Although most Germans will argue against this point, it can be proven that Germans have bad taste in music with a few simple facts.
Exhibit A
The biggest musician of all time to come out of Germany is a guy name Herbert Grönemeyer. That’s right, their biggest star ever is a guy you have never heard of. And before you say, “but wait Falco was German”, that’s not true, Falco was actually Austrian (that little country that made a good setting for The Sound of Music, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and those little sausages that come in a can).
Exhibit B
Another fact that proves Germans have terrible taste in music is that every German has bought a David Hasselhoff album.
Exhibit C
The music you do know from Germany is Rammstein’s hit “Du Hast” and Nena’s 99 Luftballons (99 Red Balloons). Well, that Nena song is actually pretty sweet.
Exhibit D
An actual music video from the Hoff that every German loves, or at one time did love, or at least knows the words to:
100 % der Deutschen haben einen schlechten Musikgeschmack
Auch wenn die meisten Deutschen über diese Tatsache diskutieren werden, kann es anhand einiger simpler Fakten bewiesen werden, dass die Deutschen einen schlechten Musikgeschmack haben.
Beweisstück A
Der größte deutsche Musiker ist ein Typ namens Herbert Grönemeyer. Richtig, der größte Star Deutschlands ist ein Typ von dem der Rest der Welt noch nie gehört hat. Und bevor Sie jetzt sagen “Aber Falco war Deutscher”, das stimmt nicht, Falco war eigentlich Österreicher (das kleine Land das die tolle Kulisse für “The sound of music” bietet und aus dem Arnold Schwarzenegger und Mozartkugeln kommen).
Beweisstück B
Ein weiterer Fakt als Beweis für den schlechten Musikgeschmack der Deutschen ist, dass jeder Deutsche ein David Hasselhoff Album gekauft hat.
Beweisstück C
Die deutsche Musik, die andere kennen ist Rammstein´s Hit “Du Hast”und Nena´s “99 Luftballons”. Naja, das Lied von Nena ist eigentlich ganz gut.
Beweisstück D
Ein Musikvideo vom Hoff, das jeder Deutsche liebt, oder einmal geliebt hat oder wenigstens den Text hierzu mitsingen kann: Siehe Anhang 1!
Ich freue mich auf unser Obatzdawettbasteln,
John
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David Hasselhoff has been out for SO many years - I’ve always been particularly amused by the way Americans are so bemused by Hasselhoff’s alleged success in Germany. As a cultural meme, it’s in the “the French don’t wash” or “the English have bad teeth” realm. For most people, Hasselhoff was never anything but supremely groanworthy.
hat irgendwer gülcans hochzeit gesehen? Nein? die Folge mit ihrem be*****en Verlobten der sich als über fan outet? sollche leute hören david hasselhoff. aber die denken auch das geld geschmack kaufen kann
Yes, I can definitely agree on that: Most germans have a horrible taste in music. But that’s only because most *people* tend to have a horrible taste in music. Myself, of course, excluded
Entries that reiterate such lame and outdated stereotypes over and over again are just boring… The fact that many Americans really believe that Germans like “The Hoff” is not necessarily informative about Germans…. It’s just as lame as the German assumption that you can’t buy “real bread” in the U.S…. (yes, you can. Even in the Midwest…!)…
The biggest musician to come out of Germany is Dieter Bohlen. At least in terms of success. He sold tens of millions of records all over the world. Grönemeyer is a national phenomenon. And I doubt that he’s going to be successful anywhere else because not even Germans are able to understand his lyrics. The most (and only) influential band from Germany is Kraftwerk. Not every German has bought an album by the Hoff. I do know the lyrics to that song though - at least the chorus. At least you didn’t claim that Hasselhoff was German.
Dunno, who did they ever influence? They’re OK though. Once you stop taking them seriously. On the other hand, they spread the idea that Germans move like machines and communicate by barking staccato commands at each other. Hang on a second, that view is already burned into Anglo-Saxon minds anyway so why not cash in on it?
I don’t mind them. They’re live show is cool ;).
we did try to teach elvis some taste by offering pieces of german folk music to him. but american imperialism prevailed, so we had to adopt his taste instead. this prepared all the way for david hasselhoff. i think what’s wrong with herbert grönemeyer is that he doesn’t show up on tv lying drunk on the floor trying to eat a hamburger.
Are you serious?
Only People over 60 like Grönemeyer in Germany.
Again: David Hasselhoff made music?
