Lolitas / Stereo Total, Old Fashion No 7, January 2013

La Musique Francaise

Hello everyone from the Hinterland between the Allgäu and the Schwäbische Alb. Castles, picturesque villages, cows and sheep… that’s where I ended up!  

 I have been here for work for about a month now and while it is nice to enjoy nature, the Punkrock factor is around zero. Though I have to say that I saw a guy with a Mohawk walking to the station the other day, so I guess I would have to raise it to about 7.6%.

みんな、シュワービッシュ・アルプ（※南ドイツの山々）からこんにちは！城や絵みたいにきれいな村と牛や羊たち…ここが俺が行き着いた世界だよ。仕事でここにきて1ヶ月、自然は楽しめるけど、パンクの要素は全くゼロだ…。でもこの間、駅の近くでモヒカンの奴が歩いてるのを見かけたから、パンク度は7.6%ぐらいになったかも（笑）。

One thing I really enjoy over here are German Thermalbäder (Onsen).  Unlike in Japan, nobody gives a shit about tattoos. And if you go into the sauna area everyone is naked. I mean really naked – ladies and gentlemen. You can swing your ding and it’s totally ok. My wife calls it Hentai-country…

ここで本当に楽しんでることの1つはドイツのテルメ（温泉）だ。日本と違ってＴＡＴＴＯに文句する奴は誰もいない。そしてサウナエリアに入ったらみんな裸だ。つまりほんとに男も女も「裸」なんだ。アレをぶらぶらさせてても全然問題ないってこと（笑）。俺の奥さんは「やっぱり変態の国だね…」って言ってるよ！

I also enjoy German food again. And no, it’s not only sausages and beer. We have Spaetzle, Maultaschen, Leberkaese, Fleischkuechle, Kartoffelsalat, Flaedlesuppe, Gaisburger Marsch, and lots more. Each of which easily kicks Natto’s ass!

あとドイツ料理も楽しんでる。いっとくけどドイツはソーセージとビアだけじゃないよ！シュペッツレ（※）、マウルタッシェン（※ドイツ風餃子）、レバーケーゼ（※）フライシュキューヒレ（※）カトーフェルザラート（※）、フレードレズッペ（※）ガイスブーガー・マルシュ（※）とかね。どれも納豆より全然うまいよ！

Anyway, I am not here to start a food battle between Japan and Germany (also because I sadly have to admit that Japan would win...) but to talk about good German bands.

ここで日本ＶＳドイツの食べ物バトルをしたいんじゃないから（そして悲しいことにたぶんそれだったら日本が勝つね…）、そろそろドイツのバンドの話をしよう！

Today I would like to introduce the one and only Chanson-Punk band in Germany: The Lolitas. And, since they are no more, also the band that rose from their ashes: Stereo Total.

今日はドイツで唯一のシャンソンパンク・バンドを紹介するよ。The Lolitas(ザ・ロリータス)と、そのバンドが解散した後、ロリータスのメンバーでやったStereo Total（ステレオ・トータル）もね。

But let’s start with the Lolitas. Formed in the mid 80s in Berlin, they did something that was quite unique in Germany: mixing French Chansons with Punkrock . The band was founded by French expat Francoise Cactus and members were Olga, Tutti Frutti, Coco und Tex Morton. Apart from Cactus, most notably would be Tex Morton who has been in numerous bands since the 80s (among others Rockabilly band "Sunny Domestosz" and absolutely fantastic and underrated "Lüde und die Astros") and is currently playing for Mad Sin.

