Wir Sind Helden are Alright

[chrisakachris]

*sigh*

[chrisakachris]

Hey, they really *are* good.

[90SK]

They're pretty good sounding. When I tried to d/l some of their stuff off of limewire I got a steaming pile of corrupted files, but I was able to sample some of the stuff before it bugged out.

 

Sort of like the B-52's sans English, in a vague way.

[Alien426]

Previously on LucasFans:

You're German, Aren't You?

So what can you tell me about these guys, Wir Sind Helden?

They're pretty good. I've got their first album, Die Reklamation (The Complaint) and like it a lot. It's one of those where I wonder if you can appreciate the nice music without knowing the lyrics. Because the lyrics are a real highlight of the Helden's music. They are very playful and witty. It's great to listen to the lead singer Judith's fun voice and have some criticizing texts to ponder or just let the upbeat music take affect. I'm planning to get the second album, too.

 

Why choo axin?

Plus: Judith is VERY sexy...

 

By the way, I simply LOVE "Nur ein Wort" ("Just a Word") and "Aurelie".

When we were in Portugal I happened to catch Nur Ein Wort on MTV.

Of course, once I got home I could barely remember a word of the lyrics. I found their site all right (though at first I thought they were called Wir Sind Holden, which I guess I had thought was some sort of reference to The Catcher in the Rye) but because of the crappy resolution on my computer I couldn't find the song on the site. So I ended up googling "helden bitte bitte" and found it.

 

Now the short version: Heard their song. Liked it.

Saw they have Tin Tin on their cd labels. Liked them.

 

 

So, they're good, eh? That's nice. Guess I'll have to learn German though. Any of you feel like teaching me?

 

And Alien, you get extra brownie points for understanding that by "you Germans" I meant primarily you (though Laserschwert, I appreciate your pointing out of the sexyness).

Don't ask me what brownie points actually are, though. I guess it has something to do with boy scouts, but you'll have to ask one of the Amerikanners.

you get extra brownie points

Sounds kinda lewd.

That is partly why I allewded to them.

Saw they have Tin Tin on their cd labels.

Being the wiseass that I am, I have to point out another thing: It's not Tin Tin on the cover... it's the band members drawn in the style of Hergé's "Tin Tin" comics.

 

And it's nice to see that Alien is by far the more popular German on these boards... I guess I have to give him some of my brownie points as well. Of course, I didn't earn those, I stole them from a little brown-bird girl trying to sell me cookies - brownies, for that matter - at the door. Can't blame her, since it was her door.

 

What was the topic again?

 

Then the forum got fúcked up...

 

Next I bought their new album and absolutely love it. The title song "Von hier an blind" is great and has a super video, which is - like the cover art - in Hergé's style.

 

"Zieh dir was an" (Put something on) heavily features Judith's voice and critizes female celebrity's tendency to undress for publicity. The rhymes are pure gold.

 

"Gekommen um zu bleiben" (Here to stay) uses big band music (I think) and is the answer to naysayer's estimation, that the Helden might be a one hit wonder (in the sense of one hit album!).

 

"Zuhälter" (Pimps) is a stab at the music industry which sells out the music no matter what the consequences are. I love that the quote "das kälteste Gewerbe der Welt" works in English as well. It translates to "the world's coldest profession" and both versions play with the same saying.

[Alien426]

You might also want to listen to "Darf ich das behalten" which is just heartbreaking. At least I hope it has the same effect if you don't know the words.

[90SK]

I'll snuffle around for it.

 

I'm a huge Pillows fan, and that's all in Japanese, so language isn't really an issue.

 

 

Edit: I listened to it. You're right: the vocals are very pretty, but sad sounding. The whole song has a sad vibe to it. Could you tell me what the song is about?

[chrisakachris]

Ladies and gentlemen, the answer is a resounding yes.

 

Wir Sind Helden are a very good music band. Von Hier an Blind is an album which is addicting to listen to. I have a lot of (read: some) respect for the German people, their culture and their language, but German usually sounds like crap. Seriously.

 

The opening track, I Forgetsch Der Naame auf Die Aupfenningtraak, it sounds like music. When Judith sings, it sounds like music rather than words. This may be hard for Germans to accept, but that's a real feat.

 

For now I am happy listening to the album without understanding much. I personally place a lot of emphasis on the lyrics when I listen to music, so that's saying a lot.

 

My 200th post here celebrates good music, and that's just the way it's supposed to be.

 

 

P.S. Alien, where'd you get the pre-****ed-up stuff from?

[chrisakachris]

My 201st post here tries to find a way to bypass the fucking asterisks.

[90SK]

Sorry, but there's not ****ing way to get rid of the ****-ridden asterisks.

[Alien426]

Sorry, but there's not ****ing way to get rid of the ****-ridden asterisks.

There is. You can either do this fu[b][b][/b][/b]cking thing with the double tags or just use the accent keys and make this fúcking shít happen.

 

German usually sounds like crap. Seriously.

Agreed. I don't listen to albums a lot and of those few German I have, In Extremo and Corvus Corax are folk metal that use medieval German / Latin etc. which I don't understand, Willy Astor's guitar music is purely instrumental and RMB is techno with English samples...

 

There's a wave of bands who sing in German. I'm not really into it, but big names are Juli (who had the song "Die perfekte Welle" (The Perfect Wave) right before the Indian Ocean tsunami which lead to a (consensual, I guess) radio ban during that time) and Silbermond. Also, Nena is back...

 

[Re: Darf ich das behalten] Could you tell me what the song is about?

I can't really say. It's about someone who will take everything away from her and this thing is the only she needs to keep. She will give him everything, but not that.

 

There's an attempt at a translation...