Hoff is for us like Bruce Darnell: We love to laugh about him. He’s like a clown and who doesn’t like clowns?
hilarious *lol*
but don’t forget dj özi and tokyo hotel!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *g*
but actually i never listened to much of ramstein until i came to texas and lots of kids wanted me to translate the lyrics for them
When reading some of the comments I’m starting to be ashamed to be German. I can excuse bad spelling and grammar knowing mine is bad too. What I can’t are narrow minded comments of people who have seemingly nothing else to do than being pissed about almost everything touching their small horizon.
This said (once again) I have to admit, that I’m one of the exemptions from the rule, because
A) I never liked Grönemeyer
B) I never spent any money or effort to get a what-was-his-name’s albums or singles
C) Rammstein makes no music at all (just sounds which don’t match in any way)
D) I didn’t know there’s been a video to that song until now, I never liked it and only know the title because it was power-played by radio stations.
But as pointed out I’m a exemption and I dare not to speak for others
Oh yes, that thing about the great music taste of the Americans… “Motherf***ing” raps in every second song and Rock music that always sounds exactly the same.
And btw: Hasselhoff has released CDs?? Ok, THAT IS scary.
Worlds most famous folk musicians: Wilddecker Herzbuben.
Proof to the contrary 2:
World superstar Country and Western singer John Denver, who as every kid nows is a descendant of german immigrants, which is easy to proof by his real name Johannes Deutschendorfer - got it? J o h a n n e s
D E U T S C H E N d o r f e r.
Proof to the contrary 3:
Rockstar Bruce Springsteen. What most people don’t now: An immigrant from Germany too. Born in Kleinspringsteinhausen in South Palatine as Brunno v. d. Pfalz a son of the Belt Maker Klaus-Dieter and his wife Irmgard. He studied music and philophosy at the University of Landau before he went to the states in 1898 together with his parents as a 12 year old student.
fellow countrymen proving their ignorance once again
practically no one i know has heard of hasselhoff.
grönemeyer is not the biggest thing.
most of you have never left your own state let alone your country.
those that have, have made european tours in 30 or sixty days.
i’m sure anyone that visits the usa for that amount of time now knows everything about american tastes etc. (sarcasm)
and guess what, look at a globe.
america is very small compared to the rest of the world.
do you think american tastes are important to the rest of the world?
there ARE other cultures on this planet, even if you have not informed yourself about them correctly.
please come out of your ego driven soap bubbles and enjoy what the whole world has to offer.
the person who initially wrote this just named of a bunch of american stereotypes about germans.
the person that wrote this, prolly only knows these three german artists.
actually, german pop radio is a lot more diverse than american radio, since we have both american and european artists.
and has it never occured to you why “the Hoff’ mentions his supposed popularity in germany every chance he gets? maybe that’s because that stereotype helps to keep his “career” going.
noone asked him to show up at the berlin wall with a ligh-up leather jacket.
Es gibt ja wohl eine Band, die - zugegeben: nach JS Bach - die Welt musikalisch am eindrücklichsten beeinflußt hat, und das ist TANGERINE DREAM. Die Pioniere der eletronischen Musik, ohne die z.B. Techno und andere Richtungen zeitgenössischer Musik nicht möglich gewesen wären.
An dieser Stelle überhaupt musikalische Unterschichts-Phänomene wie Hasselhoff, Scorpions, Bohlen etc. zu erwähnen, gehört sich einfach nicht! Ganz zu schweigen vom Knarzlschreihals Grönemeyer, dessen Erfolg einzig der bekannten deutschen Neigung zur Selbstquälerei zu verdanken ist.
Anspieltipp TD:
Origin Of Supernatural Probabilities, Track 3 von ZEIT (1972)
Sheesh, let’s be a little bit less narrow-minded for once, no? Bashing the aforementioned musicians is SO lame and clichéd. Never trust the “intelligence” of the masses. There can also be a hypocritical and opportunistic element about it, when you bash a musician, genre or song that you used to be into yourself when you were younger, or just bash him/her/it because the musician, genre or song is “out” and it’s customary to bash him/her/it. Not infrequently people reiterate tired old stereotypes about something they’ve never really listened to in the first place. (That’s exactly why I’m not going to comment on Tokio Hotel, by the way.)
* I wouldn’t exactly call myself a Herbert Grönemeyer fan, but he’s released some cool songs and when so many people claim he can’t sing, you get the sneaking feeling that they’re probably wrong. As indeed they are. Exhibit A: “The Fall of the House of Usher”. This is a sort of “rock opera” by renowned British prog rocker Peter Hammill. Grönemeyer sings the part of the “Herbalist” here, and you’d never guess it’s him, because he sings in a classical style! Seriously! I’ve listened to it myself. Check it out, you won’t believe it.
