really rather german or at least continental. maybe it doesn't come so easily to northern americans?<br />one guy mentioned this consumer critique in the comments (long comment, s/he obviously had a german upbringing) though s/he rather doubts it.<br />i see this as something sociocritical but not really political in the sense of being left wing or working class or anti-imperialist.<br />(ich schau mich um und seh nur ruinen / vielleicht liegt es daran dass mir irgendetwas fehlt = i look around and see only ruins / maybe it's because i am missing some thing)<br />but then of course fehlfarben in particular are political, too.<br /><br />so much for that. ideal also have it, being much less political along the above mentioned distinction.<br /><br />about singing in german, emotions, uneasiness and this particular revolutionary sound - how about Blumfeld: Ich-Maschine (1992)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-36766609670936311162010-10-04T20:39:17.234+02:002010-10-04T20:39:17.234+02:00@the latest anonymous comments:
Thanks for the tip...@the latest anonymous comments:<br />Thanks for the tip on "Grauschleier"! I just listened to "Ein Jahr" again, and you're right, it does sound more like "Büffelhelden", but either way it works and clearly is about Reagan.<br /><br />It's been years since I wrote this review, but I've since spent a year living in Germany and I've "discovered" plenty more bands, Ideal included. Them and Neonbabies are two of my new favorites, although in each case I only have the first two albums. I don't think I ever saw a copy of <i>Bi Nuu</i> for sale, but I would've bought it if I had.<br /><br />If you have any other suggestions, let me know!Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17295562938792511228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-34542897853085056832010-10-04T20:33:06.045+02:002010-10-04T20:33:06.045+02:00on second thought i'm not sure if it was weiss...on second thought i'm not sure if it was weisser riese or some other washing powder...<br /><br />the name fehlfarben, btw, refers to a product, too: cheap cigars were (and still are) sold as "fehlfarben". i think it means their colours differ slightly from the standard.<br /><br />i would also like to mention the band ideal and their last album "bi nuu", especially the song "keine heimat".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-83526958352252028162010-10-04T20:10:51.372+02:002010-10-04T20:10:51.372+02:00thanks for the review, nice that people outside ge...thanks for the review, nice that people outside germany seem to like this as well. great music, great lyrics... about the latter:<br />"grauschleier" refers to "weisser riese" washing powder and a typical "compared-to-standard-washing-powder" style advertisment, where the standard washing powder leaves a grey veil (?) on the washing, whereas weisser riese washes it really white-white.<br />(es liegt ein grauschleier über der stadt / den meine mutter noch nicht weggewaschen hat)<br />.<br />in the comments someone mentioned "b-film helden" but they are actually "büffelhelden" (=buffalo heroes, a common phrase for a cowboy style american) but of course it's still about ronald reagan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-69563484516006584152008-10-01T17:56:00.000+02:002008-10-01T17:56:00.000+02:00It's always so beautiful to see things being disco...It's always so beautiful to see things being discovered by someone somewhere. I guess I also love some rather forgotten US-bands, or artists from other countries who may be not well known here. It's always good to broaden your view. If I can trust the image on top of this review you also have the Double-CD which accompanied the book, so you may have discovered some strange but interesting music. There's also a good DVD: "Berlin Super 80" giving some visual insight. I wish similar stuff existed from Hamburg and Düsseldorf. <BR/>The political climate: It cut much deeper then the Weathermen ever did or could, and I think it is an integral part of our country's anatomy tough you have to be 40+ to remember at least a bit. (By the way: Just a few days ago a german movie about this era of terror was nominated for the Oscar).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-75761125656451315782008-10-01T04:02:00.000+02:002008-10-01T04:02:00.000+02:00Anonymous -Fehlfarben is probably unknown to just ...Anonymous -<BR/><BR/>Fehlfarben is probably unknown to just about any American, but it seems most Germans are at least aware of them, but they are sort of a forgotten band anyway. I think they're great. I actually just read the entirety of <I>Verschwende deine Jugend</I> this summer, and that certainly helped contextualize a lot of this. I think I used to underestimate the political climate of the time in Germany. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, thanks for the comment.Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17295562938792511228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-80282181127300101782008-10-01T00:14:00.000+02:002008-10-01T00:14:00.000+02:00Great to see someone interested in Fehlfarben. The...Great to see someone interested in Fehlfarben. They became a fine (how was it called in early 80s britain?) "White Funk" (A Certain Ratio ecetera) band later. But this record you mention stays out as one of the most important german records after the (in England much more appreciated) "Krautrock" times. <BR/>Thousands things could be told. Here at least a few: Don't underestimate the impact of left wing terrrorism in Germany just around the Punk/Post-Punk years. Everyonee was suspicious: Old(er) people who claimed to be seen as victims who hadn't seen or done anything way back in the war, but who replicated their old fascist slogans way too often when they were provoked or drunk. [To be fair they weren't all that way, but nearly all remained way too quiet in their post-war economic miracle.] Younger people who saw everyone as a potential fascist. And a political system set under pressure. <BR/>Unemployment was also growing but it wasn't as bad as in the UK at these times.<BR/>The book "Verschwende Deine Jugend" names a lot of the the better bands, there are reasons why Extrabreit and Peter Schilling are not among them.<BR/>Austria played a different and somehow rather silent role in these times, the Swiss scene was much closer to the german scene.<BR/>About the songs and meanings: "Paul is tot" - I guess there's no consumer critique in this, I guess it's personal, more a question of longing and (following) desillusions.<BR/>"Militürk" is even hard to decipher for a german out of it's historical context. It's a grotesque if anything, very cynic replaying right wing statements and condensing them to one big surreal conspiracy theory. A slap in the face of big letter mass media (the german equivalents to "The Sun") maybe.<BR/>The music - I prefer their melancholy to the Gang of Four style which may have been a major influence. I wonder, what would have happened to a version of the record sung in english...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-51818281292009763072008-06-05T18:07:00.000+02:002008-06-05T18:07:00.000+02:00Farther Oblivion -I agree about both your statemen...Farther Oblivion -<BR/><BR/>I agree about both your statements. Good catches there. I never really thought that Reagan was the person talked about in the second line, but it only makes sense, I suppose. I threw the bit in about Schwarzenegger because it was an odd stretch of a coincidence.Pattihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17295562938792511228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8666659962343175645.post-69266685101302301942008-06-04T12:43:00.000+02:002008-06-04T12:43:00.000+02:00"Berge explodieren, Schuld hat der Präsident, es g...<I>"Berge explodieren, Schuld hat der Präsident, es geht voran!" ("mountains explode, the president is guilty, it goes on!"), "graue B-Film Helden regieren bald die Welt, es geht voran!" ("gray b-film heroes will soon rule the world, it goes on!"). Odd, then, that a certain California-residing Austrian is making the latter line come true.</I><BR/>Let me make two corrections to your comment. The first is a minor one: I'd translate "mountains explode, it's the president's guilt, it goes on!" to express that the exploding of mountains is the president's guilt (for example because he makes his army drop bombs on it).<BR/>Second correction: The B-film hero to make the quoted line come true was Ronald Reagan. Back then nobody ever thought of Arnold S. running for pres.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com