Rammstein's Cold War Radio

"RADIO" by RAMMSTEIN highlights the Cold War taboo of listening to Western radio broadcasts. Insomuch as the Heavy Metal Rock group Rammstein hail from the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) it is perhaps only natural they should explore this period.

When Western radio stations were not not jammed and nighttime propagation favoured a few hours of decent reception, daring souls would secretly steal away to catch the latest jazz and rock music or news -- Western decadence, as defined by the state. Keep in mind this was a society trapped in a one television channel with state approved content, i.e. "Schlager" type music, making radio the main form of entertainment with only a couple hours of poor quality music from the outside world.

It was the lifeline for a people who faced prison or death if they tried to leave;  it was the only way young people could imagine the lives of other young people through the shared experience of music. 

The Rammstein video itself is rendered in black and white and set in a semi-1920s Weimar Germany. Lead singer of the group, Till Lindmann is in makeup and tux. His persona is that of a cabaret singer, backed by his bowtie and tux clad bandmembers, as he voices the importance of radio back in the day. The eroticism in the video evokes the radio as a sex and religious object, which effectively symbolises the lust young people had for Western taboos of the era. As a consequence the video  may be too risque for some, but to anyone familiar with Rammstein it's part of their provocative showmanship.

The lyrics are in German (as are most if not all of Rammstein's music), so don't let that put you off. Till Lindemann and Rammstein demonstrate  how well German is suited to Rock, in particular their Heavy Metal permutations.

Just to make sure their message is understood, here is an English translation of the German lyrics:

We weren’t allowed to belong
Couldn’t see, talk, or hear anything
But every night for one or two hours,
I disappeared from this world
Every night a little bit happy,
My ear so close to the world receiver 

Radio, my radio
I let myself get sucked into the airwaves
My ears become eyes
Radio, my radio
So I hear what I can‘t see
Secretly satisfying my wanderlust

We weren’t allowed to belong
Couldn’t see, talk or disturb anything
Every song was forbidden
Such dangerous foreign notes
But every night was a little bit happy
My ear so close to the receiver

Radio, my radio
I let myself get sucked into the airwaves
My ears become eyes
Radio, my radio (my radio)
So I hear what I cannot see
Secretly satisfying my wanderlust

Every night I secretly climbed
onto the back of the music
laid my ears down on the wings
singing quietly into my hands
Every night and again,
I just fly away with the music
Floating this way through brightly-lit rooms
No borders, no fences

Radio, radio
Radio, radio

Radio, my radio (my radio)
I let myself get sucked into the airwaves
My ears become eyes
Radio, my radio (my radio)
So I hear what I cannot see
Secretly satisfying my wanderlust