でもまずはロリータスからはじめよう。80年代半ばにベルリンで結成されて、ドイツではかなり珍しいことをやってた。フランスのシャンソンとパンクのミックスだ。そのバンドのメンバーは、ドイツに住んでたフランス人、Francoise Cactus(フランソワーズ・カクトゥス)、Olga（オルガ）Tutti Frutti（トゥッティー・フルッティー）、Coco（ココ）とTex Morton（テックス・モートン）だった。カクトゥス以外のメンバーは80年代から数え切れないほどたくさんのバンドをやっていて、特にテックス・モートンはロカビリーバンドのSunny Domestosz(サニー・ドメストスズ)、（絶対すごいのに過小評価されていた）Lüde und die Astros（ルーデ・ウンド・ディー・アストロズ）をやって、最近はMad Sin(マッド・シン)でプレイしてるよ。

Most striking about their sound was Cactuses French-accented English. You can never tell when it is real and when she's faking it. She is however well aware of it and therefore one of their records is called “My English sucks”, on which they only do cover versions (e.g. Dead Boys and Misfits).

彼らのサウンドで一番印象的なのは、カクトゥスのフランス訛りの英語だ。それを聞いてもきっとそれがわざとなのか、本気でやってるのか絶対わからないだろう。彼女はそれをよくわかっていたから、彼らのレコードの１つは”My English sucks”というタイトルで、それにはカバーバージョン(例えば Dead Boys とか Misfits)だけが入っている。

The Lolitas always kept it simple and that love for minimalism continued in Francoise Catuses next band Stereo Total. I believe that they should be known to one or two Japanese too: they have acquired quite some fame over the 20 years they have been playing and they have always had a thing for Japan. Not only have they toured and released some of their records there (on Appareil Photo) but they also composed the soundtrack for Japanese Pink movie “Underwater love”. They also did a cover version of Plastics’ “I love you, oh no!”. However, they renamed it “I love you Ono”…

ロリータスはいつもシンプルでミニマリズムを愛していて、フランソワーズ・カクトゥスの次のバンド、ステレオ・トータルにもそれは引き継がれた。彼らは日本でも知ってる人がいるはずだと思う。彼らは20年以上やってかなり人気になり、いつもなにかしら日本に関係していた。彼らは日本でツアーしただけでなく、 アパレルフォト（Appareil Photo）というレーベルから何枚かレコードも発売した。でも彼らはまた日本のピンク映画　”アンダーウォーター・ラブ（Underwater love）”のサウンドトラックも担当した。彼らはプラスティックスの’ “I love you, oh no!”をカバーした。曲名は’ “I love you, Ono”に変えていたけど…

While the Lolitas were basically a Punkrock band, Stereo Total has a much wider musical range. They describe themselves as:

ロリータスは基本的にパンクロックバンドだったけど、ステレオ・トータルはもっと音楽の幅が広かった。自分たちの音楽のことをこう言ってるよ。

40 % Chanson, 20 % R'n'R, 10 % Punkrock, 3 % DAF-Sequenzer, 4 % Jacques Dutronc-Rhythmique, 7 % Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg, 1,5 % Cosmonaute, 10 % really old synthesizers, 10 % 8-bit Amiga-sampling, 10 % transistor amplifier, 1 % really expensive and advanced instruments

『シャンソン40%、ロックンロール20%、パンクロック10%、ダフ・シークエンサー3%、シャック・デュトロン・リトミック4%、ブリジッド・バルドーとセルジュ・ゲンズブール7%、コスモノート1.5%、すごい古いシンセサイザー10%、アミガ（古いＰＣ）サンプリング8ビットの10%、トランジスタ・アンプ10%、すっごい高くて最先端の楽器は1%だけ。』

Basically, they are very minimalistic, also owed to the fact that it’s only two people: Francoise Cactus and Brezel Göring. 

ステレオ・トータルはとてもミニマリスティックで、実際にメンバーもフランソワーズ・カクトゥスとBrezel Göring（ブレッツェル・グューリング）の2人だけだった。

The one main thing the Lolitas and Stereo Total have in common is that they don’t take themselves seriously and that makes them so charming. So whether you want simple pure Punkrock with female vocals in French-accented English or you prefer the easy-listening genre mix of Stereo Total, they both deserve to be heard.

