Almost Famous – about rock stars and groupies: Paula’s pop week at a glance

I’ll tell it like it is, I’m not in the mood to write this column. And not because it’s 31 degrees outside, not because I can hardly think in my attic apartment, not because I’m generally very lazy. But because all this old shit not only annoys, tires, makes angry, but also hurts.

You will all have noticed the “Causa Rammstein” unless you have done a two-week digital detox (how and with what money? write me!). The two victims who spoke publicly with their faces about Row Zero at the band’s concerts and the alleged systematic recruitment of young women for Till Lindemann are Irish Shelby Lynn and German YouTuber Kayla Shyx.

You can read what Lynn says here.

And see what Shyx reports here:

But there are also older reports that describe something similar, for example on Reddit. So all this is nothing new, it just hasn’t interested anyone so far. Not even all those around the band, not even the organizers, not the guests, not everyone who must have noticed something. Until Lynn came and didn’t give up. In the meantime, many media have done their own research, numerous victims have spoken out, the allegations range from abuse of power to rape. The band denies, defends themselves legally, has since omitted their stupid penis cannon at concerts, has received a lot of criticism, but worse also a lot of solidarity.

I have a few more media tips if you’re still unsure. Rezo summed up the events well and is the only famous man (that I’ve heard) who doesn’t cowardly hold back and doesn’t just make stupid jokes on the necks of those affected, but without much ado does what Lindemann is accused of as that classifies what it is:

Second: Even if I don’t entirely share Jule Lobo’s assessment of the case, I find her descriptions of the problems surrounding knockout drops very important and helpful. She tells about her own experiences with it, it is quite difficult to bear, but makes it clear how complicated it is to deal with it, both personally and legally.

In addition, Shelby Lynn gave an interview to Deutschlandfunk, in which she told how she tried to seek help directly (something that those affected are often accused of) – and at how many points it failed. And how only the way into the public has helped her.

Now many media people have shown their horror, but the famous, deafening silence sounds from the music industry. Wait and see. Although what is happening definitely and obviously for everyone (Row Zero, after-show parties with only very young women) would already be condemnable, without the “legally relevant” addition. But only a few are willing to position themselves clearly. The doctors have once again gone their typical way, with their typical stuck jokes. The motivation to ridicule Lindemann was obvious, but well, once again it was only moderately successful.

Apart from that, I have only seen one position from Madsen on this.

One can wonder why all the other successful male bands remain silent and where the positioning of big numbers in the music industry is. But you don’t want to think too much about it, the abyss is probably too deep.

The question is: will the whole thing bring anything at all without fundamentally changing anything?

Probably not. The Johnny Depp case alone brought a huge backlash, people were alarmingly quick to throw Metoo achievements overboard. But is it even achievement when just a few men society’s chosen monsters get jailed (Weinstein, Epstein, R. Kelly) and the rest just carry on?

This thread shows where all “canceled” successful men from the past few years are right now. Hurts:

The Rammstein concerts in Munich last week were sold out, and many fans showed solidarity.
After one of the four dates, a short video circulated showing the band members hugging, crying and laughing. The men stick together, there can be no doubt as to whether everything was done correctly the way it was done. A powerful symbol of patriarchy.

An alarming number of people, probably also from the music industry, don’t see the problem at all, have always been taken in by the myth of “groupies” and may even benefit from it. Young women who adore you? It’s cool, isn’t it normal? It’s always been like that.

Yes, it’s always been like this and that’s the worst part. David Bowie, Anthony Kiedis, Jimmy Page, Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop and so on and so forth – they have all abused their power and even taken advantage of underage girls. To this day the myth lives on that it was cool for these girls, some even interpret it as empowerment, sexual liberation and such, the girls would have benefited from it too.

I highly recommend this video by YouTuber Bryony Claire, who thoroughly dispels the myth of groupies, looks at the most famous of them, and analyzes the social conditions:

I just want to reiterate one thing: yes, the role of girls as fans of rock bands has always been prominent and meaningful. This is partly because we have learned that being a fan is our role. This is our place. We adore. We are passive. We want to please the stars. The stars are the men. Of course we want to be cool, we don’t want to be prude, we want to be involved and the only chance we have for that is as men’s sexual and romantic interest. We can’t stand on this stage ourselves, we can’t write ourselves and make this wonderful music. This isn’t our place. We can’t be free, but we can go with the free. We need male attention. We can be near power, but we cannot have it. And the other way around, male bands are the closed space, nobody else can get in there. Women are only visitors, they only have one function. Otherwise you could be friends with women, learn instruments and sing with them, take them on tour as buddies, as part of the group. But their purpose has always been the use of their bodies.

Many groupies later said that they wanted to be in this world, close to this great music. They could not imagine any other way, no other way was shown to them. Sometimes even women who played instruments themselves, who had ambitions to make music, were portrayed as groupies by the outside world. It was simply unimaginable. And it still is to some extent, it’s still as strong in a lot of people’s minds as you can see right now. That’s why representation is so important. That’s why we need the visibility of women in music – which of course there is and more and more -, that’s why we need diverse line-ups at festivals, that’s why we need mixed bands, that’s why we need everyone to finally get the memo, that young women are not objects, accessories, toys, projection screens and waste products of great art. And that if we all help, they could stomp the Row Zero at Rammstein and every Row Zero in society and take the stage. That they could then set fire to all that old stuff and have a great party with everyone on the rubble. Here we go.

What happened until now? Here is an overview of all pop column texts.