Project Steev

We're All Living in Amerika

My brother Allan sent me a mix CD with a bunch of music I'd never heard before, since he's been in Germany getting all into German music. One of the songs is by Rammstein, who I've known about for awhile but never really gotten into, I think because I thought up till now that they were just another industrial band in the lineage of Ministry or KMFDM and not much new.

But this song "Amerika" was something that really stuck in my head. Then he told me about the video and I also looked up a translation of the lyrics and it really revealed itself to be a scathing song. I found the video online and, I'm not quite sure why, but it moved me so much I actually started to cry. I think it's because the song and the video are just really dark and sad and, in a way, true, showing the whole world, from Kalahari Bushmen to Tibetan monks, eating hamburgers and pizza and sitting on Santa Claus' lap and singing along with the song like puppets. Meanwhile the band plays the song on the moon dressed as U.S. astronauts and fumble around trying to set up the U.S. flag.

an excerpt of the lyrics:

When there's dancing I want to lead
even if you're whirling around alone
Let yourselves be controlled a little
I'll show you how it really goes
We're making a nice round dance
Freedom is playing on all violins
Music is coming out of the White House
and Mickey Mouse is standing in front of Paris

We're all living in America
Coca-Cola, Wonderbra
We're all living in America
America, America

It's just so fucked up how my country is fucking the whole world up so bad, and the video just reminded me of that.