Re: MG & Blues & Blonkers ("...with my pocket calculator...")

[btm805@btrtx9.hrz.uni-bayreuth.de (B. Gramlich)]

Mark, Re:

> Bernd:
>
> Are we boring you with this discussion of American music?

No, not at all.  Your discussion about the origins of American music was quite
interesting, especially since it was the first time I heard some details about
this topic since a couple of lessons about music history I had had back at high
school, er..., ninth grade, I think... :-)

My remark was only a not-so-gentle reminder that the discussion has reached the
point where nothing fruitful is to be expected anymore:  It is only a debate
about definitions, quotes from books, etc., which really tends to become boring
after a while...

> Let's see, I should be able to tie in Germany there somewhere...
> The problem being that I only know of a few German bands...like Blonker,
> which I must say probably had only a small effect on Rock. Kraftwerk COULD
> be considered the forerunner of Techno, I suppose...I'm not very familiar
> with that particular kind of music, I must confess, although this store has
> certainly broadened my horizons in that respect. The Scorps...well, at least
> they did I Can't Explain.

There are indeed a couple of quite decent German bands, but I think that none
of them is exciting enough to serve as the contents of an off-topic thread on
The Who list.  Hm, when I examine my own record collection, I find a lot of
British and some American stuff, but not a single record of a German band.  Go
figure...

> Of course, the language barrier is the main thing here.

Partially, yes.  But a lot of German bands sing English lyrics, especially if
they hope to have some international success...

Many German listeners, on the other hand, don't care much about lyrics - they
enjoy English songs without even trying to figure out their meaning.  So maybe
you also don't need to understand every detail of a German song you like... :-)
(Of course I'm always willing to help with translations if necessary.)

This reminds me of some German politician who suggested a couple of years ago
that radio stations should broadcast non-German songs only during rush hour in
order to avoid distracting drivers from traffic...

> I wanted to take German in High School (and they kept saying it would be
> offered the next year), but given the choice of Spanish, French, and Latin I
> opted for Latin...good choice for my future, eh?

If you do not intend to visit Central Europe or one of the few small
German-speaking communities elsewhere (in Namibia or Texas, e.g.) for a long
time, then Latin is as good a choice as German.  Both languages give you access
to parts of the world's cultural inheritage, and it's up to you whether you
prefer Ovid or Goethe...

> So the only German I know (aside from a few choice curse words here and
> there) is a silly little song about "my three cornered hat." So much for my
> heritage, right?
> However, I don't know ANY Cherokee...so...

Oh, you could as well blame me that I don't know ANY Czech...so...

Cheers,

Bernd