German Pop Music Part 3
Written by Jessi-Alex Brandon
Guten Tag miteinander! Wie geht es Ihnen heute? (How are you all doing today?) I hope all of you are doing well despite the drizzly weather we have today and quite possibly for the rest of this week. DC weather, am I right?
But I regret to say that my news for you all might add to the drizzly atmosphere…this will be my very last music blog post for GAHM (aawwww). Ugh, I know! It’s tragic, isn’t it?! I was just getting started and it ended almost as soon as it began! I had so much fun digging up some of my favorite songs from my music library and introducing it all to you. Although the selections I had were limited and I did not showcase as much as I wanted, I still hope you all got some new favorite music out of it, or even got you to explore more of the current German music scene. I also hope these posts encourage you to visit our museum sometime if you haven’t already! My internship here has been a great adventure, and I’m very happy I had the chance to work here and learn so much about the significance of German and German-speaking contributions to American history and culture.
Whew, this is getting a little sentimental for just the beginning. Let’s save the feels for later and get into the music, shall we? Today, I don’t really have a solid “Artist of the Week”, because I figured that I wanted to give you a sneak peek of as much German music as possible. I’ll show one or two songs from a particular artist and then, if one’s available, I’ll attach a playlist where you can hear even more of their music! Besides, since today is my last day, I’m gonna allow myself a little bit of liberty in going a bit wild with my music selections, hope you don’t mind! So what are we waiting for?! Let’s hop on this musical roller coaster ride one last time!
- Cro-”Traum”~ https://youtu.be/8WQMBv2deYQ and “Fake You”~ https://youtu.be/CjTFUAWPb3A
Whenever you talk to a German-language learner and you ask them about Cro, it would rare if they didn’t know who he is. I’m not kidding, just about every German-language learner I’ve come across has listened to his music, although opinions about his music vary widely. Basically, the broad categories are that you either love him or don’t like him. One of my friends, who was actually an intern at the museum this summer, described him as a “German Justin Bieber”. I can kinda see where he’s coming from, but to each their own, right? Anyway, the first song, “Traum”, is basically the one song that introduces people to him. I don’t think it’s his best work, but it’s certainly catchy and made me want to learn more about him. The second song, “fake you”, is the from his newest album, tru, and I personally love it! As the kids say these days, it’s lit! You check out more of his music on Spotify!
- Kobi Rock- “Honey”~ https://youtu.be/tZyZFryetrk
Kobi Rock is honestly one of my favorite new artists! His music has such a Caribbean flair and happy energy to them. Listening to one song makes me want to go to a beach and dance with friends with the music booming and and the sun setting in the background and just forget about any worry I have in the world. He hasn’t released a lot of music yet, but I can’t wait for all he has in store! Check out the rest of his library here!
- SDP- “Lied für die Fans von den anderen Bands”~ https://youtu.be/RyU_rr1lcns
These guys are…interesting, to say the least. If I were to describe their music, I would call them a “nostalgic German Green Day, but goofier and more colorful”. If that didn’t make any sense to you, then I described them perfectly. I only listened to one album from them, and honestly I don’t love or hate them. They’re the band I would listen to if I wanted a good laugh or wanted to loosen up a little bit. You can check out the rest of their music at this link.
- Jennifer Rostock- “Kein Sommer”~ https://youtu.be/0GCUkntXUtY
Rostock is the last artist I will formally introduce you all too, but she is certainly not least. During the days when I was learning German but all I listened to was Sleeping with Sirens and Asking Alexandria, Jennifer Rostock was right up my alley! Her style is definitely more hard rock and punk than SDP, and she also has some really good vocals! Of course, hard rock isn’t for everyone, but I personally had this song stuck in my head for a little bit after listening to her for the first time! And if you liked this song, feel free to check out the rest of her music! (Apparently she’s getting more into the pop scene these days, don’t know how I feel about that just yet…)
I think these are all the artists I will introduce to you, but this doesn’t have to be the last time you can explore more German music genres. Youtube and Spotify are amazing places to check out new music, and also offer a place to leave a comment about your favorite German-speaking music artists. I think my favorite part of talking about music is finding out what others like to listen to. Music brings people together in more ways than we can imagine, so let’s use the comment section to our advantage!
On that note, I bid you and the German-American Heritage Foundation farewell (for now). I had so much fun writing this series, and I hope you had just as much fun reading it.
Viele Grüße und auf Wiedersehen!
Photo Credit: Yvette de Witt