Line #64 Music/DieArzte


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/600full-die-arzte_9129.jpg]]
2	[-[[caption-width-right:300:L - R: Farin Urlaub, Bela B, Rodrigo Gonzalez.]]-]
3
4	->''[[MemeticMutation Es gibt nur einen Gott: [=BelaFarinRod=]!]]''[[note]][[BlasphemousBoast There is only one God: [=BelaFarinRod=]!]][[/note]]
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6	Die Ärzte (lit. The Doctors[[note]][[NotThatKindOfDoctor As in medical doctor/physician]].[[/note]]) are a punk rock/pop-punk band from Berlin, Germany. Along with "Music/DieTotenHosen" (lit. "The Dead Pants") they are the most successful German punk act. In TheNineties they made a music video starring [[Franchise/TombRaider Lara Croft]]. They [[SarcasmMode modestly]] refer to themselves as ''die b[[HeavyMetalUmlaut ä]]ste Band der Welt''; "the bäst band in the world."
7
8	For most of their career they have consisted of:
9	* [[PunnyName Farin Urlaub]]/Jan Vetter (Vox, Guitar)[[note]]His stage name is a pun on the German phrase ''fahr' in Urlaub'', meaning "go on [a] vacation." He chose the name for stage since his premier hobby is travelling, and he has made it his set goal to travel to every country in the world.[[/note]]
10	* Bela B./Dirk Felsenheimer (Vox, Drums)[[note]] His stage name is a tribute to Creator/BelaLugosi[[/note]]
11	* Rodrigo "The Rod" Gonzalez (Vox, Bass)
12
13	Formed in 1982, they broke up briefly in 1989, reuniting in 1993. They have released 15 studio albums, six live albums and seven compilations until now, and managing to get three of all of them [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Department_for_Media_Harmful_to_Young_Persons indexed]] in Germany. Farin and Bela are for all intents and purposes the face of the band but their current bass player (the third in band history and with them since 1993) also sings a handful of songs and has written a couple, usually one or two per LP. The two former bass players have been even more marginal to the band with their second bass player never even officially being part of the band (Their second bass player was featured in the manner of "Die Ärzter with..." or similar ways). Bela and Farin are both from Berlin whereas Rod was born in Chile and came to Germany because his parents ran afoul of the UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet regime. Die ärzte are famous/notorious for their elaborate three hour live shows that include antics like giving encores at festivals and spending most of the time bickering at each other in puerile humor and heavy Berliner dialect. There is even one semi-official release of just the things they said on live concerts that weren't their songs. Improvising changed lyrics to their songs is also a thing they like to do.
14	Their (studio) discography:
15	* ''Debil'' ("Moronic" 1984)[[note]]Originally on the index list of the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons, and thus unavailable in Germany (indexing lasts 25 years), it was relaunched in 2005 as ''Devil'', with extra songs, earning it a positive rating.[[/note]]
16	* ''Im Schatten der Ärzte'' ("In the Shadow of Die Ärzte" 1985)
17	* ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Die Ärzte]]'' (1986)[[note]]As of 2015, still on the index list of the German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons due to the song ''Geschwisterliebe'', and thus unavailable in Germany. In defiance, the band released the Mini-Album ''Ab 18'' ("For 18 years old and above"), which subsequently was also indexed. In 2020 a Reissue omitting that song was released in Germany.[[/note]]
18	* ''Das ist nicht die ganze Wahrheit...'' ("That is not the whole truth..." 1988)
19	* ''Die Bestie in Menschengestalt'' ("The beast in human form" 1993)
20	* ''Planet Punk'' (1995)
21	* ''5, 6, 7, 8 – Bullenstaat!'' ("5, 6, 7, 8 – Cop state!"[[note]]Initially only available at concerts, now for free download on their homepage.[[/note]] 1995)
22	* ''Le Frisur'' (GratuitousFrench, "Le Hairstyle" 1996)
23	* ''13'' (1998)
24	* ''Runter mit den Spendierhosen, Unsichtbarer!'' ("Stop being so generous, Mr. Invisible!"[[note]] literally "Take off your spending pants, Mr. Invisible"[[/note]] 2000)
25	* ''Geräusch'' ("[[TakeThatMe Noise]]" 2003)
26	* ''Jazz ist anders'' ("Jazz is Different" 2007)
27	* ''Auch'' ("As well" 2012)
28	* ''They've given me Schrott! - Die Outtakes'' ("They've given me Scrap! - The Outtakes" [[note]]A Compilation/Boxset of previously unreleased Demos.[[/note]] 2019)
29	* ''Hell'' ("Bright" 2020)
30	* ''Dunkel'' ("Dark" 2021)
31
32	----
33	!! ''Manchmal, aber nur manchmal haben Frauen ein kleines bisschen Trope gern'':
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35	* AffectionateParody: Tons of these. Die Ärzte are sort of famous for doing homages/[[{{AffectionateParody}} affectionate parodys]] in their music videos and songs.
