German Pop Goes Nationalistic?

Further evidence of just how complicated the expression of any concept of German national identity can be - especially among German youth (ok, apart from the world of sport) - has been surfacing in the German Pop music scene over the past few months. What makes these developments especially intriguing is that they involve a handful Germany's most successful/critically acclaimed bands.

The controversy started with, and to some degree is centered around, the Berlin-based band MIA, and their hugely successful single, "Was Es Ist" (What It Is), which was released in late Spring, 2004.

An excerpt from the lyrics to the song:

"Fragt man mich jetzt woher ich komme / tu ich mir nicht mehr selber leid / ich riskier’ was für die Liebe / ich fühle mich bereit… / Ein Schluck vom schwarzen Kaffee macht mich wach / dein roter Mund berührt mich sacht / in diesem Augenblick es klickt / geht die gelbe Sonne auf … / Wohin es geht, das woll’n wir wissen und betreten neues deutsches Land.«

And my translation into English:

"Someone asks me where I come from / I don't apologize for myself / I risk something for love / I feel ready / . . . / A gulp of black coffee wakes me up / Your red mouth affects me greatly / At this moment it clicks / The yellow sun rises / Where this goes, that's what we want to know, and enter a new German country"

The combination of yellow/red/black (d'uh, the colors of the German flag!) in the context of inspiring/positive imagery, coupled with the idea of a "new German country" which inspires shame-free pride, seem to have started the controversy rolling. Then the band decided to wear the national colors in photo shoots and onstage, and the political left essentially went apeshit, resulting in the band getting pelted with stuff at concerts and slammed in the press. Now MIA is routinely forced to cancel shows whenever the threat of a boycott/protest comes to light (particularly in university-towns), and there have been instances in which Neo-Nazis have apparently shown up at their concerts.

This is what the promo artwork for the single looked like:

And this is what Mieze, the band's singer, had to say about the issue:

"Ich hab nichts zu meinem Deutschsein dazugetan, ich bin es einfach und ich lerne gerade es zu sein ohne Stolz und ohne Scham."

Which roughly translates to: "My german identity is what is it, it's simply me and I've learn to be it without shame or pride."

What seems to be angering the vast majority of people on the political left is that the band (or/and their management) seem to have started this controversy without the political conviction or intellect to take it any further - to explore the complexities of the issue. It was, it seems, simply an attempt to get attention and to provoke. What makes the situation especially weird is that MIA seems to align itself with traditionally leftist causes otherwise (their latest single is called "Ökostrom" or "Environmental Energy").

Here are a few resources (in German) for looking further into the issues that people have with MIA:

http://www.deutsche-stimme.com/Ausgaben2004/Sites/01-04-Mode.html
http://mitglied.lycos.de/miaistuebel/text.html
http://synflood.at/blog/index.php?p=168
http://mitglied.lycos.de/miaistuebel/links.html

One result of the above controversy is that journalists seem to be pointing out ANY German Pop music with even a mention/suggestion of national identity - even when there's literally nothing there, which automatically brings the band's/artist's politics into question. As a result, a few bands have issued statements on their Websites in the last few weeks (both Virginia Jetzt, another Berlin-band, and Tocotronic, a Hamburg band, among them) denying any connection to anything even vaguely nationalistic in response to skeptical press reports.

As far as I know, Rammstein has yet to comment.

Comments

[MDK]

ridiculous, that germany has some patriotism, if
u want to compare that directly to nationalism.

german people have lost their identity through two world
wars. thanks to all protectors of freedom (US, Great Britain)!

And if someone says some thing about being a german and their identity, it's always = nazi!

that really sucks.

Come on: It's okay when an american (US) says he's proud of being american, that's okay.
If a german does that, he's a nazi.

So what?