Copenhagen Review

Metal-Revolution.com has its review of the June 2 show in Denmark here:

...What followed was for the most part typical Rammstein show anno 2010, but then again. Comparing to their Belgrade show the stage was smaller and there seem to be fewer pyrotechnics. Still for the most part the show was the same, and it was effective. Crowed was into it and you just couldn't go wrong by looking at the crowd. Be it the jumping, clapping, amazement, smiles or singing, there was no doubt that the crowd was getting what they came for. The visuals, the timing and the sound were all spot on, nothing less...

The set-list:

01 - Rammlied
02 - B******
03 - Waidmann´s Heil
04 - Keine Lust
05 - Feuer Frei!
06 - Wiener Blut
07 - Frühling In Paris
08 - Ich Tu Dir Weh
09 - Du Riechst So Gut
10 - Benzin
11 - Links 2 3 4
12 - Du Hast
13 - Pussy
------------------
14 - Sonne
15 - Haifisch
16 - Ich Will

The Kiss-Off

This is more about Combichrist's Joe Letz and Kiss than Rammstein, but bear with me.

Recently DoktorDoom shared this video. Just over five minutes into it Kiss are highly dismissive of Rammstein. Now, I'm a Kiss fan from way back (when they were skinny), but that kind of arrogance stopped being cool when the 80s crashed, so I like their music a lot better than their attitude.

Today I decided it was high time I caught up with the Combichrist (read: Joe's) blog, and I found this little gem:

COMBICHRIST / RAMMSTEIN part 2: london, UK, rammstein support June 11, 2010, 02:55:pm
THIS SHOW HAPPENED ON: february 4th, 2010

woke up somewhere pretty cool today. at wembley stadium. RIP freddie mercury. i taped that concert on VHS when i was a kid and watched it constantly. knockin on heaven's door was a real tear jerker. but then again, so was E.T. back then. anyways, we didn't play in the stadium though that would have ruled. we played in the arena next door which still holds like 15,000. that shit was sold out. KISS is playing here in a couple weeks. that shit AIN'T sold out.... put the nails in the coffin dudes... seriously ;-)...

Nice. Thank you Joe. I'd buy you a beer, but you're way the hell over there, so buy yourself one and drink to me.

Hold on...

RammsteiNZ - For Kiwi Rammstein Fans

I've started a NZ Rammstein fan-site at RammsteiNZ.com. I'd really appreciate it if you guys could propagate this, more particularly to any New Zealand residents or citizens you know. I am going to mirror the Rammstein news from here to that site, but keep the LILT stuff and the NZ-specific stuff separate.

The way I see it, there are two way Rammstein would come to NZ. The first is if they elected to take part in BDO (Big Day Out) again. The second is if a demonstrable number of interested fans piped up. I reckon the best way to achieve either is to create a NZ Rammstein fan community. This will be interesting...

From Abba to Rammstein

Love him or hate him, Jonas Åkerlund makes an impression. I have never really known much about him, except that he is from the country I was born in and that he has courage where his work is concerned. He's never really managed to enthrall me, but he does turn out some visually stunning work. Here's an article about him where he cites Rammstein as a career highlight.

...Akerlund cites his remarkably explicit video for Pussy, from the German metal freaks Rammstein, as his career highlight.

"It's the shortest treatment I've ever done," he says.

"I wrote an email to them and said, 'Let's make a porno.' Ten minutes later, they said yes."

I think I have heard that before somewhere...

LILT: Bückstabü 1.2

Soon night will fall
We are alone
You need not
Need not be so down
Voices whisper from between the ears
They are saying (they are saying)
Don't you dare
Must forego
Do not touch there
Just say hell no
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

Don't be afraid
Since I am here
As you know
I am oh-so near
Voices whisper from between the ears
They are saying
Don't you dare
Must forego
Do not touch there
Just say hell no
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

Two souls, oh, they are in my loins
But only one of them can survive
The first time will not hurt at all
There will not be a second time

Bückstabü
Don't you dare
Bückstabü
You must forego
Bückstabü
Do not touch there
Bückstabü
Just say no
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

[lyrics]

Clarification on Court Situation

Susanne has once again come to my aid and clarified the situation I was wondering about in this morning's post.

I was right about one thing. The de-indexing is an interim measure while the indexing is appealed. Susanne explains that it is this temporary suspension of the indexing that may be appealed within two weeks. She also said the ability of the court to suspend the indexing in this way is put in place in order that the court might minimise damages caused to the complainant by the situation they are appealing, if their case is strong.

So the indexing is lifted for the appeal to be heard, and within two weeks that suspension may be appealed by the BPjM (to keep the album indexed while the appeal-proper is heard), and then the appeal itself will be heard, and if Rammstein wins then the BPjM can also appeal that.

Sorted!

Better Pro-Shot Rammstein@RAR Footage - HD

I offer big thanks to Rammlieder for the heads up about these videos, and Rammstein Portugal for linking them all in one place. Note that they are uploaded in 720p, so click through to YouTube via the song name above the embedded video to view in HD:

Rammlied HD


Ich Tu' Dir Weh HD


Sonne HD


Haifisch HD


Ich Will HD


By the way, is it just me, or does Till have a complete Muppet moment just over halfway through the Rammlied video?

Mediabiz on Deindexing

The Mediabiz.de site has posted an article (GLT English - original German here) about Rammstein's court victory over the BPjM. The GLT translator had the same awful problems with this as with the ruling report on the lawyers' site, but one new piece of information jumped out at me on page two: the BPjM has two weeks to respond:

The BPjM have the opportunity, so bad lawyer to appeal within two weeks against the decision of the Cologne Administrative Board of the Higher Administrative Court Münster.

This leads me to think that maybe if they don't go back to the court in Münster within a fortnight then the removal from the index is permanent. If there are any German lawyers reading this please do advise me.

Mr Stupid Opens His Mouth

Belarus Morality Man, Cherginets, has been talking smack about Rammstein again. You may have read the post I made about Elton John being considered a corrupting influence in Belarus, just as Rammstein were. Well, apparently Belarus is having trouble keeping their homosexual population suitably oppressed and there is a fear that Sir Elton will come over all gay on stage. I have never considered the possibility that elton John might decide to pound the choccy starfish on stage, live, but after reading Cherginets's account of the Rammstein show maybe they are right to fear the balladeer:

Cherginets said the Council had already prevented outbreaks of “immorality” during a May concert by German industrial metal band Rammstein in the Belarusian capital.

“If we had not interfered, there would have been sex on stage and the relief of physical needs right in front of the audience,” the official said.

What did this interference involve I wonder? I have this wonderful image in my head of the band, standing in a row on stage, being chastised by Cherginets with their heads hanging and their tackle out.

Reworking LILT

You may notice some changes. I have cleared the left side of the site out, moving much of its content to pages linked along the top of the page, underneath the title banner. I've split LILTs up by album, put in a page for community, networking, etc. and removed the legal crap to its own page. I have also created a FAQ. All of this should make the site a bit less busy. Let me know if you have any feedback, be it negative or positive. So long as it's constructive it is welcome.

Rammstein Ruling Information

Thanks so much to Susanne for passing this on to me. Here is a GLT translation to English.

The upshot is this. 'They', probably being UMG or Pilgrim, filed for suspension of the indexing May 31 and it was granted. This was because the court found that the BPjM provided insufficient evidence for the reasons for the indexing that it gave. Nor has it taken into the account the nature of Rammstein's work and its artistic value, nor all of the content*. Note that this is the finding of the Cologne Administrative Court, rather than my speculation and wishful thinking, so you can savour this a little.

The ruling has much more detail, but all I can provide is a precis based on German legal-speak translated by a machine with no legal training, so I can't actually do much better without becoming proficient in German legalese.

I can tell you that the onus now appears to be on the BPjM to back up its original finding with more data, to take the artistic style and standing of the band into account, and to assess based on the entire text of the song. It seems to me that the photo of Richard has been entirely let off the hook by the court, but I'm not 100 % certain about that.

Whatever the finer points I think we can be optimistic. The BPjM has a job to do, and we will know nothing, ultimately, until it completes the task set before it or concedes the ruling.

* Here the ruling refers to the fifth stanza. I can only assume this refers to the line 'Wünsch dir was ich sag nicht nein', which has always struck me as rather sweet, especially in that context, as well as highly sinister.

Update 2010.06.10: Official site post about this here (German) and here (English).

Belarus Questions the Fabulous

Apparently Elton John may be as insidious and evil as Rammstein. Belarus, I am here crossing my fingers that this madness stops, eventually.

My Understanding of the Rammstein Deindexing

Okay, so you know that at present the indexing is not in effect. Further to that, from a very brief email I have had back from the BPjM, it would seem that this reversal has been ruled by the court while an appeal is heard against the indexing. This would mean that the permanence of this change depends on the outcome of the appeal. It may be that the indexing comes back into effect after the court has heard and ruled against UMG or Pilgrim, or whoever the party appealing is. If the appeal is successful I guess the change would be permanent. I may have this wrong, but I don't think I do.

I'm really hoping the BPjM will tell me what the current ruling is, and also what the appeal is based on once the case has been made to the court.

Deindexing Ruling

I'm really keen to find out why Rammstein's LIFAD indexing has been overturned by the court. Has anyone seen a copy of the ruling yet? If so please do share the link with me.

You Guys Heard About Rammstein in GH, Right?

Do I need to post the details? Nah, I'll just link to TG's story about it from a few days back.

Ich Tu' Dir Weh Deindexed

It appears that the original 2009 decision by the BPjM to index LIFAD, because of ITDW and the picture of RZK, has been reversed:

Thanks to Rammstein.NL for the information.

Original German
GLT English

I have to say I am delighted with this, but will be interested to find out why. They had a solid case under law for the listing. This is very intriguing, but explains the performances of ITDW unaltered recently.

MTV Rock Am Ring Rammstein Footage

Rammlied:


ITDW:


Sonne:


Haifisch:


Ich Will:


Update 2010.06.08: Added ITDW.

Rock Am Ring Rammstein

I hope you all caught the Rammstein footage from Rock Am Ring that MTV Austria showed earlier. It was great. They showed Rammlied, Ich Tu' Dir Weh, Sonne, Haifisch (including boat), and Ich Will. There were some streaming problems, which I'm guessing those watching it on TV will probably not have had, but it was minor stuff, and the whole thing was well worth seeing.

My thoughts? Lindemann was in good voice, demonstrating way more vocal precision and power than he has live in the past. All looked and performed well. Flake looks like a used car salesman with that moustache. The audience was absolutely awesome. I have to see them perform live before they realise that they need not work another day in their lives, and retire.

I have other thoughts, but they're not fully developed, so I'm going to stop there.

I have no doubt that this footage will end up on YouTube, so don't worry too much if you missed it.

Rammstein at Rock Am Ring NOW

Here.

The Gauntlet Hits Puberty

Our friend, The Gauntlet, has turned 14. Hair, voice, smell, and giblets will all be in a state of rather messy flux. It's a tumultuous and confusing time for any website, but I'm sure TG will get through it okay, and without developing a mono-brow (I hope).

Love you, TG <3

More Wonderful Hjorth Photos

Once again Christian Hjorth has posted fantastic photos of Rammstein's live show. This guy is an artist. Thanks for the heads up, Nimbo.

Back in the Saddle

I'm feeling much more myself now, but my posting may remain a little patchy. A girlfriend in the States has set me a poetic challenge that I am really looking forward to getting my teeth into, and I need to write a piece for a separate site. I will definitely be a little more verbose here from now on though, and plan to squeeze some more Rammstein adaptions into the gaps too.

There's also the matter of my second round of LIFAD reviewing. I need to review the album now I know what the lyrics mean. I also need to review the Haifisch video. I'm not sure when I will get to that though.

Because I'm kind of busy my news-sniffing will probably suffer though. I spend spend a lot of time combing through a butt-load of Rammstein information, and discard the vast majority, so if any of you find stuff you think is worth sharing please do help me out and send it to me.

Quebec Information Dump

PRweb has posted a good summary of the show in Canada next month. It includes links, booking information, and summarises previously announced artists (including Rammstein). Some newly announced artists also feature.

Ruminating on Pussy

With all the German clichés in Pussy why is there no mention of Lederhosen?

BubbleT1ger's Music Box

Why have I never seen this until now? By the way, I found it here.

Almost Done Being Concise

I have now watched someone die, spent hours studying their life, and then said goodbye to them. I'm almost at a point where the world has resumed as usual, but not quite. I'll stop posting monosyllabic links soon, and actually get back to being a source of information and a poet once again. Just not today...

Oldie But Goodie: Ich Will

It looks to be about 2001.

Pinkpop Interview

Original Dutch.

GLT English.

Quote:

Rammstein was the most expensive act, even more costly than the most expensive. They cost me 1.2 million euros.

Thanks Tempelhüter.

Wuhlheide Photos

Link.

Another link.

Welcome Back Combichrist

Link.

LILT Pauses

Death is a nasty thing. It's currently preventing me from updating the site. I will be back as soon as my life is a little less...dramatic.

Rammstein@Knebworth

The UK Sonisphere site has details of the festival at Knebworth, and single day tickets going on sale. I'd kill to go on the Saturday, so don't come near me if you get tickets...and happen to carry air-fair from NZ to the UK on you...in cash.

More Fucking Devoted Than Ever

Fucking Devotee has put up more HD videos, these latest from Wuhlheide. Enjoy!

Old Dogs, New Trick

According to morlac there is a new stunt in the show. He says that during Pussy Flake bugs Till with his keyboard until Till smashes it on the ground, where it explodes.

Wuhlheide Set List...Maybe

Tempelhüter has come through with some information from the first show of the third leg:

I read a few posts in the fan community.
The sound was not that good yesterday.

SPOILER
Setlist (in the wrong order/might be incomplete)

Links
Ich tu dir weh (with original lyrics)
Pussy
Weißes Fleich
Feuer frei
Engel
Sonne
Keine Lust
Benzin
Haifisch
Frühling in Paris
Waidmanns Heil
Wiener Blut
B*******
Rammlied
Du hast
Ich will
Du riechst so gut

The ITDW revelation is interesting, given the indexing...

Remember Wembley?

(source)

Oh Please!

Rammstein: born to shit-stir, right? Now, think about their album covers for a moment. Which is the most shocking? Take a moment...

Now, check this out.

Pffft!

E3 Leak

Apparently it has been leaked at E3 that Rammstein's Waidmanns Heil is to be included in Guitar Hero 6. While leaks are bad this kind of raising of awareness about the band is awesome. The inclusion of Du Hast previously was a bit of a letdown for me, as that song is probably the one that everyone has heard, and putting more impressive and lesser-known tracks into the public eye makes more sense. This time they have at least gone for a newer, less hackneyed song.

World Music Award - Best Selling German Band

Rammstein won. I'm sorry I'm so late with this. I honestly thought you'd all hear about this without me posting it, but Rammchick has pointed out that recognition of such achievements is a good thing, so now I'm posting. Congratulations to Rammstein. I would have been surprised if they didn't get this one, but I'm still very glad they did.

LILT: Roter Sand 1.0

A sad song, and possibly a bad LILT. I'm feeling a bit twitchy about it, because rhythmically it's a bit of a dog. Go English, you suck:

For one love with one commitment
I said I'll come back to you
But I must with sorrow break it
As his bullet has got through

For one love and two pistols too
One that's pointing right at me
He says that it is me who stole you
You love me but
He can't see

Red sand and of two cartridges
One dies in a powdered mess
The second unerring round is his
It's lodged deep within my chest

For one love and one commitment
So much blood runs from my mouth
And I'm not to be avenged
Senseless, I fall to the ground

For one love with two pistols aimed
One was much more quickly drawn
Regettably it was not mine
You belong to him

Red sand and of two cartridges
One dies in a powdered mess
The second unerring round is his
It's lodged deep within my chest

Red sand and white doves are flying
Feeding themselves on my blood
In the end there must be an ending
So my life has served some good

Red sand and of two cartridges
One dies in a powdered mess
The second unerring round is his
It's lodged deep within my chest

Haifisch Single US Track-list

The Gauntlet has this up this morning. Note the changes...

Train Outage for Wuhlheide Shows

Management warns (here via GLT) that Rammstein's shows in Berlin, May 21, 22, & 24 coincide with work on the S-Bahn S3 line, so if you're attending expect problems with public transport and plan accordingly.

Update 2010.05.20: Management have now posted an English version.

Linkage

I'm going to put the list of links to Rammstein fan communities on by sidebar soon. If you know of any fan sites that are not listed here please let me know.

Blood & Dust

I've begun work on Roter Sand, and it makes me sad. The song still has the same emotive effect on me that it did before I learned what the lyrics mean. I wrote this in my 'blind' review last year:

To me it sounds like Till's telling a story that hurts like hell in the recounting, but that simply must be told. Imagine to yourself a battle-scarred, drunk veteran remembering his awful career, and you'll probably get the idea of what I'm hearing. This song is a wrench.

The chorus is pretty. It sounds like agony, but is lovely and almost 'anthemic', with the whistling always coming back in as a link to the next verse. The song is one to listen to while feeling maudlin and nostalgic. There's plenty of inspiration for the little weeper in us all.

It's incredible how different Liese, which is now on the 'done' pile*, feels to Roter Sand, given the music is pretty much the same. Here's my blind take on that:

The lyrics are somehow fuller and more fleshy (I get the impression more is said, for some reason), and Till has thrown in a hefty dose of menace, and a smudge of lasciviousness (the only sex on the bonus disc) too. The blatant sorrow of Roter Sand doesn't surface at all, despite the music being identical. A much more sinister film coats Liese and I love it. While I have no doubt that Roter Sand was more in keeping with the album's flow, I consider Liese to be lyrically/vocally much meatier, and I'm really glad they tagged it onto the bonus disc.

More than half of the meat is in the operatics of Till, but a huge amount of the texture comes from the lyrics. I don't just mean the meaning. The verbal choices he has made impact the vibe of the song. It's an interesting experiment in poetry.

I wonder if he wrote other lyrics for this music...

* How long that will last?

LILT: Liese 3.0

Promoted without change:

Sunday out in Ammerwiese
Liese bravely minds the geese there
Then comes Jacob with long strides
Holding his sickle at his side

He nudges now and then with this
At Liese under skirt and bodice
He wants to sample her by forcing
And while he probes her he's singing...

Lovely Liese, leave the geese here
I want to have a taste of your skin
My scythe will be blood-rusted I fear
If you are not welcoming

So Jacob thinks to lick young Liese
Her pear taste will be so pleasing
So many small hairs stand on end
They run to a wheat-filled glen

In the flood of gold, well veiled
Jacob bestrides the youthful maid
And holds her close until the evening
Against her skin he again sings...

Lovely Liese, leave the geese here
I want to have a taste of your skin
My scythe will be blood-rusted I fear
If you are not welcoming

Lovely Liese, leave the geese here
I want to have a taste of your skin
My scythe will be blood-rusted I fear
If you are not welcoming

[original lyrics & translation]

LILT: Haifisch 3.0

Promoted without change:

We hold with each other
We all take each other's crap
We hold to one another
None will hold us back

We're holding true to you all
We hold onto that vow
We will uphold all the rules
If our rule is allowed

And the shark weeps very real tears
And they're running down its face
But the shark lives in the water
So nobody sees a trace

We hold to the tempo
We hold true in good faith
When one does not keep up
We hold up right away

We're holding our eyes open
We hold against the storm
Six hearts that are burning
Our fire holds such warmth

And the shark weeps very real tears
And they're running down its face
But the shark lives in the water
So nobody sees a trace

In the depths it is so lonesome
And so many tears run free
And that is how it has happened
That it's salty in the sea

They hold beliefs they want
To hold about us all
We hold each other sound
We never will hold still

And the shark weeps very real tears
And they're running down its face
But the shark lives in the water
So nobody sees a trace

In the depths it is so lonesome
And so many tears run free
And that is how it has happened
That it's salty in the sea

And the shark weeps very real tears
And they're running down its face
But the shark lives in the water
So nobody sees a trace

[original lyrics & translation]

LILT: Bückstabü 1.1

I'm not sure if this is an improvement or not. Tough nut to crack:

Soon night will fall
We are alone
You need not
Need not be so down
Voices whisper from between the ears
They are saying (they are saying)
Don't you dare
Leave it be
Do not touch there
Just say to me
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

Don't be afraid
Since I am here
As you know
I am oh-so near
Voices whisper from between the ears
They are saying
Don't you dare
Leave it be
Do not touch there
Just say to me
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

Two souls, oh, they are in my loins
But only one of them can survive
The first time will not hurt at all
There will not be a second time

Bückstabü
Don't you dare
Bückstabü
Leave it be
Bückstabü
Do not touch there
Bückstabü
Voice the plea
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

[lyrics]

GEMA on the Warpath

It seems that GEMA is getting too big for its boots (Thanks for Rammchick for the link). The GEMA organisation, which represents German musical artists, specifically in the management of royalties, is having a go at YouTube (Google), and has been for a while. The threat to order the removal of German music seems intensely short-sighted to me. The awareness and spread of German music has to have been majorly boosted by the advent of such media-sharing sites. People can listen to and find new artists just by following links related to the videos they watch. I found Apocalyptica that way, and now own two of their albums (legitimately). Social networking and media sites should be a tool to be utilised, rather than a source of income. Why not be a little less greedy, take less, and reap the benefits of huge, global exposure, penetration into new markets, and the propagation of music under your management?

RZK Kit on Ebay

At least it looks like it. You need a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier Solohead?

Nah, I have no idea what that is. Want to buy a box?

Cowboys & Indians

You have surely heard the of the stereotype that portrays Germans as humourless. I have. It's utter bollocks, as any Rammstein fan can attest to. They do have a certain grim brutality though:

I got the video from here, and I have to agree that Rammstein couldn't be any scarier than that. Cruel, cruel Bundeswehr!

Shot!

Rammstein are German. I just thought I'd state that for the record, just in case you didn't notice. They're so subtle about this fact that it could easily get past you. Okay, we're clear about the Germanity* of Rammstein, aren't we? Yep. Good. Now read this.

* I made that up.

Americans Should Attend

I know this isn't Rammstein, but it's still awesome. I have a feeling 7th Symphony will make it onto my iPod. Apocalyptica give me the happies. They just keep getting better and better, and you lucky North Americans get them live this month.

Haifisch Single Details Announced

Rammstein's third single release details are up on the official site:

We are happy to finally announce the release date for the “Haifisch” single. The single will be in German, Austrian and Swiss stores on May, 28 2010. In the USA it will be available on June, 1st 2010, in all other countries on May, 31st 2010.


Tracklist

1. Haifisch
2. Highswing RMX by Olsen Involtini
3. Remix by Hurts
4. Remix by Schwefelgelb

Dance of the Freak

Rammstein's Wiener Blut has been reinterpreted in dance. If you're not a fan of interpretive dance it might not do anything for you, but it's well done. I think it rocks in a mildly disturbing way, as is appropriate to the music.

Schneider in Romania

When Rammstein played Romania Schneider had a few words with an interviewer before the show. Here's the video:

Rammstein - Rammstein Interview - Romania - 2010 on muzu.tv

Roter Sand Cover

Here's a rather nice take on Roter Sand.

His MySpace page is here. Thanks for DER_METZGERMEISTER69 for the link.

The Game is Afoot

Frogster Interactive Pictures (German games studio) mention trying to get Rammstein to perform at the launch of their latest Runes of Magic installment this month, which is to take the form of a music festival in an interview on Games Asylum:

GA: The third episode, The Elder Kingdoms, is being launched in May. What new and exciting things can we expect? We’ve heard rumours of a music festival…

Philipp: Yes, a music festival will be introduced with the newest chapter of the game, we are trying to get Rammstein and Muse to open it...

Very amusing.

All A-twitter

Crafty Omega has pointed out a Tweet from Wes Borland that might interest you lot:

Just got back from dinner with Joe Letz (Combichrist) and Richard Kruspe (Rammstein). Believe it or not we talked music. nudge nudge

Oh Noes!

I recently got a FB invite to join a group protesting Rammstein breaking up. I expect this is a reaction to the remarks Richard has made (thanks to the link ^_rammstein_finland_^ - original article) about how right now he can't see himself doing another Rammstein album.

I have read at least one other interview, months ago, in which he has said this. He seems to also say something to the effect of 'never say never' as well, so I think he is definitely talking about his immediate frame of mind. I have subsequently read interviews where he pretty much discusses a future Rammstein project (unplugged, by the sound of things), so I think people are suddenly taking his remarks much more seriously, and I'm not sure why.

Obviously, Rammstein will cease to exist one day. This is how it goes. This is the reality all music fans must face with regard to their favourite artists. It is fact. When it happens is not something I would care to predict, even with Richard's present feelings on the subject, and while I wouldn't be surprised if LIFAD were to end up being their final album (not counting reduxes), I will not go into mourning for Rammstein, or object to the idea of them splitting up. They've done well, and have given us a lot of great material. I love Rammstein, but they are individual people, with families, lives, feelings, ambitions, and probably a strong desire to just stop at some point. I hope it's not for another ten years or so, but doubt my hopes will be fulfilled.

Whatever they may do in future, they rock my world and will continue to do so.

Extra Wuhlheide Tickets

If you wanted to go and missed out there are some more tickets for the May 21 & 22 shows.

Haifisch Video on iTunes

I just bought it. The NZ iTunes store is generally incredibly tragic when it comes to selection and time, so I expect those of you in more Rammstein-oriented markets should have it too. ITDW was only available in the NZ store for a short while and the only video available until Haifisch just turned up was Benzin.

Anyway, if you're interested go and see if it's in your store.

Haifisch Single

The Gauntlet has confirmed the tracklist:

1 Haifisch (Single edit)
2 Haifisch (Haiswing remix by Olsen Involtini)
3 Rammlied (Hurts Remix)
4 Ich tu dir weh (Schwefelgelb Remix)

w00!

Ugh

I was going to start a new Rammstein song tonight, but I had such an awful drive home from work that I'm just drying off, warming up, and attempting to forget...all the cars rushing past in the pitch black and torrential rain, while I tried to fix windscreen wipers on the side of the highway...

*sigh*

Tomorrow.

Total Collapse

Yes, this is about Rammstein, but no, it's not bad news about the band. It is a weird story about the dream I woke up from this morning, before a migraine left me in a stupor. Because of the migraine this post is slow work, with a lot of corrected typographical and spelling errors (I become slightly dyslexic when I get them), but more detailed than my usual dream recollections, because I've been lying here much of the day ruminating on the story with my eyes closed, since there was nothing else to do.

There were three odd features of the dream: partial sensory deprivation, pain, and odour. You'll see what I mean if you keep reading.

I don't remember the dream before the point I start at, but I do remember it had something to do with windows. Yeah, who knows!

My recollection starts with me standing in an internal corridor, around 20 metres wide, inside a large sports arena. It was identical to the largest sports arena in the region of New Zealand I live in, but wasn't, if you know what I mean. In my dream it was a place in Berlin. Because the arena is circular the corridor was curved. I was standing there, about 15 metres away from a large man in a heavy overcoat, scarf, and beanie. I looked at him and saw it was an old family friend, now dead for almost 20 years.

I smiled at him, and turned to look the other way, back down the corridor, which curved away to my left with the circumference of the building. I saw that there were huge cracks running towards us, along the ceiling, and freaked. When I turned back to the man I noticed that it was no longer the friend, but a stranger, and then I realised that I no longer had my contact lenses in as everything went blurry. I looked up and saw a heavy beam above the man was coming down, and started one of those awful too-slow dream runs at him. I eventually got to him, shoulder charged him, and took him down just as the beam came down where his head had been.

Just as we hit the ground everything went black. That's the first oddity. I have never had a dream before where I was completely blind for a substantial part of the action. From that point on there was absolutely no visual feedback at all.

Something else I noticed (before the blackness even) was excruciating pain. My lower legs were burning, and I couldn't move them. As the dream progressed the burning moved up my legs, and then eased to a dull ache. I've had pain in dreams before, but only when I was in pain in reality, so this was both immersive and disconcerting.

The last weirdness I noticed was the smell. It was the smell of rotten concrete dust. It was an odd, chemical, 'plasticky' smell, and it was really unpleasant. I honestly have no idea what concrete dust smells like, let alone rotten concrete, but I did in my dream. I've only had a sense of smell in a few particular dreams before, and in all of them I smelt exactly the same thing. This concrete dust was a new dream smell.

It was also choking, and both the man and I were coughing and breathing through cloth, made apparent once we began talking to one another. I had my face buried in his shoulder, and he must have been holding something over his face. I couldn't see what. Perhaps it was his scarf.

Anyway, once the coughing abated we started (muffled) talking. The obvious questions about injury and comfort came first. I was lying on his right arm, so I got off that, and he was breathing too fast and shallowly, which made me worry I had broken his ribs when I tackled him. He turned out to be hyperventilating out of shock, but we talked one another into relative calmness and that stopped.

He thought both his legs were broken, and that was when I realised that similar injuries must have been what was causing my pain. I introduced myself as milla, and he said "I'm Till."

"Lindemann?"
"Yes."

That's when I realised we were both speaking German, despite the fact that I don't understand it, let alone know how to speak it.

I bemoaned the lack of light, then remembered I couldn't see much anyway, without my corrective lenses, and we got talking about perception. He told me that he's blue/green colour-blind, and slightly long-sighted, and I told him I'm just very short-sighted, and that was the end of that line of conversation. Not very interesting, but it's the conversation I remember most about.

I don't remember much detail of what was said after that, but some general topics included cars, hunting, food, and travel. We also talked about literature and found that neither of us had read a single book that the other had read.

It was a surreal, but incredibly real dream. My alarm woke me up while we were still lying there in the dark, in pain, and without any signs of rescue. If this dream means anything I don't want to know about it, but figured I'd share it with you anyway, since the very fact that you're reading this site indicates that have have some interest in Till Lindemann.

The Absurdity of Assumption

Bear with me. This does relate to Rammstein:

There's this chick, Michelle McGee, who strips. She's a heavily tattooed beauty, probably best known as Jesse James's woman (ousted Sandra Bullock, no less), with a reputation for white supremacist leanings. I know next to nothing about her, and if she is indeed a WS then she's dirt, but the press have got a bit stupid about her stripping to Feuer Frei. The story is being propagated with emotive phrases such as 'Hitler's mixed tape' in the headlines, and more idiots are picking up on it and propagating it. I've seen it on two other sites, and they've pretty much ripped this nonsense verbatim.

So much stupid, so few bricks to wall it in with.

Down & Out

You have probably noticed that the new video is not available just now. This is, I suspect, because it was released earlier than planned. I hope they put it back into service soon.

It may also be because of the load. A lot of people viewed it, and the performance from MySpace's systems was pretty poor. I watched the video in ten to twenty second chapters, as the service struggled to cope, and have read about others having a similar experience. I would think that if MySpace felt the load was too high they would simply make the video unavailable, as is their right.

Here's to MySpace increasing the resource pool for their video service, because if a Rammstein premiere can do that I can't begin to imagine what a more globally popular band's release would do to their network.

The Till is Dead - Long Live The Till

Oh yeah, I missed it. A Rammstein premiere. Gah! That will teach me for having gainful employment and living in bloody New Zealand. Haifisch, with all the narrative and humour we've come to expect, and a few nice flash-backs thrown in for good measure...with twists. It's a good video. Not quite up there with Ich Will, in my opinion, but damned good.

Also, apparently people in other countries can get the entire Rammstein video catalogue from iTunes. I can't. Once again living in the most beautiful place in the world burns me.

Confirmation for Haifisch

The video premiers this Friday on MySpace, and the single is coming in May (date to be confirmed soon on The Gauntlet). Obviously this one is not an R18 video...

Uncle Sam Needs You

Rammstein fans in the US (I know some of you are reading) who use FB should join this page. The idea is based on numbers. The page is trying to get a million fans, in order to get the attention of management and show enough solidarity to make a tour there feasible. We know Rammstein are going to go to the US, but on what scale, and under what conditions? Make a point they can't ignore and get your friends to join the page as well. It can't hurt and it may make a difference.

Haifisch? Bless You

Soon, right? It can't be far off. A small hint, possibly about how and where, has come from The Gauntlet. He's queried Herzeleid users as to how many have MySpace accounts. Yeah, I know, it's obscure, but possibly very useful information.

See No Evil, Hear no Evil...

Okay, so it's been awfully bleh in the world of Rammstein news recently, so I went looking for trouble. Well, not really. I went to see what those special people who admire Hitler's work think of Rammstein. I found a thread on a white supremacist site where the thread-starter asked the question 'are Rammstein blood-traitors?', and I read a good part of it.

What surprised me the most was the intelligence of some of the responses. I'm afraid I have always had the idea that racists must be intensely stupid to believe the things they do, and have pictured inbred hicks in KKK hoods misspelling their racist slogans, and smelling of home-made liquor. Somehow the thoughtful, coherent, rational responses some of these people made to the stupid question that started the thread were more shocking than anything else.

I'm probably what you'd describe as an Aryan poster girl. I'm a blonde, blue-eyed, mesomorph of reasonable intelligence. I have to say though that when I see white supremacists I feel ashamed of this fact for no good reason. There were, of course, the idiots and the over-emotional, and I have to admit that the intelligent posts generally pooh-poohed the idea of Rammstein being nazis, but after the ignorance shown by the more melodramatic posters made me laugh, the discussion in this thread (which you will note I have not linked to) made me feel distinctly sick and intensely angry.

I really wish that I could still believe these people are all stupid. It would make me feel so much better about their ghastly attitude to other people. My advice is that if you are curious about what they think about anything whatsoever do not seek answers. Just live in blissful ignorance.

My Website Has More Tweet-Cred' Than me

Okay, so we're in a slow Rammstein news period. They're between live legs (yeah, I really posted that), work-demands have left me limp, and I haven't had a lot to say. Apparently The Gauntlet will be getting some news very soon, but this place has been idle for a few days, and I need to stay up late to sort out a client's MX, so I thought I'd ruminate a little.

I signed up with Twitter 'as me' before I created The LILTwitter, and I never use it. I don't use it for chat or really have anything to say that I think those following my personal account give two shits about, so all my bombast ends up here, going out via LILTrammstein. As a result, the site's account has way more followers, is listed, and generally generates traffic, while my personal account languishes in obscurity.

The same goes for my Facebook accounts. I have two of them also. One for me individually, and another for this site. Attached to both is the LILTrammstein page. As with Twitter, the FB site profile is the one I am almost always logged in as, and to top that off almost all of my FB activity is on the page, rather than either profile.

I also signed up for MySpace, since it seems such a musically oriented SN site, but I don't log in.

I'm a Social Networking retard. Note the capitalisation there. I network socially as readily as I breathe. I just don't do it as I am probably supposed to.

I've decided there is a very simple reason for this: I don't share my personal life. This isn't a bad thing, but for someone whose main avenue of communication is the internet, both professionally and personally, I had expected that Twitter would possibly eat into my time, Facebook would hold my attention, and that I would probably waste far too much energy and effort with both. This has not happened. I am someone who networks fairly well, but I do it via email and forums. Given that my own forum is a small, dusty ghost town there is a certain level of strangeness to this.

I have to wonder why it is that the media designed for doing what I do fairly well don't capture my attention nearly so much as the basic, old school dinosaurs of internet technology. The original concept of BBSs is as old as the hills, as is the idea of email. I'm not old enough (shut up) yet to be stuck in my ways. I make very good use of both FB and Twitter...for the site. LILT definitely has way more use for the newer methods of communication though.

Bored yet? Okay, I'll put a plug in it. I wouldn't want to become one of those self-indulgent, self-involved bloggers who thinks people care about my life ;)

By the way, I will post whatever it is The Gauntlet serves up as soon as I get out of bed in the morning...

A Shout-Out to the Ducks

I happen to know for a fact that there are some pretty intense fan-girls out there, who magically form localised puddles when Herr Lindemann's image appears before them, so here's a small swamp for you to splash about in. Enjoy.

For the Teutophiles

Radio Nietzsche has a new website here. For those of you who are in the dark:

Radio Nietzsche is a weekly radio show and podcast that plays a wide variety of music from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Our goal is to spread German culture through music and promote cultural exchange. If you have an interest in the German music scene or are looking to find a new sound, be sure to check out the new shows posted here every weekend!

Radio Nietzsche RSS

Ivana Be There Too

Big thanks to Vanja for sharing these photos from Belgrade. I can never get enough tour pictures.

Halleluja Response

The response to the video post to the Rammstein FB page has been interesting. The majority of reactions to the English lyrics have been critical of the inaccuracy, i.e. my adaption is not a verbatim translation. This is a given, since my goal is to produce working English lyrics, rather than a literal translation. I don't speak German. I leave that to the Jeremy Williamses of this world. Jeremy speaks German like a native, and has a solid grasp of attractive English prose, so his translations are very elegant, and come with useful notes where English falls down. He's most definitely the guy you go to for Rammstein translations.

I, on the other hand, am a poet. I make every effort to be faithful to Till's intent where it is apparent, and to his words where it isn't. I try to inject as much clever word-play and subtle or unsubtle humour (where appropriate) as I can. I also have the singer foremost in my mind at all times. If someone were to perform Rammstein's songs with my lyrics in place of Till's the idea is that they could ride Till's rhythmic and rhymic rails with my words, and it should work, musically. If that means a shift in the actual wording then so be it. I am not trying to mirror the man's work verbally at the expense of usability. I am writing English lyrics.

I think part of the problem is also that Soeren, who made the video, has replaced some of my lines with more accurate translations, so it's a mixture of literal but rhythmically dissonant lines, and my texturally correct but verbally shifted English lyrics. This inconsistency is probably a little confusing to the uninitiated. Why use the shifted English lyrics at all when you can translate it literally? Or why use the literal translation when you have English lyrics that fit the music?

I'm not sure what his reasoning was for mixing it up, but I think either way the video is effective and fun.

Another response has been a pretty serious up-turn in German traffic to LILT. I am not sure why. Most of my readers have been from the US until last week. Now suddenly up to 50 % of my traffic has come from Germany. I can only assume that the official FB page attracts domestic fans more than my usual referrers.

Anyway, if you're from Germany and reading this please forgive me the liberties I have taken with Till's German lyrics. In order for me to do what I aim to do it is entirely necessary, and by no means reflects badly on the original German lyrics. My appreciation for Till's German lyrics is what drives me to do this in the first place.

The less said about his English lyrics the better...

Extreme Fuckwittage

I found a video of a couple of members of Rammstein being hounded by fans. I won't propagate it by linking or embedding it. This is partly because I think the sort of fuck-chop that chases famous people down, despite them showing every courtesy, needs a kick in the slats rather than more traffic, and also because I won't post Rammstein media that isn't from a planned event they've booked for, on principle.

The video was actually a bit disturbing to watch. They came out of a hotel, stopped to sign autographs and have their photos taken, and after busily pandering to the fans for a few minutes politely excused themselves. From there the chase was on.

The moral of my pissy post? If you happen across (or stake out the hotel of) your idol, and they are kind enough to stop and sign your crap don't chase them after they call a halt to the proceedings. It's decidedly off-colour and ugly.

LILT: Bückstabü 1.0

This one is tricky, because the German is very concise. Goddamn, English is clumsy:

Soon night will fall
We are alone
You need not
Need not be so down
The voices whisper in behind the face
They are saying (they are saying)
Don't be base
Leave it be
Do not touch there
Just count to three
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

Don't be afraid
Since I am here
As you know
I am really near
The voices whisper in behind the face
They are saying
Don't be base
Leave it be
Do not touch there
Just count to three
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

Two souls, oh, they're in my loins
But only one of them can remain
The first time will not hurt at all
There will not be a second time

Bückstabü
Don't be base
Bückstabü
Leave it be
Bückstabü
Do not touch there
Bückstabü
Just count to
Bückstabü
This I'll get
Bückstabü
This I'll get

[lyrics]

Update: Holy shit! That's 50 songs...

LILT: Donaukinder 3.0

I'm not sure if I'm being horribly arrogant, or if I really have nailed this song down so quickly, but I'm happy with it, even the verse I switched Till's rhyming formula around on:

Danube bleeds from headwaters
Where peace and suffering thaw
No good can now be supported
There in her marshy sward

No one knows what's happened here
The floods are rusty red
The fishes could not draw a breath
And all the swans are dead

In the river's former verdure
The animals fell ill
To the stream from the pasture
Was drifting an awful smell

Where are the children?
None knew what was happening
No one has seen anything
Where are the children?
No one has seen anything

Mothers stood there by the stream
And they wept forth a flood
In the fields and through the wiers
Grew their sorrow all through the mud

Black flags hanging through the town
Rats grew fatter by the day
The wells were poisoned all around
And the people moved away

Where are the children?
None knew what was happening
No one has seen anything
Where are the children?
No one has seen anything

Danube bleeds from headwaters
Where peace and suffering thaw
No good can now be supported
There in her marshy sward

Where are the children?
None knew what was happening
No one has seen anything
Where are the children?
No one has seen anything

[original lyrics & translation]

LILT: Spieluhr 3.0

I almost scrapped this one today, but I've decided to simply stop work on it, this it is promoted:

A tiny soul seems to have gone
But it just wants to be alone
Its little heart stood still for ages
Till all thought it had earned death's wages
So they inter it in wet sand
A music box still in its hand

First snow blankets the little grave
The small child slowly awakes
The winter night is very cold
And the tiny heart is bold

As frost flies all through the child
The musical box clockwork winds
With a melody on wings
From the cold ground a child sings

Hoppe hoppe Reiter
Down from high no angel sweeps
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter
On this grave only rain weeps
hoppe hoppe Reiter
With a melody on wings
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter
From the cold ground a child sings

The chilly moon while in full flight
Hears the crying in the night
Down from high no angel sweeps
On this grave only rain weeps

Between the cold hard oaken stays
With the musical box it plays
With a melody on wings
From the cold ground a child sings

Hoppe hoppe Reiter
Down from high no angel sweeps
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter
On this grave only rain weeps
hoppe hoppe Reiter
With a melody on wings
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter
From the cold ground a child sings

Hoppe hoppe Reiter
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter

They could hear on All Souls' Day
The melody in God's field played
So then they disinterred it
The child's heart, they preserved it

Hoppe hoppe Reiter
Down from high no angel sweeps
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter
On this grave only rain weeps
hoppe hoppe Reiter
With a melody on wings
mein Herz schlägt nicht mehr weiter
From the cold ground a child sings

[lyrics]

LILT: Mein Teil 2.0

So much beauty and elegance:

Today I will meet a man
Who would eat me as he can
Soft and hard parts, from front and rear
Are on today's new bill of fare

Since you are what you eat
You well know what this is

This is my part – no
My part – no
That there is my part – no
My part – no

A really dull blade fits the bill
I'm bleeding hard and feeling ill
I am struggling to stay awake and
I keep on eating as I'm shaking

It's just so well-seasoned
And nicely flambéed
Then on porcelain so lovingly displayed
And a good wine with it
Served up and candlelit
Yeah, I should take it slow
You need culture you know

Since you are what you eat
You well know what this is

This is my part – no
My part – no
That there is my part – no
Yes it's my part – no

A cry will to heaven ascend
And through hosts of angels rend
Then their feathered flesh will careen
Into my lasting childhood screams

This is my part – no
My part – no
That there is my part – no
My part – no

This is my part – no
My part – no
That there is my part – no
Yes it's my part – no

[lyrics]

Bring Rammstein to Australia

There're only a few ways to let Rammstein know they should come down this way. One is to buy up every copy of their album you can find. The other is to spam their Facebook page with demands for an Australian visit. The other is to make use of sites like Eventful. I signed up, and promptly unsubscribed from most of their emails, because they do email you everything they can if you let them. Now I want every Australian and Kiwi Rammstein fan out there to kick in:

View all Australia events on Eventful

I have this permanently embedded at the bottom of the site, but I wanted to highlight it.

Danish Support in Denmark

Volbeat will be supporting Rammstein in Copenhagen in June. As with Skunk Anansie I know nothing about them, so I have no comment to make. I'm sure those of you who know these bands will have an idea of how this will work. I've noticed people are sad to see Combichrist go. What are these guys like?

Here Endeth The Day

Rammstein? Who's that? I've had one of those weeks, even if it was short. I'm utterly slammed. I do however have a wee gem to share with you before I crash and burn, and it's a solid and very sincerely positive review of the Belgrade show.

Vladivostok, Are You There?

This article says that Rammstein are playing at RIMSCO-Hall there in September. No confirmation on the Rammstein tour page, so we shall have to see...

Over-sight

Combichrist havebeen replaced by Skunk Anansie in opening for Rammstein in the three May shows at Wuhlheide. This as per the Rammstein site and SA's site. Sorry I didn't post it earlier. I've seen it in so many places I forgot to put it up myself.

LILT: Liese 2.0

My friend in Berlin has given me some tips about this one, so I've developed it further, and am feeling pretty good about the changes:

Sunday out in Ammerwiese
Liese bravely minds the geese there
Then comes Jacob with long strides
Holding his sickle at his side

He nudges now and then with this
At Liese under skirt and bodice
He wants to sample her by forcing
And while he probes her he's singing...

Lovely Liese, leave the geese here
I want to have a taste of your skin
My scythe will be blood-rusted I fear
If you are not welcoming

So Jacob thinks to lick young Liese
Her pear taste will be so pleasing
So many small hairs stand on end
They run to a wheat-filled glen

In the flood of gold, well veiled
Jacob bestrides the youthful maid
And holds her close until the evening
Against her skin he again sings...

Lovely Liese, leave the geese here
I want to have a taste of your skin
My scythe will be blood-rusted I fear
If you are not welcoming

Lovely Liese, leave the geese here
I want to have a taste of your skin
My scythe will be blood-rusted I fear
If you are not welcoming

[original lyrics & translation]

Thanks, F! <3

LILT: Haifisch 2.2

I told you not to hold me to it:

We hold with each other
We all take each other's crap
We hold to one another
None will hold us back

We're holding true to you all
We hold onto that vow
We will uphold all the rules
If our rule is allowed

And the shark weeps very real tears
And they're running down its face
But the shark lives in the water
So nobody sees a trace

We hold to the tempo
We hold true in good faith
When one does not keep up
We hold up right away

We're holding our eyes open
We hold against the storm
Six hearts that are burning
Our fire holds such warmth

And the shark weeps very real tears
And they're running down its face
But the shark lives in the water
So nobody sees a trace

In the depths it is so lonesome
And so many tears run free
And that is how it has happened
That it's salty in the sea

They hold beliefs they want
To hold about us all
We hold each other sound
We never will hold still

And the shark weeps very real tears
And they're running down its face
But the shark lives in the water
So nobody sees a trace

In the depths it is so lonesome
And so many tears run free
And that is how it has happened
That it's salty in the sea

And the shark weeps very real tears
And they're running down its face
But the shark lives in the water
So nobody sees a trace

[original lyrics & translation]

LILT: Donaukinder 1.1

I've switched the rhyming formula in the black flags verse to match the rest of the song, but I'm not entirely certain it works, so that change is on probation:

Danube bleeds from headwaters
Where peace and suffering thaw
No good can now be supported
There in her marshy sward

No one knows what's happened here
The floods are rusty red
The fishes could not draw a breath
And all the swans are dead

In the river's former verdure
The animals fell ill
To the stream from the pasture
Was drifting an awful smell

Where are the children?
None knew what was happening
No one has seen anything
Where are the children?
No one has seen anything

Mothers stood there by the stream
And they wept forth a flood
In the fields and through the wiers
Grew their sorrow all through the mud

Black flags hanging through the town
Rats grew fatter by the day
The wells were poisoned all around
And the people moved away

Where are the children?
None knew what was happening
No one has seen anything
Where are the children?
No one has seen anything

Danube bleeds from headwaters
Where peace and suffering thaw
No good can now be supported
There in her marshy sward

Where are the children?
None knew what was happening
No one has seen anything
Where are the children?
No one has seen anything

[original lyrics & translation]

Schneider at Musikmesse 2010

Thanks to Wickedywhack for to tip to find this one:

RIAA impersonator?

Further to the weirdness on RammsteinActuell's channel, the videos that play through the official Rammstein website are throwing similar messages (I thought they were the same channel, to be honest), except rather than UMG named as the claimant it is the RIAA. Perhaps Rammstein video service is being targeted by a troll. Whatever the case may be, someone needs a kick in the slats, be they RIAA, UMG, or a third party playing silly buggers.

Et Tu UMG?

The RammsteinActuell channel on YouTube has had the video of Schneider drumming removed:

"Der Drummer hat sein Bestes gegeben"
This video contains content from UMG, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.

Oh dear, dear me...

Thanks to morlac for the heads up.

Update: See this for further developments.

Paul at Musikmesse 2010

A little shaky, and a little blurry, but you can't have everything. You can just have Paul:

Halleluja!

I figure this should have its own post, given that my work has been used in a video posted on the official Rammstein Facebook page. I just had a link in the update I made to the Halleluja LILT, but it's kind of cool, even if it has been altered a little, so this is my skite.

Waidmanns Heil Cover

Jamie has come through again, with yet another tight instrumental cover:

Nice :)

Sunshinebob adds his Mite

I don't know who Sunshinebob is, but I find he plays piano:

LILT: Halleluja 3.1

Funnily enough, the recent use and redevelopment of my Halleluja LILT on Facebook has highlighted a need for further change:

Deeply feeling and so pious
On his wall Our Lord is nailed
He wipes the defects from the Bible
He gives Communion without fail

He loves all the choir boys
Their pure souls so crystal clear
But the tenor gives him pause
So he has to keep him near
On the nightstand, not a sound
Our Lord's image
Is turned slowly 'round

When the church bells strike the hour
[Hallelujah]
He folds his hands and knees in prayer
[Hallelujah]
He is a single priest and
[Hallelujah]
Neighbourly love is in his lesson
[Hallelujah]

The youth is allowed to stay
Sin nests at half his height
Reverend Father kneels to pray
To music and candlelight

When the church bells strike the hour
[Hallelujah]
He folds his hands and knees in prayer
[Hallelujah]
He is a single priest and
[Hallelujah]
Neighbourly love is in his lesson
[Hallelujah]

When the church bells strike the hour
[Hallelujah]
He includes the boy in his prayers
[Hallelujah]
He is a true Christian
[Hallelujah]
Charity no mystery to him
[Hallelujah]
Turn slowly around
Turn around

[lyrics]

In Fine Vettel

I'm sorry. I know this is way off-topic, but I just heard Eddie Irvine saying what I have thought for a year, i.e. that Vettel is the new Schumacher (as a driver, not as a person, mind). Hell yes! It's always nice when an expert voices your own opinions on international television.

Now RBR need to sort their reliability out...

Fuck April Fools' Day

AFD ended eleven hours ago for me, thanks to the fact that I live in the future for most of you, but I note there are some Rammstein pranks about. Paul leaving, US tour dates announced *BAD Gauntlet*, and no doubt a lot of shenanigans along similar lines.

I opted not to post during AFD, in my time-zone or yours. It's too easy to fool people, or to seem to be doing so, and I prefer to keep the faith. This wasn't because I had nothing to offer (the QotM I posted today was one I found earlier). It was simply because I didn't want to have anything I posted viewed with suspicion, figured there was bound to be content about that is utter bollocks, simply because of the date, and I didn't want to propagate any bullshit accidentally. I believed nothing for the duration.

Does that make me a humourless bitch, or a conscientious one? Maybe I should take a pill.

QotM

This is an article about Lady Gaga, for whom I have a quiet admiration, even if it does revolve around her masterful powers of propaganda and self-promotion rather than her albums. It has a rather a nice line about Åkerlund, who has now made a couple of videos for the funky diva:

...last year he shot a tedious hardcore porn video for the otherwise sublime German heavy metal band Rammstein...

I have no doubt that Kalder speaks for many Rammstein fans.