ロリータスとステレオ・トータルに共通する１つのメインのことは、ふざけながらバンドをやっていてそれが彼らの魅力だっていうことだ。もし単に純粋にフランス訛りの英語の女ヴォーカルのパンクロックを聴きたいか、ジャンルをミックスしたイージーリスニングなステレオ・トータルを聴きたいかによるけど、どっちも聴く価値があるよ！

The Lolitas released their records primarily in Germany and France, so I don’t know if they are easy to come across in Japan. 

ロリータスはドイツとフランスで最初にレコードを発売したから、日本で簡単に見つけられるかどうかわからない。

Stereo Total records shouldn’t be too hard to find. But if you go for Punkrock, you will be disappointed. 

ステレオ・トータルのレコードは日本でも見つけるのはそんなに難しくないだろうけど、パンクだけ好きだったらちょっとがっかりかもしれないね。

次のコラムのテーマはまだ考え中だけど、絶対おもしろくなる（はず）だから、楽しみにしてて！チュース！

"Stunde X", Old Fashion No 6, September 2012 （日本語版は下へスクロールして）

 日本語版はあとでアップします！

It’s raining six out of seven days, the food is fat and people dress shitty – where am I?

Right, England. After working in London for a month, I now am in a small town in the Midlands and I have to say, I prefer it to London.

London is too expensive, either too posh or too fucked up (depending on where you go) and overrun by tourists and yuppies. 

I found some areas that are nice, like Hackney or Brixton but all in all – if you have Tokyo you don’t need to go to London…

The countryside however is nice – lots of sheep and cows and everywhere looks like Peter Rabbit is just about to jump out of the bushes….

I didn’t go to many shows over here – the only bands I went to see are some friends of mine from Germany called “The Lost Rivers”, who sound very much like Jesus and the Mary Jane, with lots of feedback, fog on stage and shoe-gazing. Definitely worth checking out if you’re into that kind of music. I was surprised how popular they had become, even in London. 

The other band I went to see were London-based “Thee Spivs”, who were supposed to play at a small local festival in Hackney. The show took place in a park and we were lucky that it was one of those few rain-free days. However, the festival started at noon and by around seven pm thee Spivs still hadn’t played and me and my friend were too drunk to hang around any longer. We still saw some nice bands but I don’t remember any names… I think one was called “The Pukes”…

But let’s start with the column. After my little excursion into the history of Punk in Germany, I felt it was a topic too widespread, so for the future columns I would like to go back to introducing good German bands and today I have something very rare for you: a German Mod band…

Contrary to England, Germany never had a very big Mod scene. Neither in the 60s nor in the late 70s/early 80s with the beginning of the Neo-Mod movement. Best known of the few early German Mod bands were “Die Profis” from Duesseldorf, who later became “Start!”. And it was Duesseldorf again which had the biggest scene, apart from Hamburg maybe. But I don’t want to talk about Die Profis today – the band I would like you to check out on youtube is “Stunde X”.

Stunde X weren’t around too long but left quite an impact. Although there wasn’t a very big Mod scene, they managed to reach all kinds of people by being on one of the best-known alternative labels in Germany at the time: “Weserlabel”. 

A Punk label by origin, Weserlabel had started to sign bands from all kinds of genres, which was quite new at the time, since usually all the scenes kept to themselves. I remember the Weserlabel catalogue being sent to my parents’ house starring bands like Rockabilly band “Rumble on the Beach”, Pop-Punk band “Barbarella”, Chanson-Punk combo “The Lolitas” and also Stunde X.

When I first listened to them I had probably never heard the term “Mod” before. To me they were Punk, even though they wore suits. And I believe that many others at the time felt the same.

What also boosted their popularity was the fact that their lyrics were in German but most of all one song: “Befreit Martin Semmelrogge”. Martin Semmelrogge is a German actor who had gained popularity among Punks especially for his role in the movie “Die Vorstadtkrokodile”. Semmelrogge was mostly cast to play criminals and outcasts and also used to get in trouble with the law frequently in real life. He was eventually jailed in the late 80s which led to the song, which means “Release Martin Semmelrogge”.

