Today I bought the latest DVDs from Rammstein. Wow.
I've always felt that Mein Hertz Brennt was a beautiful song, but the video treatment of the original and the new piano arrangement have left me breathless. Now, before I piece together a review of these works, I wish to explain a few things to you.
Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I drifted away from Rammstein when my marriage ended and my career as a games industry community manager ramped up, and you also know that LILT has gone stagnant and faded out as a result. You also know that my connection with Rammstein left the band, and I felt a lessening of my loyalty to the band as a result. I think that I should go into this last in more depth.
When LIFAD was being promoted, in the lead up to release, I contacted the LIFAD site and offered help. This was because the voice of the LIFAD movement was clearly not a native English speaker, and it was coming across oddly. As a wordsmith I felt I had something to offer. LIFAD* got back to me, and over time we formed a relationship. This relationship was strong. I have administrative access to the LIFAD Facebook page, and was the voice you heard from there for much of its active life. It was good.
It was good because LIFAD loved and understood you, as did I, and between us I felt we were serving you to the benefit of Rammstein and its ocean of supporters. LIFAD is a powerhouse in the essential and basicsense of the movement that had that name. LIFAD interacted with and supported many of you in your bids to support and express your passion for the band, as well as bringing so many of you together in the name of the album. I was driven to support him in any way I could, and felt it worked well, within the limitations imposed by discretion and respect for the band.
When changes were made to how the band's support was run, and LIFAD came to need certain flexibility that was not available to him, he left the band. I had, for a while, found that little material remained for me to adapt, and the strength of my own drive to support and promote Rammstein weakened, wavered, and finally flickered out, as a direct result of LIFAD's departure. LILT slumbered, and LIFAD's works stagnated and melted away.
LIFAD is my friend. I will never again give the band as much of myself, because toward the end I really gave it to LIFAD himself, rather then to Rammstein. That said, the video has wakened in me the urge to pick up the dangling threads, cut in the process of my detachment, and put a little of my time into LILT again. I plan to adapt Mein Land, and to share a little more of my energy with you over time.
I'm going to spend some time watching all the videos, thinking over the new material, and share my thoughts with you. I will also LILT some more.
Good night.
* I will refer to my contact as LIFAD for the purposes of this post, as he was very much the mind behind the movement, and I do not wish to identify him publicly.