German Pop Music: A Companion (Companions to Contemporary German Culture, 6)

The development of German pop music represents a fascinating cultural mirror to the history of post-war Germany, reflecting sociological changes and political developments. While film studies is an already established discipline, German pop music is currently emerging as a new and exciting field of academic study. This pioneering companion is the first volume to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject, charting the development of German pop music from the post-war period 'Schlager' to the present 'Diskursrock'. Written by acknowledged experts from Germany, the UK and the US, the various chapters provide overviews of pertinent genres as well as focusing on major bands such as CAN, Kraftwerk or Rammstein. While these acts have shaped the international profile of German pop music, the volume also undertakes in-depth examinations of the specific German contributions to genres such as punk, industrial, rap and techno. The survey is concluded by an interview with the leading German pop theorist Diedrich Diederichsen. The volume constitutes an indispensible companion for any student, teacher and scholar in the area of German studies interested in contemporary popular culture. The development of German pop music represents a fascinating cultural mirror to the history of post-war Germany, reflecting sociological changes and political developments. While film studies is an already established discipline, German pop music is currently emerging as a new and exciting field of academic study.This pioneering companion is the first volume to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject, charting the development of German pop music from the post-war period 'Schlager' to the present 'Diskursrock'. Written by acknowledged experts from Germany, the UK and the US, the various chapters provide overviews of pertinent genres as well as focusing on major bands such as CAN, Kraftwerk or Rammstein. While these acts have shaped the international profile of German pop music, the volume also undertakes in-depth examinations of the specific German contributions to genres such as punk, industrial, rap and techo.The survey is concluded by an interview with the leading German pop theorist Diedrich Diederichsen. The volume constitues an indispensible handbook for any student, teacher and scholar in the area of German studies interested in contemporary popular culture Table of Contents Introduction – Pop Music as the Soundtrack of German Post-War History Schlager and Musical Conservatism in the Post-War Era The Protest Song of the Late 1960s and Early 1970s – Franz Josef Degenhardt and Ton Steine Scherben Krautrock – The Development of a Movement Kraftwerk – Industrielle Volksmusik between Retro-Futurism and Ambivalence Fehlfarben and German Punk: The Making of ‘No Future’ Ripples on a Bath of Steel – The Two Stages of Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW) Einstürzende Neubauten to Rammstein: Mapping the Industrial Continuum in German Pop Music Sender Deutschland – The Development and Reception of Techno in Germany Rap in Germany – Multicultural Narratives of the Berlin Republic Diskursrock and the ‘Hamburg School’. German Pop Music as Art and Intellectual Discourse Saying ‘Yes!’ While Meaning ‘No!’ – A Conversation with Diedrich Diederichsen Contributors Bibliography Index The series offers lively, comprehensive accounts of contemporary German culture written by experts and designed for advanced student readers and scholars alike. Both in monographs and closely-defined edited collections, it aims to introduce major authors, thinkers, filmmakers, literary topics, genres and landmark individual works, focusing on the period since 1989 but reaching back, where appropriate, to the vital hinterland of the 1970s This companion provides a comprehensive overview of German pop music from the post-war period to the present. It highlights specific German varieties of pop music within an international context with chapters on German punk, industrial music and techno.