German country music. You may remember Texas Lightning from Eurovision 2006, but the rabbit hole goes much deeper than that. Oh yes. [more inside]
posted by jedicus on May 27, 2009 - 47 comments

Kraftwerk have been around for nigh on forty years. They take a bit of getting used to if you are new to them, but the rewards are great. Even if you are a cynic. [more inside]
posted by Frasermoo on Apr 4, 2008 - 31 comments

Everybody knows that gangsta rap promotes sexism, homophobia... and fascism. Take Bushido, for instance - the Berlin rapper of Tunisian descent that all the neo-Nazis love. Confused? (nyt) Well, so are the Germans. And then we're not even talking about Fler, whose "This is black-red-gold, hard and proud!" nationalist lyrics never fail to piss off the German papers (in German), and who likes to pose in his videos with a nice symbolic eagle. (Then again, Helmut Kohl didn't mind.) Still, Fler's flag-waving, eagle-loving rhymes are no match for Bushido's "Salute, stand to attention, I am the leader like 'A'". The A stands for Adolf, you know.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jan 12, 2006 - 28 comments

Heiterkeit (12 meg quicktime movie) is an utterly charming German music video about all the other fun things you can do lying down. (Yes, it's entirely safe for work, unless your workplace forbids quirky charm.) If you enjoy it, check out Transsylvanische Verwandte(12 meg quicktime movie), another work by the same director. For a look behind the scenes of both films, there's this making-of video. (The making of video is a realplayer file, and it's in German--but I don't speak German, and I got the general idea.) Via Antville.
posted by yankeefog on Oct 28, 2005 - 12 comments

Schnappi! Contrary to popular belief in the rest of the world, the German pop charts are not dominated by over-the-hill American TV stars. In fact, the current #1 single, outselling even the usual imported subjects is a silly little ditty about a baby crocodile. (Think of it as the German version of SpongeBob Squarepants, kindasorta.)

I'm passing on the earworm to all of you via the four versions listed here. You're quite welcome.
posted by chicobangs on Jan 11, 2005 - 30 comments

"Kriminalz?" Appears to be two German guys attempting to rap while wearing construction hats. German or not, how can this be for real?
posted by asbates2 on Dec 9, 2004 - 22 comments