36	** They did one of these on MisaimedFandom with their video for "Die klügsten Männer der Welt" [[note]]"The wisest men in the world"[[/note]]. It features Bela as a stereotypical cowboy in the DeepSouth singing enthusiastically along with [[{{CelebrityParadox}} a certain german punk bands song]], complete with UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush, as well as several other prominent german and international politicians heads used as [[{{FollowtheBouncingBall}} the bouncing ball]]. The song is actually an ironic critique of leading politicians, issues with transparency and the little actual input the general public has on politics and big decisions such as heading into war. Cowboy!Bela [[{{SarcasmBlind}} is oblivious to this]], praising 'the wisest men in the world' happily, playing with a toy-tank to destroy famous world-monuments, launching a rocket and riding happily towards a huge mushroom cloud on the horizon in the end.
37	* AllMenArePerverts:
38	** Parodied in "Männer sind Schweine". The song starts with calling them the "usual" pejorative terms; pigs, rats, etc., but by the end it's the nonsensical "men are cars."[[note]]"Nur ohne Reserverad" - just without a replacement tire[[/note]]
39	** "Men are cars" references phrases that are/were frequently graffitied on the walls of toilet stalls and the likes. The full phrase is "Männer sind Autos, wenn man nicht aufpasst, liegt man unter ihnen" ("Men are cars, if you don't pay attention you'll end up under them").
40	* AnAesop: Quite a few especially on their recent album "Jazz ist anders" [[note]]"Jazz is different"[[/note]]
41	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The tabloid BILD according to "Lasse redn" ("Let 'em Talk").
42	-->Die meisten Leute haben ihre Bildung aus der BILD\
43	Und die besteht nun mal, wer wüsste das nicht\
44	Aus Angst, Hass, Titten und dem Wetterbericht[[note]]Most people get their education from BILD\
45	and that consists, as everyone knows,\
46	of fear, hate, tits and the weather forecast[[/note]]
47	* AudienceParticipationSong: They will turn any song into this.
48	** For a time that was their way to get around the bans[[labelnote:legalese]]"Banned" meaning: may not be displayed sold advertised or performed to people under 18 years, which is [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial not censorship but a way to protect youth]] [[/labelnote]] against certain songs - they would play the instrumental and the audience would sing the song. The audience was not doing anything illegal (or if it was, it was almost impossible to prosecute) the band did not do anything illegal (the ''lyrics'' being banned and not the melody) and in fact the band even (sarcastically) asked their fans to not ever ever on pain of death and horrible things sing the song, please.
49	--> '''Bela''': Become a banker or a drug addict, but don't sing this song.
50	* BestialityIsDepraved: Once again played for laughs in "Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund" ("Claudia has got an Alsatian").
51	* BlasphemousBoast: [[MemeticMutation "There is only one god: Bela Farin Rod"]]
52	* BeYourself: The message of "Lied vom Scheitern" ("Song about failure").
