Saturday 14 December 2019

Various Artists ‎– "Ende Vom Lied: East German Underground Sound 1979 - 1990" (Play Loud! Productions ‎– pl-67) 2016



What can I say except that i like a nice pair of knockers on my record covers,especially painted ones.

So all i'm motivated to do is cut'n'paste the liner notes,and come to the conclusion that the DDR produced ,by far, the best and most adventurous music in the whole soviet bloc.So as the title suggests,this can mark the end of our fabulous tour of the communist bloc.....not necessarily never to return.There's reems of DDR Punk,but,between you and me...its largely awful 1983 generic rubbish.You can't win 'em all!?

....and i quote:....

"ENDE VOM LIED" is a genre-spanning collection of punk, post-punk and avant-garde bands from the former East Germany, chronicling the work of free spirits pitted against government restraints and implied genre limitations. The underground scene in the GDR was a hydra, a noisy mix of musicians, poets, pain¬ters, photographers, filmmakers, punks and freaks. In the immediate aftermath of the primal scream that was punk, music often bred with poetry or painting in short-lived liaisons or enduring collaborations to produce a new generation of genre bastards. With the lines blurring between forms, a search for new shapes began. In the German Democratic Republic, this search constituted a tightrope walk, a dance for expression between subculture and a dictatorship.

*In German, ENDE VOM LIED literally translates to “The end of the song”, but is more commonly understood as a saying roughly meaning “The upshot”, “The end of the story” or simply “The end”.

TRACKLIST:

01 Ornament & Verbrechen : When I am I am not (1988)
02 Grabnoct : Töten und Fressen (1987)
03 L‘Attentat : linke Ecke, rechte Ecke (1984)
04 Der Schwarze Kanal : spiel mit (1979)
05 3tot : Hintere Gedanken (1989)
06 Der Demokratische Konsum : Sturm im Gepäck (1985)
07 T42 : Dreamer (1985)
08 Happy Straps : Live in Paradise (1985)
09 Planlos : Smog und Ruß (1981)
10 Sendeschluß : Deine Liebe (1982)
11 Zwitschermaschine : geh übern fluß (1983)
12 Aufruhr zur Liebe : mit’m bock auf nichts (1984)
13 Andreas Auslauf : Zivilisation (1985)
14 Rosa Extra : was mir deine schleuder ist dir meine waschmaschine (1982)
15 AG Geige : Fingerwalze (1989)
16 The Local Moon : Kingdom comes (1987)
17 fett : rifflied (1988)
18 Herbst in Peking : Parade (1989)
19 Magdalene Keibel Combo : Stahl Daab (1988)
20 Ornament & Verbrechen : keilter schwaß (1989)
21 BAADER : ceaucescu meiner seele! (1988)
22 Klick & Aus : Systeme rasten ein, ich raste aus! (1984)
23 Der Expander des Fortschritts : Fremdgehen durchs Land (1990)
24 Pffft... : Prenzelking (1985)


8 comments:

Automatedcardsonline said...
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Shaka Z said...

Love your blog!

rev.b said...

This looks like the sort of compilation I'm generally drawn to. I'll sit through a track I absolutely despise in order to get to one I'll like. In spite of the close-mindedness that can develop with age, one might even learn something along the way. In lieu of that, at least there’s the knockers…

DD said...

Sorry for not saying this sooner, but all of this soviet pop is incredible, I have no idea how you have done this....terrible music, or not and amazing blog and blogging.

possible the best ever.

Благодаря ти

Jonny Zchivago said...

Well I'll accept the 'Best ever' accolade with open arms,said he humbly.

albrecht koschnik said...


Waah, I was hoping for more East German goodies after this one, which is excellent!!! I really like Angus MacLise, but after all the dodgy East European prog I was expecting a bit more punkish Teutonic aggression to clear the fog!

Jonny Zchivago said...

I do got lots of East German Punk, but its that type of 'Punk' that bores the living shite out of me,and I try to do this blog as an enjoyable pastime.And it all sounds the same too.....the opposite of what Punk was intended to be.
As i'm slightly obsessed with the DDR,I rather think that we shall return there sooner rather than later.For the moment, following the original Punk ethic...we must move on,but not necessarily forward.

albrecht koschnik said...


JZ,

"punkish" in my previous comment referred to the mentality and approach to music-making, less so the actual music, style-wise. Agreed: 'straight' punk is rather samey. That's why I find the ENDE VOM LIED compilation so very good (as I did all the stuff on the KLANGFARBE label that you posted earlier): lots of different styles and approaches, much of it decidedly on the experimental side of things. (I helps if you understand the lyrics, plenty of more or less veiled 'subversive' ranting against 'socialism' GDR-style.) . Looking forward to more stuff from the GDR!