Stunde X were also supporters of Duesseldorf soccer club “Fortuna Duesseldorf” and wrote a song for the team, which also contributed to their fame, at least locally

Sadly they split up after releasing only 3 EPs and one LP.

However, like many bands of that era (late 80s/early 90s) they are hard to come by these days - there is not much to find about them on the internet but if you get hold of their classic LP “Graf Porno reitet fuer Deutschland” don’t hesitate! In my opinion one of the best German Punk (NeoMod, Power Pop, whatever…) records!

Column no.4 - Punk in Germany, Vol.3, Old Fashion No. 5, July 2012 （日本語版は下へスクロールして）

The 3rd part of the "Punk in Germany" series... This time I am talking about a time period I actually actively took part in - so no Wikipedia!
And you also get a little pic of me from times long gone, playing tough guy while eating cake on Mum's couch...

日本語版はまだ見つけてない。あとでアップします！

First of all I have some bad (or good maybe...) news for all of you: I have to leave Japan due to my job and go to Germany for about two years. But I will definitely be back here. The food is way too good and the girls are way to pretty to leave for good! And anyway: I will keep on writing for Old Fashion as long as someone wants to read it…

However, you don’t want to hear about me you want to know what was going on in that wonderland of Sauerkraut and Bratwurst in the 80s don’t you!? 

Ok, since I went on about Punkrock in Germany for two columns now, you all might think it’s time for me to talk about something interesting… you’d wish! Here we go, Punkrock history lesson no. 3:

Last time I wrote about so-called Deutschpunk, which translated means nothing more than “German Punk” but has become a label for a certain kind on Punkrock: fast, aggressive with straight-forward lyrics. 

However, it’s a fine line from “straight-forward” to plain dumb… and unfortunately that’s what “Deutschpunk” as a label stands for nowadays. There have always been rather stupid bands like “Cotzbrocken” or “OHL” but there’s a steep decline to the likes of “Popperklopper”, “Atemnot” or “Doedelhaie”. Please avoid those at all costs! Although it’s not that bad if you don’t understand German to be fair… 

So while Punk in Germany went into decline and bands either were very political but too stupid to think their message through or wanted to be funny but failed miserably like WIZO, Frohlix or Die Hannen Alks, a new thing came up: Hardcore - a welcome change for everyone who was fed up with what had become of Punkrock. 

Let me tell you a little about live shows in Germany first: contrary to Japan, smaller live shows don’t take place in Live Houses, like in Japan, but often in so-called “Jugendhäusern” (Youth Centers) or “Autonomen Zentren” (Autonomous Centers). Jugendhäuser are official meeting places for youths where they can organize their own events, while Autonome Zentren are often found in former Squats, sometimes illegal, sometimes half-legal, mostly formerly illegal and now with agreement contracts. So live shows are often non-commercial events and the people working at places like that don’t earn money and just do it out of enthusiasm. 

Nowadays it has changed a little but in the 80s, live shows, especially Punk shows, were very affordable. 

While the idea behind it was honorable, it had one disadvantage: people took it for granted. So it was a common thing in the 80s and 90s for people working the entrance to have long discussions with Punks who didn’t want to pay the whole entry fee because they thought it was too expensive. 

I should also mention that a lot of Punks in Europe actually lived and live on the street and therefore have a constant money problem. However, it often were exactly the same people who owned two dogs and came with a plastic bag full of beer just to complain about 5 Mark (~250 Yen) entry fee. 

So that’s how it looked like in live venues in the 80s in Germany: a bunch of stinky, dog accompanied drunks who took the word "Punk" a little too literally. 

The Punks who still had their head straight and their stature upright became fewer and fewer. Naturally, many kids didn’t want to identify with a bunch of bums but still wanted their music fast and loud and so suddenly kids wearing lumberjack shirts and bandanas turned up, often carrying skateboards and new bands like “Skeezicks” or “Disaster Area” played the soundtrack to their halfpipe tricks. 