53	* {{Bowdlerise}}: On the 2020 re-issue of "Die Ärzte", the vocal track of "Geschwisterliebe" (see Brother-Sister Incest below) was re-recorded with new lyrics about cleaning. (However, if you listen closely, you can still hear the original lyrics faintly in the background)
54	* BreakUpSong : "1/2 Lovesong" of the "Please don't go"- and "Mach die Augen zu" ("Close your eyes") of the "Teetering at the brink of a breakup"-variety
55	* BrotherSisterIncest: Their song "Geschwisterliebe" (Siblings' Love) is the TropeNamer for the German page.
56	* TheCameo: Bela appears as an usher near the end of ''Film/{{Inglourious Basterds}}''. Rod also makes a rather humorous one in the Music/DieTotenHosen music video for ''Wannsee'' ("'''Ruhe hier!''' (leise) Scheiss Mucke.[[note]]'''Quiet!''' (muttered) Shit music.[[/note]]
57	* TheCasanova: "Paul der Bademeister" ("Paul the pool attendant") is considered one by the band
58	* ConceptAlbum: Le Frisur (Le Hairstyle) is all about hair.
59	* {{Cowboy}}: The idyl of the Working Cowboy is mercilessly parodied in "Micha", ending with the hero kicking his horse and [[RidingIntoTheSunset angrily riding into sunset]]. The "Black Hat" is played more straight, but "El Cattivo" is too much of a coward for a [[MinionWithAnFInEvil large scale crime.]]
60	* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: The Band recorded an english version of their song "Super Drei" ("Super three"), titled "Let's go too far". The Original was about the band declaring their great return and asking the listener if they missed hearing them. The english version on the other hand is about [[ObligatoryBondageSong a man who is the submissive in a BDSM relationship and begs the dominant partner to hurt him]].
61	* DeathSong: "Buddy Hollys Brille" (Buddy Holly's glasses) about, duh, the tragic death of Buddy Holly. Bonus DrivenToSuicide as they claim the fact that Buddy Holly will sing in heaven for us is a great reason for suicide. [[note]] Since we're in Germany here, no one did actually take this proposal serious, let alone sued the band for the suicide of his beloved. We sue people over other stuff here, e.g. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maschen-Draht-Zaun The neighbor's snowberry bushes growing though cyclone fences]].[[/note]]
62	* DirtyOldMan: The protagonist of "Anastasia".
63	* EroticEating: "The Banana". Leads to a in-universe DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything for the singer which turns him into a horny wreck, which makes the girlfriend run off.
64	* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: Farin and especially Bela are quite fond of the horror genre. Cue the "Pro Zombie Song", the "Anti Zombie Song" and "Junge" ("Boy")
65	* FreudianExcuse: Subverted in "Schrei nach Liebe" ("Cry for love"), where the lyrical subject refuses to accept a [[ThoseWackyNazis neo-nazi]] skinhead's tragic childhood as a valid excuse for her hate and violence.
66	-->Your violence is just a silent cry for love\
67	Your jackboots long for tenderness\
68	You never learned to articulate properly\
69	And your parents never had any time for you... ASSHOLE!
70	* HeavyMetalUmlaut: Their logo is a parody of this; it's an A with ''three'' dots on top of it. (Their name actually ''needs'' a standard two-dot umlaut above the A to be proper German). The three dots are most likely based on the fact that the band has three members
71	* IAmAHumanitarian: The song "Gebt Schweinen eine Chance" (lit. "Give pigs a chance") jokingly advices cannibalism against hunger and for a better world.
72	* InTheStyleOf: Something they like to do.
73	** 'Leichenhalle' spoofs Music/{{Rammstein}}.
74	** 'Vermissen Baby' moves towards Type 0 Negative.
75	** The Warum{{ska}} is... [[{{ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin}} ska]].
76	** Their video to '3 Tage Bart' is in the style of boy bands like Music/TakeThat.
77	** The best-of album 'bäst of' contains more than a dozen bonus tracks moving through maaaany genres.
78	** 'Fafafa' was done in style of Die Fantastischen Vier, the biggest German Hiphop-act at that time.
79	** 'Westerland to the max' contains (beside other stuff) a Doom Metal parody.
