GDR Subculture, Vol. 7: VA - Rock aus Deutschland Ost Vol. 20; Aufbruch Umbruch Abbruch - Die letzten Jahre

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, that eruption of History accompanied the collapse of a theoretical socialist utopia, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The changed political climate influenced the production of literature and popular culture in the vanquished and vanishing GDR; but it also brought tensions that had existed within GDR culture of the 1980s to a boil. Throughout that decade, a rupture between officially sanctioned and alternative culture emerged, even within the hegemony of state-controlled media. In the realm of “popular” culture—a term made problematic by the totalizing and occasionally didactic function assigned to cultural production in socialism—the generation “born into socialism” seemed willing to indict the pedagogical and political imperatives of the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED). In other words, alternative artists, usually, though not exclusively, unofficial, filled the absence of critical thought and attitude left vacant by the much official culture of the GDR. The emergence of alternative “amateur” bands played a crucial role in this critical “filling in”; they were often criminalized along with their fans.3 One thing is clear: the politicization4 of popular culture played a part in the decline and demise of the SED; the utopian myth of “real existing socialism” and the propaganda that sustained it contributed significantly to the collapse of the state that had produced the vision in the first place.

In the search for a popular GDR identity, rock (and punk rock) music constitute one sign system among others, equipped with a style, a sound, a language, and dance, as well as various public and private spaces, to designate or define a group or “scene.” Performance always engaged the attention of the state, especially when one aspect of that performance was everyday appearance, from long hair to no hair. To set the stage, an abbreviated history of the relationship between the party and the performers of rock music follows. Early on in its existence, the SED took note of and attempted to control or direct the production of rock music; specifically, the party leadership was invested in resisting the Americanization of popular culture. As early as 1958, Walter Ulbricht called for an end to the influx of “. . . currently mass produced (musical) products of dubious origin.” He wanted instead music that would contribute to the construction of the socialist personality. The legacy of this caveat was evident even in the 1980s when punk was officially dismissed and also targeted as subversive, when functionaries suppressed the release of certain songs or expurgated albums because there were residual bits of text deemed inappropriate for socialist art.

Tracklist:

Herbst in Peking - Bakschischrepublik
Der große Vorsitzende WU stellt die Weichen
Naiv - Sag mir, wo du stehst
Feeling B - Mix mir einen Drink
AG Geige - Maximale Gier
Die Firma - Frau Müller
Die Art - Wide wide world
Ichfunktion - Was soll ich bloß thunfisch
Die anderen - Freitag abend in Berlin
Hard Pop - Schlaflied
Die Vision - Love by wire
Der Expander des Fortschritts - Wolfszeit
The Local Moon - Doloures echo / Response
Tausend Tonnen Obst - Safersex
Freygang - Zwei Bier, zwei Korn
Big Savod & the Deep Manko - Anyway what we'll find
Der Dachdecker EH analsiert die Bitmusik und ihren Einfluß auf den Klassenkampf
Sandow - Born in the GDR

VA - Rock aus Deutschland Ost Vol. 20; Aufbruch Umbruch Abbruch - Die letzten Jahre
(320 kbps, cover art included)