However, while their American role models like the Angry Samoans, Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies still had a Punk background, many of the German kids didn’t really understand that. It was one thing to try to distance yourself from the type I described above, but something completely different to denounce everything that calls itself “Punk”. To do so is to deny the roots of Hardcore.

I come from a small town in the South of Germany and I remember well how you would always see the same people at shows but there were the Punks and the Hardcore kids and they didn’t really mingle… it wasn’t really fighting but there was always animosity and the one thing that made it even worse was Straight Edge. Nothing worse than an 18 year old Hardcore kid who thinks he knows it all and feels superior simply owned to the fact that he doesn’t drink. I always hated dogmatisms and that’s what it was and it fell on fertile ground in Germany: generally speaking, Germans have a tendency to impose their views and convictions onto others… One word that covers it might be “smug”…

That's one thing I like about the Japanese by the way: they don’t have to tell you every time they think they’re right and you’re talking bullshit… However, especially with foreigners they should probably do so more often…

But back to topic: so you had those hardcore kids and the punks, but while you still found Punks at Hardcore shows, few Hardcore kids showed up at classic Punk shows. Reasons for that are various: apart from the elitist thinking I talked about above, it was probably also because Hardcore was more accessible. You didn’t have to wear a leather jacket and a Mohawk. Not that that would be a rule but at a Punkrock show you would have certainly stuck out in completely regular clothes. So Hardcore attracted quite many, rather “normal” kids, who might have played in a band or organized shows but apart from that did everything the way their parents intended them to do. 

Nothing wrong about that but it’s just plain boring and, to me, Punk also means to experience the other side and be stupid instead of reasonable from time to time. Or most of the time…

That’s why, despite the fact that I liked some of the music, especially the early West Coast stuff (Adolescents, DI, Agent Orange, Circle Jerks…), I never connected with the Hardcore scene. Too boring and too much thinking things through…

However, there was another hardcore scene that really was a home to kawatteru* people. Guys who thought Punk had become too soft and too fucked up and wanted their music and style tough and still liked their beer. Those people still had a Punk background, often covered in Tattoos and all muscled up and still hung out with “real” Punks but also despised the bums. The most important band for that scene in the South was probably “Growing Movement”. Their singer Loll was notorious for his live performance and getting into fights constantly.

So it wasn’t all middle class kids who didn’t dare to dress crazy but thought they were better than everybody else but also Punks who missed a certain “toughness” in Punk.

Bands worth checking out would be:

OK, since Hardcore isn’t really my cup of tea anyway, I feel that I kind of went astray from my originally intended mission of telling Japan about decent German Punkrock, so I will just leave out the piece on New Wave I had postponed until now and go back to introducing bands that I like. Next time I will take you back to the 80s and introduce one of the rare German Mod bands to you!

Japanese for “weird”, literally: not normal

Column no. 3 - Punk in Germany, Vol.2, Old Fashion No. 4 May 2012 （日本語版は下へスクロールして）

The second part of my little Punk in Germany history. This time focusing on the leather and spikes department and the early 80s:

Grüß Gott everyone! 

A lot has happened since my last column – I became a Japanese salary man and am constantly away on seminars. However, between all the bowing, the “よろしくお願いします” and “失礼します” I still found some time to write this column. And it feels good to write about Punkrock… 

Last time I talked about the beginnings of Punk in Germany, today I want to focus on what happened after that first wave.

As in Britain and the States, many of the protagonists of the first wave of Punkrock were rather artistic types and/or freaks, outsiders. In London a lot revolved around art college students, even Sid Vicious, who is mostly perceived as self-destructive and not too bright, studied photography and must have been a somewhat clever guy underneath that entire tough guy attitude. New York’s CBGBs was a hangout spot for everyone considered an outsider: gays, drag queens, cashless artists and people who just couldn’t fit in. Just look at Joey Ramone: who do you think a guy like that hung out with at highschool?

In my eyes, that’s what made and makes Punk great: It was a home to all the freaks and gave them a voice - fuck the darwinistic, capitalist society with all its superficial values! It still makes me smile when I see some crazy guy talking to himself on the train or a gay couple walking hand in hand. Everything that disturbs their view of a functioning harmonic society, I welcome. 