80	** This tradition unsurprisingly also prevails in their solo work. Farins solo song [[{{GratuitousJapanese}} Sumisu]] not only name-drops [[note]]and in a way [[{{TitleDrop}} title-drops]][[/note]] Music/{{The Smiths}}, but might as well have been a Smiths song with german lyrics. Doubles as AffectionateParody.
81	** 'Dauerwelle vs. Minipli' is a Death Metal song.
82	** The entire Album ''Auch'' is composed of songs in various styles of Rock.
83	** 'E.V.J.M.F.' is a Trap song.
84	* IronicNurseryRhyme: PlayedForLaughs. Their song "Schlaflied" ("Lullaby") is a [[{{ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin}} lullaby]] about... stuff that lullabies normally aren't about.
85	* JerkAss: "Scheißtyp" [[note]]German for "piece-of-shit kind of guy"[[/note]], "Paul"
86	* KillItWithFire: Also the proper trope in case of differing music taste, cf. "Radio brennt".
87	* KilledMidSentence: The last verse of 'Fafafa' is ended mid-sentence by the singer being shot
88	* LeadBassist: Type A. Rod is the only member of the band that can read and write sheet music. Even Farin says he can play the Guitar better than himself. Though both in terms of lyrics and melody output and in terms of on stage antics Bela and Farin are clearly the "faces" of the band and Rod more of a background guy. Which does not mean he does not write and sing a song once in a while, or get in jibes during their stage antics.
89	* LocationSong: ''Westerland'', from "Das ist nicht die ganze Wahrheit..."
90	* LongRunnerLineUp: Type 4; the lineup has been the same since their reunion in 1993.
91	* MonsterMash: 'Monsterparty' has the protagonist attending a party at [[{{Dracula}} Dracula's castle]] where he meets [[Film/TheInvisibleMan1933 The Invisible Man]], Film/KingKong, FrankensteinsMonster, Film/{{The Wolfman\|1941}}, [[DemBones a skeleton]], [[Film/{{Jaws}} the Great White Shark]], The {{Mummy}} and [[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial ET]]
92	* MurderBallad: "Nur einen Kuss" is about the protagonist killing another man for breaking his love's heart and being responsible for her death.
93	* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: On ''Zusammen'fassung'' they thank everybody...and Dagmar. [[OverlyLongGag Das war harter Stoff.]]
94	* MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes: "Ich am Strand" ("Me at the Beach") is about a homeless man who is about to freeze to Death in Winter. Before his death, several key moments of his life flash before his eyes, the most prevelant one being his first vacation to a beach when he was a 6 year old child.
95	* [[SharpDressedMan Nice Suit]]: Has become the favoured stage outfit of Farin ever since going solo (specifically black shirts, which were originally intended as some sort of statement against conformism according to WordOfGod). Bela is also quite into this.
96	* ObligatoryBondageSong:
97	** ''Sweet Sweet Gwendoline'' from 1986 is a WholePlotReference to the comic ''Sweet Gwendoline'' created by bondage artist John Willie and later turned into the movie ''The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak'' (1984). The song exists in two versions.
98	--> ''"In einer kleinen Hütte, da wohnt Sweet Gwendoline,''
99	--> ''Ich klopfe an die Tür und sie ließ mich herein''
100	--> ''Sie hatte ein Kabel, damit schnürte sie mich ein''
101	--> ''Sweet, sweet Gwendoline"'' [[note]]In a small shack lives sweet Gwendoline, I knocked on the door and she let me in. She had a cable with which she tied me up, sweet sweet Gwendoline.[[/note]]
102	** ''Bitte, Bitte'' ("Please, Please") from 1988 is about a guy who wants to be a slave of {{Dominatrix}}. It's notable for using only synthesizer and exists in at least four versions.
103	--> ''"Was immer du befiehlst, ich tu's.''
104	--> ''Ich küss' die Spitze deines Schuhs''
105	--> ''Und wenn du mir die Knute gibst''
106	--> ''Weiß ich, dass auch du mich liebst.''
107	--> ''Ich bin nicht mehr zu retten''
108	--> ''Peitsch' mich aus, leg mich in Ketten''
109	--> ''Ab heut' gehör' ich dir allein.''