* Rammstein are cool, especially their early stuff. I won’t deny that their music is simple and pretty monotonous (which they admit to themselves - they say “we just can’t do anything else”), and not normally my cup of tea, but their lyrics are remarkable and cunning, and they’ve got a great sense of humour. I like their way of stirring up controversy.
* OK, I was 11 when “I’ve been looking for freedom” was released, but I still enjoy the song and don’t see what’s supposed to be so horrible about it. It’s a pop rock song quite typical for the 80s and damn fine for what it is if you ask me. And Hasselhoff sounds seriously good here - can’t vow for his live singing abilities, though, but from what I read, especially lately he’s become quite a good singer. How many current pop stars can sing so well? (Yes, I’ve seen the horrible music video for “Hooked on a Feeling”, but it was so bad it was really funny again.)
* As for the Scorpions, I’ve got a hell of respect for the guys’ achievements. Not their biggest fan but they’re a great band and many people forget that they didn’t always play the stadium rock they’re known for now - their first album especially contains music that is quite different in style, more psychedelic and atmospheric. Also, their stadium rock isn’t something to sneeze at at all, and “Wind of Change” is a seriously good song. To tag them with the label “Unterschichtenphänomen” is truly insulting and outrageously ignorant.
Never believe the hype, whether positive or negative. (Have I said that I like “Never Gonna Give You Up”, in a non-ironic way, too?)
Ralf: Pulling our collective leg here, eh? Springsteen isn’t even of German, but of Dutch descent. And Denver’s birth name is Henry John Deutschendorf jr., not Johannes Deutschendorfer, and while his father was of German ancestry indeed, doesn’t mean that Denver was German, or even born in Germany. He was German-American.
musiclover: Ah ja, Techno. Und was noch? Die Scorpions hingegen haben den ROCK und METAL beeinflußt wie wenige andere Bands.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I’ve always loved that video.
April 30th, 2008 at 4:27 am
What’s wrong with that video? Cool cars, Freedom, Those are all good things.
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Tokio Hotel is having a concert in NY. so we are not the only nation with a bad taste in music ;o)
May 5th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
David Hasselhoff has been out for SO many years - I’ve always been particularly amused by the way Americans are so bemused by Hasselhoff’s alleged success in Germany. As a cultural meme, it’s in the “the French don’t wash” or “the English have bad teeth” realm. For most people, Hasselhoff was never anything but supremely groanworthy.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Nichts gegen den Hoff! Der is jawohl Hammer.
May 5th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
hat irgendwer gülcans hochzeit gesehen? Nein? die Folge mit ihrem be*****en Verlobten der sich als über fan outet? sollche leute hören david hasselhoff. aber die denken auch das geld geschmack kaufen kann
May 5th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I’d like to introduce a counter-exhibit: Me, german.
A) I’ve never understood what people like about Grönemeyer - he can’t sing and his text are often quite WTF-y.
B) Uhh… no, never.
D) I’ve just seen this for the first time.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Yes, I can definitely agree on that: Most germans have a horrible taste in music. But that’s only because most *people* tend to have a horrible taste in music. Myself, of course, excluded
May 6th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Entries that reiterate such lame and outdated stereotypes over and over again are just boring… The fact that many Americans really believe that Germans like “The Hoff” is not necessarily informative about Germans…. It’s just as lame as the German assumption that you can’t buy “real bread” in the U.S…. (yes, you can. Even in the Midwest…!)…
May 6th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Yeah Kai, the article is just a lame excuse to post the video.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Exhibit B is so NOT true.
But unfortunately Exhibit D all the more.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
What about the Scorpions? These guys sold more records in the U.S. than in Germany (and are the most successfull geman band as far i know)
May 6th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I’d argue that the biggest musician of all time to come out of Germany was this JS Bach dude…
May 6th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Groenemeyer is popular for a few people, but I think most of the German people prefer different artists, especially singer that perform in english.
By the way, I think the rock band ‘Scorpions’ should be well known in the US - and they are as much out of the charts as hasselhoff.
John, if you want to listen to real bad german music, then try german folksmusic… *real bad smirk*
May 8th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The biggest musician to come out of Germany is Dieter Bohlen. At least in terms of success. He sold tens of millions of records all over the world. Grönemeyer is a national phenomenon. And I doubt that he’s going to be successful anywhere else because not even Germans are able to understand his lyrics. The most (and only) influential band from Germany is Kraftwerk. Not every German has bought an album by the Hoff. I do know the lyrics to that song though - at least the chorus. At least you didn’t claim that Hasselhoff was German.