But back too topic: what I wanted to say is that while Punkrock at first was something new and new things always need the daring type to try them out first. Therefore there were so many of the kind I described above. People who were not afraid to wear torn clothes and safety pins in public (as cliché as it may sound – it was after all the most striking accessory) or make music without knowing how to properly use an instrument. But since this kind of people always needs something new to reinvent themselves, it is no wonder that the first wave of Punkrock ebbed away in no time. 

However, the idea of giving a voice to the underprivileged had manifested itself in hundreds of new bands. Not experimental anymore and much more out of a working class background with a new style of clothes and music. Harder, tougher, angrier – not as cynical and clever as before but more straight-forward. In Germany those bands were soon called “Deutschpunk”, which simply translates as “German Punk”. They sang in German, were mostly left-winged, anarchistic lyrically (with exceptions of course) and didn’t care about well thought out lyrics – just say what’s on your mind was the base for writing lyrics. The most popular and influential of those bands was “Slime”, who are in the studio right now recording a new album.

They were formed in 1979 in Hamburg and had their very first gig at a correctional facility for juvenile delinquents! They were greatly influenced by anarchist band “Ton, Steine, Scherben” and were a huge part of Hamburg’s anarchist movement. They became their quasi spokespersons and their shows were often followed by riots and battles with cops. Hamburg’s Hafenstrasse was lawless territory in those days. A whole street of squats and non-commercial hangout places. Slime became synonymous with that place. With lyrics like “Deutschland muss sterben, damit wir leben koennen” (Germany has to die so we can live) or “Polizei SA/SS” (police SA/SS), their records were censored and everyone who owned one of the originals, where “Bullenschweine” (cop-pigs) wasn’t replaced with a BEEP, was a lucky Punk. Musically they were still very melodic, with lots of singalong choruses and an Oi-Feel to it - the first records sound a lot like the Cockney Rejects.

Apart from Slime Hamburg had tons of good bands. I’ll just drop some names:

Razzia, Abwaerts, SS Ultrabrutal, Razors, Punkenstein, Napalm. Too many to mention them all.

What the Hafenstrasse was for Hamburg, Kreuzberg was for Berlin. The district with a population consisting mainly of immigrants, mostly from Turkey, and lower class families it was home to many squats and legendary Punk clubs, like the SO36. Riots and streetfights were a common thing there in the eighties and till today the First of May is one happy get-together to burn a few cars and throw a few stones at cops. I already talked about Berlin, so I just want to mention Hardcore-Punks “Vorkriegsjugend” again, since they captured that angry Berlin sound like no other band. Other Deutschpunk bands were e.g. “Beton Combo”, “Malinheads”, “Zerstoerte Jugend”.

Another centre for Deutschpunk was Hannover. Commonly known to be pretty boring, it seemed to be a fertile ground for discontent youths forming Punkbands. Most fame gained fun-punk band “Die Abstuerzenden Brieftauben” but the rough Deutschpunk sound is best represented by the “Boskops”. Other bands were “Cretins” and “Blut&Eisen”.

But Punk wasn’t restricted to those areas, of course. Bands you definitely should check out are:

Munich’s “A+P”, “Ausbruch”, Bonn’s “Canal Terror”, Stuttgart’s “Chaos Z”, soccer hooligans “Daily Terror”, “Hass”, “Molotow Soda”, the melancholic “Neurotic Arseholes”, lyrically controversial “OHL”, Duesseldorf squatters “Die Schwarzen Schafe” and apart from Slime the most influential band: “Toxoplasma”.

I guess that’s a lot of bands to check out, so I recommend looking for compilations. There are many samplers out that cover the different cities, e.g. “Alter, das Album” (Berlin Punk), “Paranoia in der Strassenbahn” Hamburg, “Jung kaputt spart Altersheime” (Hannover) and most famous probably 80s Sampler “Die Deutschen kommen” and “Deutschpunk Kampflieder”. So, go do your homework!

