On discovering "the latter in particular"...
August 4, 2010 6:48 AM   Subscribe

"Abwärts is a West German post-punk group from Hamburg. Members Mark Chung and FM Einheit would leave the group in the early 1980s to join the Berlin-based band Einstürzende Neubauten. Their best-known recordings include the single "Computerstaat" ("Computer State") (1980) and the LP's Amok Koma (1981) and Der Westen ist einsam ("The West Is Lonely," 1982), the latter in particular being regarded as a classic of West German postpunk."
posted by electricsandwich138 (13 comments total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
"Post-punk"?

So, was the movement in the early 90's "Post-post-punk" and the recent incarnations "Beating a dead horse punk?"

I am being cheeky, but I do have quite a bit of trouble with the respective designations of these genres, so could I get a spreadsheet or something?

I want to participate.
posted by Bathtub Bobsled at 7:14 AM on August 4, 2010


"Post-punk"?

So, was the movement in the early 90's "Post-post-punk" and the recent incarnations "Beating a dead horse punk?"

I am being cheeky, but I do have quite a bit of trouble with the respective designations of these genres, so could I get a spreadsheet or something?

I want to participate.


Punk rock started in the mid-'70s. So early '80s would be post-punk yes.

Some of the original punk bands continued playing, and others came along in the 1980s, but New Wave and post-punk bands were from the late '70s and early '80s for you youngsters keeping score.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:23 AM on August 4, 2010


Bathtub Bobsled: While I think music journalists occasionally get a little carried away with creating sub-genres, post punk is a well established genre. A great place to start if you want to learn more is Simon Reynolds' fantastic book Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-Punk 1978-1984. There's a good interview with Simon at Sound of Young America.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 7:30 AM on August 4, 2010 [3 favorites]


Seconding Rip It Up and Start Again, but get the UK edition if you can - it contains 3 chapters, a bibliography, and a helpful timeline that were cut from the US ed.
posted by ryanshepard at 7:37 AM on August 4, 2010 [1 favorite]


I remember at some point checking out Abwärts because of the Neubauten connection and hating it. But watching that "Computerstaat" video makes me think I judged them too harshly. That rocks!
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 7:37 AM on August 4, 2010


I didn't know the EN connection—I always remembered these guys as slightly goofy Teutonic Rock. I tend to put "Detroit Palmtrees" on mixes, in part because of the silly chorus about "got to give me a sports car, got to give me a super sports car."
posted by klangklangston at 8:17 AM on August 4, 2010


I love Neubauten, so really enjoyed this, thanks!
posted by atlatl at 8:19 AM on August 4, 2010


I have favorited this post harder than any post before.
This is news to me, and Einsturzende is one of my favorite groups.
posted by kittensofthenight at 10:29 AM on August 4, 2010




Agh, crap. OK this one works.
posted by electricsandwich138 at 11:32 AM on August 4, 2010


blimey, i remember this lot. in a rare moment of late teenage abandon circa 1981 i bought a huge random pile of german seven inch singles (including another band featuring f.m. einheit) and one was by abwarts. long lost now of course, as is another by a band called korpus kristi called 'ausgesetz'. wish i could find that one again.

i'd forgotten how much i loved this stuff, so thanks for this. off to listen to some DAF and palais schaumburg.
posted by peterkins at 12:34 PM on August 4, 2010


Stalingrad, Stalingrad, Deutschland Katastrophenstaat!!


they were so awesome. The interview at the end of the Computerstaat-clip is great as well, hilarious. Something along those lines:

a: "Message? What message? Germans always want to have a meaning behind everything. We just copied our lyrics from some books we borrowed!"

Q: "So, you mean the lyrics don't mean anything to you, like Computerstaat? You don't have the fear that you are living in one?"

A: "Nah, I've never seen a computer. What are those anyway. Rythm machies exist though, but we don't feel them."
"He is afraid that he'll be replaced by rhythm machines some day. He wakes up every night screaming: NO! NO RYTHM MACHINE!"

posted by ts;dr at 2:00 PM on August 4, 2010


peterkins: if you're looking for Korpus Christi and other german post-punk bands, take a look at this link, i don't know which songs are on the sampler though.
posted by ts;dr at 2:13 PM on August 4, 2010


« Older BP killed the well. Again.   |   Weirdo Toys Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments