Love is NOT for everyone... (Rammstein/Censorship)

On October 16th, 2009, Rammstein released their 6th studio album, "Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da," (abbreviated as LIFAD) to the fanfare of many, myself included.

On or around November 6th, 2009, LIFAD was added to what many of the citizenry of Germany refer to as "the index."

What is "the index?" The Index is a list of media, art, film, etc, which has been deemed by the government agency known as the "Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien" (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons) to allegedly be harmful to minors. See, in Germany, freedom of art and expression is not without it's restrictions. Germany is in a special situation compared to other nations where this sort of thing is realistically necessary, what with the Holocaust and WWI/WWII, and the Nazi's and oh so much more. Other countries (mostly) just use laws to govern and restrict such things. Like, for example, you can't sell Playboy at the cafeteria in an American public school. It's a silly example, but it makes the point I think.

So, essentially, the "Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien" (BPjM for short) has decided that LIFAD was soo allegedly harmful to the youth of Germany that it had to be added to "the index." Okay, well why? What made them add it?

Heh.

Rammstein has never been a band to avoid controversy. On their first CD, they released a song called "Rammstein," a song which was a testament to the tragedy of the Ramstein Air Show disaster back in 1988 (if my memory serves me right). On their second CD, they had a song called "Bück Dich" ("Bend Over"), which is a song about sodomy. When they played that song on their live shows, Till and Flake (singer and keyboard player) would engage in simulated sodomy with a phallic toy that Till concealed in his stage outfit. This was also what subsequently got them arrested on June 5th, 1999, at a show in Worchester, MA. On their fourth CD, they released their most controversial song ever (before LIFAD), "Mein Teil" (My Tool). The song was about a man named Armin Meiwes, who gained worldwide attention when news broke of his consumption of another human being.

So, how much worse can it get, right? Oh, we're just getting warmed up here.

On LIFAD, they've had controversy surrounding at least 3 of their songs so far. The first song is "P****." (Yes, yes it is.) The song was released as a single, as well as accompanied by a video, which had clips of the band playing, but also had uncensored adult video (using body doubles on certain angles). Needless to say, the only place to view that music video is on an adult website. The second song is also a single, "Ich Tu Dir Weh" ("I Hurt You"). This song also contains severe adult material within the lyrics, this time dealing with the sort of stuff people use whips and chains for. The third song is called "Weiner Blut" ("Welsh Blood"). This song is about the Fritzl case from Austria, which is controversial enough. More controversy is drawn from the live performance of this song, which features numerous baby dolls hanging from above the stage as the song is played, and ends with an immense display of fireworks as all the babies explode. Then of course, there's the cover and the inside booklet that is also controversial. The cover itself features all the band members sitting around a table with a nude woman on the table surrounded by other food, implying that they may be about to consume her. On the inside booklet, there are pictures depicting various scenes at this table and the band members involvement in the events. One of those pictures is of the guitarist, Richard, spanking the woman's bottom.

According to the BPjM, it was specifically the songs "Ich Tu Dir Weh" and "P****" as well as the CD booklet/cover that led them to rule in favor of adding LIFAD to "the index." So, what does this mean for LIFAD? It's changed alot for the CD in Germany. As of now, the CD cannot be sold to minors AT ALL. It cannot be advertised in any manner where minors could potentially see it. If it is sent by mail, which even then is heavily restricted, the shipment has to be recieved by an adult who can provide proper ID. It cannot be rented out, unless done so in a shop inaccessible to minors. The new version of LIFAD being sold in Germany is without the song "Ich Tu Dir Weh," instead replaced by 4 seconds of silence, as well as without the controversial image. On the back, where "Ich Tu Dir Weh" was originally listed, a line is drawn through it with an disclaimer underneath, reading "Entfernt nach Zensur durch die Behörden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland" (Removed after censorship by the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany). Also, the BPjM has officially banned Rammstein from even playing "Ich Tu Dir Weh" at any performance within Germany. When LIFAD was released, it was at #1 in the German music chart, but now, due to the obvious reasons, it has completely fallen off the chart.

Me personally, I've never agreed with censoring music. I think it's pointless and stupid. No matter what, every song will appeal to someone out there. If it's something that people don't want to see or hear, they can figure out how to avoid it. But, obviously the German government doesn't agree with me. Go figure.