It's 1973: Black Sabbath vs Led Zeppelin

I was a little toddler then, but had I known both, I think I would have been a little more into Sabbath.

I prefer Led Zeppelin.

Sabbath on this one, especially since my favorite Sabbath album came out in 1973, so I'm biased.

Black Sabbath

Sabbath by light years. Zepp annoy me these days, though I hung onto a couple of their records (III and Presence)

Saperlipopette, that is devilishly done (I indubitably love the demonish hound in the video). That shall be faux exhibit A, and possibly B, C, D etc. for this Sherlock Holmesian case.

^ Interesting, Tom. :) Perhaps, being into Dead Kennedys and the like, Biafra probably would have something to say on this conspiracy.

I found this: https://www.economist.com/europe/2005/11/10/hailing-heino

The Economist wrote: ...The answer lies in a genre of German hit songs known as Schlager, which are the antithesis of what hip 68ers and their spiritual successors groove to, with folksy melodies, schmaltz-dripping voices and simple lyrics. Theodor Adorno, a philosopher and musicologist, once dismissed Schlager songs as musical opium for the working class... Heino's songs have also often been an outlet for feelings that German history has made it hard to express: love of the country, its culture and landscape. His repertoire, listened to on both sides of the Berlin Wall, included modern versions of traditional folk songs, or Volkslieder, even ones that were popular with the Nazis. In Hoyerswerda, which is near the Polish border, they earned him standing ovations from a crowd whose average age was well above Heino's 66. “These songs will still be sung”, he pledged, “when Heavy Metal, Punk and Hip Hop have long been forgotten.”... Jello Biafra, former lead singer of a punk band, Dead Kennedys, has a collection of Heino records, to show how low you can get musically. And listening to their simple lyrics was always a great way to learn German.

I discovered Heino because the album cover in my avatar (one I used years ago as my avatar) is on so many worst album covers lists, but then I found a certain perverse pleasure in his music, and Schlager generally. I also find it creepy, but then I also found Lawrence Welk and his program creepy. More on that later.

Seems to me from that Heino album cover that he was in a Pat Boone mood -- Pat Boone from his In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy album (that was once my avatar), and there are musical comparisons to be made between the two.





Here's an article on Schlager: Is Schlager Music The Most Embarrassing Thing Germany Has Ever Produced?

The answer to that being an obvious no to me. History will find some more embarrassing examples. Watching Schlager videos does remind me of certain propaganda videos from the Nazi era, and as it does draw on themes and German folk music that was popular in Hitler's day. So, to me it seems quite sinister due to the associations I draw from it. Mixing my metaphors, and history, but listening to Schlager can be the aural equivalent to drinking the Kool Ade.

Hyperbolic article, but...

Rebecca [email protected] wrote: ...the most popular genre of homegrown music, in the most important country in the world, is the aural equivalent of nuclear war. It’s an oeuvre that makes Christian rock seem subversive ... Schlager is a form of pop so insipid and saccharine that it is possible the Communists built the Berlin Wall to keep it out.

From Nico Roicke at the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/mar/15/schlager-germany-biggest-pop-stars

Nico [email protected] wrote: Schlager, a strange genre of music, emerged after the second world war. It was an encapsulation of all things German and a backlash against American rock'n'roll. Ever since its early days, schlager has used simple patterns of music (just like Eurodance, Germany's other mega-genre) while its lyrics are rarely political, often concerning romantic themes. Whole subgenres are dedicated to niche topics such as being on holiday, country living, life on the Autobahn, living with animals and living with animals on the Autobahn.

Schlager may be saccharine schmaltz of the highest order, but it sure does evoke some heavy history for me in the associations that I make.



Edited by Logan - February 07 2019 at 08:47

^ The blues roots/ influence is obvious to me. By the way, sorry for the digressions in your topic, but instead of mentioning Schlager, I was originally going to say polka (there is polka schlager), and I now rather regret it. Part of me remembered "The Polka Tulk Blues Band", but rather semi-consciously. Even in absurdity, there often lies some truth.