This column has become way too long, so I have to split it up again… Next time German New Wave and Hardcore!

And those of who who might wonder why there are no east German bands in here: I also save those up for some other time. Ahhh – so much to do, so little time!

Gruess Gott!　前回はドイツのパンクの始まりについて話したけど、今回はその最初の波が来たあとのことにフォーカスしようと思う。

イギリスやアメリカと同様に、パンクロックの第一波の主役たちは、芸術家肌か変人かアウトサイダーだった。ロンドンではパンクスの多くは美大生だった。だいたい自己破滅的で頭が良くないと見られていたシド・ヴィシャスでさえ、写真を勉強していたし、タフガイぶってる奴らよりずっと賢かった。ニューヨークのCBGBはアウトサイダーとみなされてる人たちがつるんでいる場所で、ゲイ、ドラッグクィーン、一文無しのアーティストやただ世の中に適合できない人たちとかがいた。ジョーイ・ラモーンをみても、誰が彼と高校でつるもうと思う？（笑）。だからパンクはすごいって思うんだ。すべての変人の居場所であり、彼らはダーウィンの進化論や資本主義社会の上っ面だけのすべての価値観にファックといったんだから。

俺は電車の中で独り言を言ってるクレイジーな奴とか、手を繋いで歩いてるゲイカップルが大好きなんだけど（笑）、「機能する調和した社会」に生きるまともな人間の視界を邪魔するものすべては大歓迎だ！その光景は、彼らのよい人生が背後にいる食い物にされた何千万もの労働者やホームレス、飢えた人々によってもたらされてるということに気づかせるだろうから。

俺がいいたいのは、パンクロックは最初は目新しいもので、そういう新しいものには常にチャレンジする姿勢が求められるということなんだ。だから安全ピン（それは決まりきった言い方だけど－結局目立つアクセサリーって意味だね）や破れた服を人前で着るのを恐れなかった多くのひとたちとか、楽器の使い方も知らないのに音楽を作ったひとたちがパンクを作った。でもこういう種類の人たちは、常になにか新しいものや彼ら自身を改革するものを必要としていたから、パンクロックの第一波がすぐに引いていったのは不思議じゃなかった。

それでも恵まれない境遇の人たちに声を与えるアイディアは何百もの新しいバンドを生み出した。初期の頃とは違って実験的ではなく、労働者階級の背景を持つ新しいスタイルのファッションと音楽になったんだ。より激しく、タフで、怒りの音楽～それは賢くシニカルな感じではなくもっとストレートなものだった。ドイツではそれらのバンドはすぐに“ドイチェパンク”、簡単に翻訳すると“ジャーマンパンク”と呼ばれるようになった。彼らはドイツ語で歌い、だいたいは左翼でアナーキストの歌詞だった。（もちろん例外はいたけど）そして歌詞はよく考えられているかどうかじゃなく、ただ考えていることそのものが歌詞になっていた。

そのなかで一番人気があって影響力の大きかったバンドが“スライム(Slime)”で彼らは今ちょうど新しいアルバムをレコーディング中だ。彼らは1979年にハンブルグで結成され、一番最初のライブは少年院で行われた。彼らは“トン・シュタイネ・シェルベン(Ton, Steine, Scherben)”というアナーキストバンドの影響を強く受け、ハンブルグのアナーキスト運動の大きな一部となっていた。彼らはアナーキストたちのスポークスマンで、そのライブはだいたい暴動や警察との闘争の後に行われてたんだ。ハンブルグのハーフェンシュトラセ（ハーフェン通り）は当時、無法地帯となっていて、その通り全体が不法占拠された非営利の場所だった。スライムはその場所と同義になっていった。そして“俺たちが生きていくために、ドイツは死ぬべき”とか“警察はＳＡ，ＳＳ”といった歌詞で彼らのレコードは発禁になったから、もし“警察の豚”っていう歌詞がピー音になってないオリジナル盤を持ってるパンクスはラッキーだったんだ（笑）。スライム以外でもハンブルグにはいいバンドがたくさんいた。“ラツィア（Razzia）”“アッブベルツ(Ubwaerts)”“ＳＳウルトラブルータル(SS Ultrabrutal)”“レイザーズ(Razors)”“パンケンシュタイン(Punkenstein)”“ナパーム(Napalm)”など。音楽的には彼らはすごくメロディアスでシンガロングコーラスがたくさん入っていてオイみたいで、そのファーストアルバムはだいたい“コックニー・リジェクツ(The Cockney Rejects)“みたいな感じだった。