May 8th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
@ Luke: you forgot Rammstein! Aren´t they really influential as well?
May 8th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Dunno, who did they ever influence? They’re OK though. Once you stop taking them seriously. On the other hand, they spread the idea that Germans move like machines and communicate by barking staccato commands at each other. Hang on a second, that view is already burned into Anglo-Saxon minds anyway so why not cash in on it?
I don’t mind them. They’re live show is cool ;).
May 8th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Did you know that modern talking actually came from Germany, too?
May 8th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Yeah, Dieter Bohlen and ‘that other guy’ ;). Thomas Anders AFAIR. Let’s see when the next ‘final’ reunion will take place…
May 9th, 2008 at 8:48 am
we did try to teach elvis some taste by offering pieces of german folk music to him. but american imperialism prevailed, so we had to adopt his taste instead. this prepared all the way for david hasselhoff. i think what’s wrong with herbert grönemeyer is that he doesn’t show up on tv lying drunk on the floor trying to eat a hamburger.
May 10th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Did anybody notice the ironic writing “Top Kitsch” in this video?
May 14th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Not true. Most Germans will tell you that most Germans have bad taste in music
May 17th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Are you serious?
Only People over 60 like Grönemeyer in Germany.
Again: David Hasselhoff made music?
Hoff is for us like Bruce Darnell: We love to laugh about him. He’s like a clown and who doesn’t like clowns?
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:27 pm
hilarious *lol*
but don’t forget dj özi and tokyo hotel!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *g*
but actually i never listened to much of ramstein until i came to texas and lots of kids wanted me to translate the lyrics for them
June 9th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
OK, ok.
When reading some of the comments I’m starting to be ashamed to be German. I can excuse bad spelling and grammar knowing mine is bad too. What I can’t are narrow minded comments of people who have seemingly nothing else to do than being pissed about almost everything touching their small horizon.
This said (once again) I have to admit, that I’m one of the exemptions from the rule, because
A) I never liked Grönemeyer
B) I never spent any money or effort to get a what-was-his-name’s albums or singles
C) Rammstein makes no music at all (just sounds which don’t match in any way)
D) I didn’t know there’s been a video to that song until now, I never liked it and only know the title because it was power-played by radio stations.
But as pointed out I’m a exemption and I dare not to speak for others
July 13th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Heard of Bach? Maybe Beethoven? They made the “music” all rap stars think it’s their birthright to steal without credits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_composers
September 1st, 2008 at 7:48 am
Oh yes, that thing about the great music taste of the Americans… “Motherf***ing” raps in every second song and Rock music that always sounds exactly the same.
And btw: Hasselhoff has released CDs?? Ok, THAT IS scary.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
@ John
Of course your theory is complete nonsense!
Proof to the contrary 1:
Worlds most famous folk musicians: Wilddecker Herzbuben.
Proof to the contrary 2:
World superstar Country and Western singer John Denver, who as every kid nows is a descendant of german immigrants, which is easy to proof by his real name Johannes Deutschendorfer - got it? J o h a n n e s
D E U T S C H E N d o r f e r.
Proof to the contrary 3:
Rockstar Bruce Springsteen. What most people don’t now: An immigrant from Germany too. Born in Kleinspringsteinhausen in South Palatine as Brunno v. d. Pfalz a son of the Belt Maker Klaus-Dieter and his wife Irmgard. He studied music and philophosy at the University of Landau before he went to the states in 1898 together with his parents as a 12 year old student.
So what?!
October 31st, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Its not just music they have bad taste in, have you seen the shoes that they wear?
November 21st, 2008 at 12:28 am
lies
November 29th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
fellow countrymen proving their ignorance once again
practically no one i know has heard of hasselhoff.
grönemeyer is not the biggest thing.
most of you have never left your own state let alone your country.
those that have, have made european tours in 30 or sixty days.
i’m sure anyone that visits the usa for that amount of time now knows everything about american tastes etc. (sarcasm)
and guess what, look at a globe.
america is very small compared to the rest of the world.
do you think american tastes are important to the rest of the world?
there ARE other cultures on this planet, even if you have not informed yourself about them correctly.
please come out of your ego driven soap bubbles and enjoy what the whole world has to offer.
