Saturday, February 23, 2013

East German Punk Rock

"Hasch Mich Madchen" Keks (1983)


This was a band from the former German Democratic Republic called Keks (Cookie). Totally unknown outside the GDR, it's been suggested they started out as more of a mainstream pop group before going punk in the early '80s. Didn't last long, they were banned by the East German government by 1985.

Here's what probably sent the East German officials over the edge. A track from 1983 called "Hasch mich Madchen" ("Catch Me Girl"), a strange tune that sounds like a bad rehearsal (they stop and start several times.) Besides, the title (which is repeated throughout the song), it's hard to figure out what they're talking about

From the guitars, you can also pretty much hear how Rammstein and every other German industrial metal band got started on this track:

They later became Knorkator, which was Germany's answer to Ministry. They broke up in 2008 after one of the members decided to start a new life in Thailand......

One other act was Nina Hagen. She came to America in the '70s and quickly established herself as one of the STRANGEST acts in the New Wave era of the early '80s.


She existed just outside of the mainstream in New Wave (but never too far away.) She's probably best known for her song "New York New York", which was featured in the bizarre 2003 Macaulay Culkin film Party Monster.


She appeared on Adamski's 1991 hit and video "Get Your Body". But this would be her last US hit. She's still performing today.

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