110	--> ''Bitte, bitte, lass mich,''
111	--> ''Lass mich dein Sklave sein."'' [[note]]Whatever you order me to do, I will, I'll kiss the top of your shoe and when you give me the lash I know that you love me, too. I'm beyond saving, whip me raw, put me in chains, from today on I'll be all yours. Please, please, let me be your slave[[/note]]
112	** ''Mondo Bondage'' from 2000 lists lots of equipment used in the BDSM subculture like latex, metallic rings, powder, wax, corsets and much more.
113	* PrecisionFStrike: The chorus of "Schrei nach Liebe" ("Cry for Love") ends with an almost shouted "Arschloch!" ("Asshole!")
114	* TheQuietOne: Rod. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7cxZr1qs6g Except that time he had too much to drink when they played at Rock am Ring.]]
115	* {{Sampling}}: The opening riff from "[[Music/{{Metallica}} Master Of Puppets]]" was sampled in 'Fafafa'
116	* SelfParody:
117	** Their spoof album "Jazz ist anders - Economy Version". It contains all the songs from the original album "Jazz ist anders" but in amateurish and unfinished versions, altering the texts, singing with modified voices, playing 20 seconds of the song and then discussing why they don't want to play the song anymore, resulting in one member shooting the other two, killing them on record. [[spoiler:He sings the rest of the songs alone and cries over his actions.]]
118	** The song 'richtig schön evil' has Bela (and Rod, but mainly Bela) trying to frame Farin as a terrorist to stop his solo album from being a success.
119	** "Dinge von denen" ("Things of Which") mentions "Claudia Schiffers Hund" ("Claudia Schiffer's dog") which is about as close as they dared to come to "Claudias Schäferhund" ("Claudia's shepherd").
120	* SequelSong:
121	** "Claudia hat nen Schäferhund" ("Claudia has a German shepherd") has three, titled "Claudia II", "Claudia III" and "Claudia (Teil 95)" (Claudia (Part 95)). About the topic, have a look at BestialityIsDepraved above.
122	** ''Meine Ex(plodierte Freundin)'' ("My Ex(ploded Girlfriend)") is this to ''Außerirdische'' ("Aliens"). In the former, the protagonist's girlfriend suddenly explodes in front of him one night. During the bridge, he recounts the fates of each of his previous girlfriends, one of whom was kidnapped by Aliens, as depicted in ther latter.
123	* ShoutOut:
124	** "Monsterparty" mentions a lot of movie monsters
125	** "Lied vom Scheitern" ("Song about failure") has a video which is very [[Franchise/{{Saw}} sawesque]]
126	** Their MTV-Unplugged-release was recorded in a school and called "Rock'n'roll-Realschule" ("Rock'n'roll-middleschool") as a tribute to [[Music/TheRamones Rock'n'roll-highschool]]
127	** "Micha" is a song about a lonely cowboy and mentioned ComicBook/LuckyLuke's catchphrase.
128	** "Schrei nach Liebe" begins with a [[Music/TheSweet musical shout-out]].
129	* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: Usually firmly on the silly side in both their lyrics and their on stage behavior (including most interviews) they do on occasion make important points with a straight face (e.g. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRrP-bZvD2s Deine Schuld]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh8ufcjoctA Schrei nach Liebe]] have no silliness to be found and make important points about political activism and fascism respectively). The latter sometimes throws off and surprises casual observers.
130	* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion: "Sweet Sweet Gwendoline". Approximate translation with some grammatic liberty (and think of Gwendoline in heavy bondage, like her namesake): "One could now mail in a postal truck her, one could also easily...YEEEEEEES!" You get the idea.
131	* TakeThat: "Lied über Zensur" ("Song about censorship"), as well as the video to "Bitte, Bitte"
132	* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: Often a bit more than three chords, but often true to their punk roots.
133	* TooMuchInformation: "Dinge von denen". ("Things of which"...he doesn't want to know, of course)
134	* WrongGenreSavvy: The former bass player Sahnie reportedly considered himself to be the LeadBassist. The response of Bela and Farin was to kick him out, without any backlash.
135

Context Music / DieArzte