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
thanks american in germany!
the person who initially wrote this just named of a bunch of american stereotypes about germans.
the person that wrote this, prolly only knows these three german artists.
actually, german pop radio is a lot more diverse than american radio, since we have both american and european artists.
and has it never occured to you why “the Hoff’ mentions his supposed popularity in germany every chance he gets? maybe that’s because that stereotype helps to keep his “career” going.
noone asked him to show up at the berlin wall with a ligh-up leather jacket.
January 6th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Moooooooooooooooment mal!!
Es gibt ja wohl eine Band, die - zugegeben: nach JS Bach - die Welt musikalisch am eindrücklichsten beeinflußt hat, und das ist TANGERINE DREAM. Die Pioniere der eletronischen Musik, ohne die z.B. Techno und andere Richtungen zeitgenössischer Musik nicht möglich gewesen wären.
An dieser Stelle überhaupt musikalische Unterschichts-Phänomene wie Hasselhoff, Scorpions, Bohlen etc. zu erwähnen, gehört sich einfach nicht! Ganz zu schweigen vom Knarzlschreihals Grönemeyer, dessen Erfolg einzig der bekannten deutschen Neigung zur Selbstquälerei zu verdanken ist.
Anspieltipp TD:
Origin Of Supernatural Probabilities, Track 3 von ZEIT (1972)
January 14th, 2010 at 6:36 am
I cant see the video
January 14th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Oh come on, John, it seems you’ve never been looking for freedom?
January 26th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
where’s the video gone??
December 1st, 2010 at 9:31 am
“…those little sausages that come in a can” … Wiener?
“Mozartkugeln” are sweets…
December 4th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Sheesh, let’s be a little bit less narrow-minded for once, no? Bashing the aforementioned musicians is SO lame and clichéd. Never trust the “intelligence” of the masses. There can also be a hypocritical and opportunistic element about it, when you bash a musician, genre or song that you used to be into yourself when you were younger, or just bash him/her/it because the musician, genre or song is “out” and it’s customary to bash him/her/it. Not infrequently people reiterate tired old stereotypes about something they’ve never really listened to in the first place. (That’s exactly why I’m not going to comment on Tokio Hotel, by the way.)
* I wouldn’t exactly call myself a Herbert Grönemeyer fan, but he’s released some cool songs and when so many people claim he can’t sing, you get the sneaking feeling that they’re probably wrong. As indeed they are. Exhibit A: “The Fall of the House of Usher”. This is a sort of “rock opera” by renowned British prog rocker Peter Hammill. Grönemeyer sings the part of the “Herbalist” here, and you’d never guess it’s him, because he sings in a classical style! Seriously! I’ve listened to it myself. Check it out, you won’t believe it.
* Rammstein are cool, especially their early stuff. I won’t deny that their music is simple and pretty monotonous (which they admit to themselves - they say “we just can’t do anything else”), and not normally my cup of tea, but their lyrics are remarkable and cunning, and they’ve got a great sense of humour. I like their way of stirring up controversy.
* OK, I was 11 when “I’ve been looking for freedom” was released, but I still enjoy the song and don’t see what’s supposed to be so horrible about it. It’s a pop rock song quite typical for the 80s and damn fine for what it is if you ask me. And Hasselhoff sounds seriously good here - can’t vow for his live singing abilities, though, but from what I read, especially lately he’s become quite a good singer. How many current pop stars can sing so well? (Yes, I’ve seen the horrible music video for “Hooked on a Feeling”, but it was so bad it was really funny again.)
* As for the Scorpions, I’ve got a hell of respect for the guys’ achievements. Not their biggest fan but they’re a great band and many people forget that they didn’t always play the stadium rock they’re known for now - their first album especially contains music that is quite different in style, more psychedelic and atmospheric. Also, their stadium rock isn’t something to sneeze at at all, and “Wind of Change” is a seriously good song. To tag them with the label “Unterschichtenphänomen” is truly insulting and outrageously ignorant.
Never believe the hype, whether positive or negative. (Have I said that I like “Never Gonna Give You Up”, in a non-ironic way, too?)
Ralf: Pulling our collective leg here, eh? Springsteen isn’t even of German, but of Dutch descent. And Denver’s birth name is Henry John Deutschendorf jr., not Johannes Deutschendorfer, and while his father was of German ancestry indeed, doesn’t mean that Denver was German, or even born in Germany. He was German-American.
musiclover: Ah ja, Techno. Und was noch?
Die Scorpions hingegen haben den ROCK und METAL beeinflußt wie wenige andere Bands.
March 29th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
don’t… ever… mock Rammstein. Or any tanz metal band… OR ELSE!