ハンブルグがハーフェン通りなら、ベルリンはクロイツベルグだった。その地区はだいたいが移民、特にトルコからの移民と下層階級の家族が多くて、不法占拠された家がたくさんあった。伝説的なライブハウスＳＯ36とかね。暴動とストリートファイトは80年代から今日まで日常茶飯事で、5月1日にはみんな楽しく集まって（笑）警察に石を投げたり、車を焼いたりしていたよ。すでにベルリンについては話したけど、ハードコアパンクの“フォアクリークスユーゲント”はベルリンの怒りを一番よく表したバンドだった。その他のドイチェパンクのバンドは“べトンコンボ(Beton Combo)”“マリンヘッズ(Malinheads)””ツェアシュテーテ　ユーゲント(Zerstoerte Jugend)“なんかがいた。

ドイチェパンクのもうひとつの中心はハノーヴァーだった。かなり退屈な街で有名だけど、若者たちの不平不満がパンクバンドを生み出す土壌になっていた。最も有名になったファンパンクのバンドは“ディー・アブシュトゥルツェンデン　ブリーフタウベン（Die Abstuerzenden Brieftauben）落ちてる伝書鳩”だったけど、荒々しいドイチェパンクらしいバンドは“ボスコップス(Boskops)”だったし、そのほかは“クレティンズ(Cretins)”“ブルート＆アイセン(Blut&Eisen)”がいた。

もちろんパンクはその地域限定じゃなかった。そのほかチェックしないといけないバンドは…ミュンヘンの“Ａ＋Ｐ”“アウスブルーフ(Ausbruch)”、盆の”カナールテロール(Canal Terror)、シュツッツガルトの“カオスＺ（Chaos Z）”、サッカーフーリガンの“デイリーテラー（Daily Terror）””ハス(Hass)”“モロトフソーダ(Molotow Soda)”メランコリックな”ニューロティック　アースホールス(Neurotic Arseholes)”、その歌詞が議論を巻き起こした”OHL”、デュッセルドルフの不法占拠者たちの”ディー　シュヴァルツェン　シャーフェ(Die Schwarzen Schafe)“、そしてスライム以外で一番影響力のあったバンドのひとつ”トキソプラズマ(Toxoplasma)”と、ドイツ語では歌っていなかったけど国際的に有名になった“ザ　アップライト　シチズン(The Upright Citizens)”

チェックしないといけないバンドがいっぱいあるから、俺のおススメのコンピレーションアルバムを教えるよ。いろいろな町のサンプラーというのがあって、例えばベルリンパンクの“アルター　ダス　アルバム(Alter,das Album)”、ハンブルグの”パラノイア　イン　デア　ストラッセンバーン(Paranoia in der Strassenbahn)”、ハノーヴァーの“ユング　カプット　シュパート　アルタースハイメ(Jung kaput spart Altersheime”、そして一番有名な80年代のサンプラーは”ディー　ドイチェン　コメン(Die Deutschen kommen)””ドイチェパンク　カムプフリーダー（Deutschpunk Kampflieder）“だ。宿題がたくさんだね。

今回もまた長くなっちゃったから、また次回に回そうと思う。次回はジャーマン　ニューウェーブとハードコアだよ！それから東ドイツの話が全然出てこないのを不思議だと思ってる人いるだろうけど、また違うときにその話もするよ！じゃあまた！