This city is a prostitute...

Internationally, the most famous German act is most probably “dance metal” band Rammstein. Since bursting onto the music scene in 1994 they have never shied away from courting controversy. At home they have been accused of sympathising with fascism, and a planned concert in Moscow was cancelled in 2002 due to fears that it would attract skinheads. It has also emerged that the two teenage boys who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre, as well as the perpetrator of the Red Lake High School massacre were all fans of Rammstein. A further, although unsubstantiated claim, was that the Chechen militants who carried out the tragic Beslan School siege, listened to the band’s music during the attack to keep them fired up and alert. Crazy American Christian groups have also accused frontman Till Lindemann’s rolled ‘r’s of being an imitation of Adolf Hitler’s pronunciation. However, the band has strongly denied their music has anything to do with politics or any kind of supremacy.

Rammstein’s 2004 album Reise, Reise, included Moskau, a song which was rumoured to have originally been a potential collaboration with t.A.T.u.’s Yulia Volkova. However at the time she had a baby in her and was also having serious vocal problems. The Russian vocals were instead recorded by Viktoria Fersh, a young lady whose voice sounds more than a bit like Miss Volkova’s. The lyrics of the song, in German and Russian, are worth noting. The song begins with Viktoria giving the introduction: “This song is about the most beautiful city in the world, Moscow!”, but the verses that follow compare the city to a prostitute: “This city is a prostitute, she has red spots on her forehead, her teeth are made of gold. She's fat and yet so lovely, her mouth falls to my valley when I pay her for it. She takes off her clothes but only for money, the city that keeps me in suspense.” The chorus itself is relatively short and simple: “Moscow, one, two, three! Moscow, look! Pioneers are walking around there, singing songs to Lenin.” (‘Pioneers’ were like the Soviet boy scouts). And yes, it has an accordion in the middle eight.

Despite the fact that t.A.t.u. don't actually sing on the song Moskau, a number of pirate CDs were made featuring mixes of Rammstein and t.A.T.u. songs. I saw one such compilation when I was in Russia last year and didn't buy it, but recently I stumbled upon some MP3s online and I must say some of the tracks are suprisingly good.

Download Rammstein's Moskau
Download a bootleg mix of Rammstein's Das Ist Gut, and t.A.T.u.'s Prostyye dvizheniya
Download a bootleg mix of Rammstein's Mein Herz Brennt and t.A.T.u.'s Show Me Love