Explore music with these posts on Reverberations.
We’ve all seen the talent shows on television where singers compete to be their country’s next big musical superstar. But even if you don’t end up winning the show, the exposure can be enough to propel your career. Max Giesinger is a great example of how losing can still be winning. The smooth and soulful …
When your debut single is a big hit, it can be difficult to live up to expectations. There is a lot of pressure on your shoulders. But for Tim Bendzko, that simply has not been a problem. Since grabbing the attention of music fans in 2011 with the track “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten,” …
German hip hop groups and rappers like K.I.Z. and Cro are currently gracing the top of the German language music charts. However, it was bands like Die Fantastischen Vier that paved the way. But one should not talk about the group in the past tense. These guys haven’t hung up their microphones just yet. The …
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German rapper Cro certainly isn’t the first musician to have a gimmick. His just happens to be a panda mask that covers the top half of his face, obscuring his identity. It features an upside-down cross drawn on the mask between the eyes. Who is Cro, really? While you may ask that about any celebrity …
If you are reading this post, then you are probably already pretty aware of how challenging it can be to learn a new language. So, as a German learner, you can empathize with and be wildly impressed by the rapper Casper. Raised in America, he moved to Germany at the age of 11 when his …
In the early 2000s, the German music scene was seeing an exciting new wave of pop music. What makes the music from this time so special — especially for us language learners — is that this movement was dominated by German-language pop music. The female-fronted quartet Juli is one of the most popular of these …
These two gentlemen, known together as Gloria, may look familiar to you. One is a known primarily as a member of the band Wir sind Helden, with whom he made four studio albums. The other is a well-known television moderator known for his talk shows and humorous gags. In 2013, Mark Tavassol (the musician) and …
It is easy to write off bands with light melodies and poppy tunes as not serious. But to make that judgment of Von Wegen Lisbeth would be all wrong. In their more than a decade together, the quintet from Berlin has evolved from what seemed like a straightforward indie-pop band into one offering something far …
In the mid-1980s, even people living in the United States, England, and other English-speaking Western countries knew Nena. The petite German singer re-recorded her 1983 hit “99 Luftballons” in English as 1984’s “99 Red Balloons.” With the translated track she had an international hit on her hands that introduced her outside of the German language …
Udo Lindenberg first came to my attention thanks to Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre. I’ve read many of the books and writings of the author/journalist and if there’s one thing he loves, it’s Udo Lindenberg. He is a devoted fan and eventually became a close friend of the musician who left a mark on his childhood that …
Today, Herbert Grönemeyer is a famous and well-respected German musician whose albums soar to the top of the charts. But his musical career really took off, in part, due to his acting career. In particular, after the release of 1981’s Das Boot. In the film, a young Grönemeyer portrays Lieutenant Werner, a journalist reporting from …
With the monthly feature on German-language music, I try to highlight a variety of different kinds of musicians. Solo artists and bands. New acts and more established ones. Rock, pop, and hip hop. This month’s featured band, the Donots, would fall into the category of “established.” It doesn’t matter what kind of music you are …
