P!nk is actually considered a reliable party organizer. The singer has just filled several stadiums in Germany with her performances. But when she suddenly spoke about Rammstein at a gig in Cologne, she caused a certain bewilderment in the crowd. “I do hope that my son and daughter will buy me tickets for Rammstein at some point …” she just chatted away. When that didn’t get the expected reaction, P!nk continued, “If you’ve never been to a Rammstein concert; People…. you absolutely have to go there! They set people on fire on stage.”
Very few visitors dared to clap. Rammstein, as the American singer had to find out that evening, is a highly controversial issue in Germany, at least outside of her own fan base. Her crew later enlightened her about the allegations against Lindemann and P!nk even tweeted about it. The subject of the debate, the allegations against Lindemann, for her a “total bummer”.
Elsewhere, Rammstein simply stand for “Made in Germany”
Of course, one could also simply smile about this situation. A global musician with a loyal following points out a well-known German act (which, strictly speaking, actually only applies to Rammstein and maybe the Scorpions) at a Germany concert, just to earn some friendly applause. The party pro. But the allegations made by numerous young women seem like a party crasher – and rightly so.
It remains to be seen whether all the allegations that paint a vague picture of parties in the backstage area will ultimately lead to one or more criminal misconduct by the Rammstein singer. The Berlin public prosecutor is investigating. The singer tries to stop the suspicion reporting with cease and desist letters. His lawyers submitted an opinion that puts many statements in question.
Irrespective of this, something else is also evident here: in many parts of the world, not just in Europe, as is well known, Rammstein stand for a pop pleasure that, with show presentation and music in a sometimes ironic, sometimes blatant form, creates a dark Germany with mythological steel power symbolizes. The rolling Lindemann-R. The conflagrations. Allusions to Black Romantic texts. Dressing with proto-fascist symbols. The celebration of violence, dominance and cult worship.
Cultural scientists would now add a few things, because after their unprecedented success, Rammstein was quickly taken over by all the interpreters who are happy and productive when something is not so clear, pure and connectable, like some songs from P!nk. For weeks now, completely different connections have been discussed. Some reports, with all journalistic caution, read like psychograms of a musician who seems to have merged with his stage persona. Past examples have amply demonstrated that such pseudopsychology is, of course, a difficult process.
Celebration of Depravity as an Artistic Playground (With Clear Boundaries)
None of this changes the fact that for many musicians or bands from other areas, Rammstein is simply a synonym for German pop value, even if the cosmos of symbols surrounding the Berlin group is dark and controversial. But so far it has been marketed as profitable primarily by those who earn money with Rammstein outside of Germany. They agree to immerse themselves in a universe of dark art, where shock and trauma are presented in quotation marks so that it caters to a certain angst.
In the past, psychoanalysts would probably have spoken of the purification of the soul, unfiltered and unconscious desires, perhaps even the rubbish of a society that is wished away, find a playing field in the form of generally enjoyable music and a celebration of depravity limited to two hours. But that has narrow limits: You can enter it and confront yourself with everything that Rammstein addresses and hints at, but you can – and this is the crucial point – leave it again immediately. The band has a unique selling point in the world of music suitable for the masses as part of the (symbolic) work they have created over the years. They also stand for Germany as producers of extraordinary rock music, just as Kraftwerk were perceived as the inventors of extraordinary pop music.
With the questioning that Rammstein’s music, that especially the band’s shows, are not just a macabre wishful thinking (i.e. not only in the lyrics and with gestures on stage the abuse of power and sexual degradation is played), but that apart from the professionalized Live events, possibly things that actually happen to the same thing that is only advertised as an artificial product, as a suggestive fantasy, damage the pop effectiveness of the Rammstein phenomenon.
The question of how loyal fans deal with it is only secondary. Maybe even what is actually justiciable at the end of all the allegations. Rather, Germany’s rock reputation is seriously endangered when one of their most important export goods destroys the self-created illusion by the fact that their singer, according to the accusations, can no longer distinguish between what is art and what is reality. There is a large framework for the staging and visualization of crimes in music, film and literature (keyword: “a little Rohypnol in the glass”), they are covered by artistic freedom. The law is responsible for the real implementation outside of such artistic fantasies.
Part of perceiving the ambiguity of music and art is the impression that it is all just a game of seduction. Whatever the consequences of Till Lindemann’s alleged acts of abuse, Rammstein will now be seen with different eyes.